Bahama Breeze, owned by Darden Restaurants, closed 15 of its locations this week, marking a significant cut in its operations. The closures affected one-third of the Caribbean-themed chain’s restaurants, which now has only 29 remaining. Locations shut down include five in Florida, four in New Jersey, and others in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York, and Tennessee. Darden explained that the closures would allow the brand to concentrate on its highest-performing restaurants and improve overall performance.
Employees at the affected locations will be offered opportunities to transfer to nearby Darden-owned restaurants or receive severance packages. This move comes after a challenging year for Bahama Breeze, which experienced a 7.7% drop in sales last year.
The closures highlight the ongoing struggles faced by the casual dining sector, which has seen a decline in consumer spending as inflation has pressured lower and middle-income families. Maeve Webster, president of the consulting firm Menu Matters, noted that closing underperforming restaurants could be more beneficial in the long run than attempting to revive them. She compared it to streamlining a menu—eliminating less popular items to improve the overall quality of what remains.
Darden, also the parent company of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, reported weak same-store sales growth at both of those brands in the most recent quarter, falling below analysts’ expectations.
