The parent company of Bravo Italian Mediterranean and Brio Italian Mediterranean restaurant chains – which heavily feature seafood on their menus – has filed for bankruptcy.
In more bad news for foodservice industry, Darden Restaurants reported significantly lower sales and is furloughing some employees.
Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.-based FoodFirst Global Restaurants filed for bankruptcy after closing 71 of its 92 locations due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It is actively looking for a buyer, according to bankruptcy documents, Restaurant Business reported.
“The COVID-19 outbreak truly could not have come at a worse time for our business. The mandated dining room closure orders wiped out [business at] 60 percent of our restaurants within days and since then we have experienced nothing short of devastating sales declines,” FoodFirst CEO Steve Layt said in a press release.
Meanwhile, Orlando, Florida-based Darden Restaurants, which operates Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and other large restaurant chains, said its same-restaurant sales dropped 39 percent for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended 5 April.
The restaurant group entered into USD 270 million (EUR 248 million) term loan credit agreement to “maximize financial flexibility and further bolster liquidity as a precautionary measure,” Darden said in a press release.
Darden also furloughed some of its team members and reduced pay for its renaming employees.
“Senior executives are taking a 50 percent reduction as I continue to forego my salary until we are successfully on the other side of this,” Darden CEO Gene Lee said in a press release.
Despite the difficulties, 99 percent of Darden’s restaurants remain open and LongHorn Steakhouse tripled its to-go sales. Olive Garden also doubled its off-premise sales.
“The challenges of this unprecedented situation are far from over,” Lee said. “However, I remain confident that the strength of our portfolio, the power of our competitive advantages and the resiliency of our people will enable us to successfully navigate our way through it.”
