Outback, Carrabba’s, Fleming’s, and Bonefish Grill Closing 41 Locations

Forty-one locations of the chain restaurants Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, and Bonefish Grill are closing down. Bloomin’ Brands, the company that owns the eateries, revealed in an earnings call on Friday that it is closing “underperforming locations.”

According to Nation’s Restaurant News, Outback Steakhouse locations were most affected by the closures. The 41 locations impacted are being shuttered due to a “variety of factors,” said Bloomin’s CEO David Deno. These included sales, shrinking customer traffic, and the financial investments needed for renovations to improve those restaurants otherwise. Deno claims that a “majority of these restaurants were older assets with leases from the ‘90s and early 2000s.”

Of the 41 locations across the brands, 33 restaurants were closed on Friday.

“This decision considered a variety of factors including sales and traffic-trade areas and the investment that would have to be made to improve the restaurants,” Deno said. “Despite this initiative, our confidence in our portfolio remains high as we plan to open 40 to 45 new restaurants across the system in 2024.”

Despite the closures, Deno remains hopeful about the company’s future. Bloomin’ Brands plans to continue strengthening its go-to-order, off-premise sales and catering.

Outback Steakhouse parent Bloomin’ Brands closing 41 restaurants. CEO David Deno says closures are part of periodic review and involve older leases from 1990s and 2000s https://t.co/u5bk8tRMUA pic.twitter.com/KrQIXsBbmL

— Restaurant News (@NRNonline) February 23, 2024

A Bloomin’ company spokesperson discussed the closures in a statement to CNN. They said closing restaurants is never easy, adding that “this was a business decision that has no reflection on the staff or their service.”

The spokesperson maintains that affected employees will have the opportunity to transfer to other restaurants. Those who do not wish to do so will receive severances, although it was not revealed what the severance would be.

Nation’s Restaurant News reported that as of Dec. 31, 2023, Bloomin’ had 1,480 restaurants across the United States. These included 688 Outback Steakhouses, 217 Carrabba’s Italian Grills, 176 Bonefish Grills, 64 Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bars, and five fast-casual Aussie Grills. There are also 330 international restaurants.