Scott Olson/Getty Images/FILE
An Outback steakhouse restaurant in a 2021 photo.
New York CNN –
Fans of Outback Steakhouse may be surprised to learn that their local restaurant is permanently closed after the chain's parent company abruptly shuttered dozens of locations across the United States.
Bloomin' Brands said in a conference call Friday that it has closed 41 “poor-performing” locations of its brands, including Carrabba's Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming's.
The closures hit Outback Steakhouses the hardest, the company said in the conference call. Bloomin' said it closed the locations due to “various factors,” including sales, declining customer traffic and financial investments that were too costly to improve the locations. Additionally, according to Bloomin' CEO David Deno, “the majority of these restaurants are older assets with leases dating back to the '90s and early 2000s.”
The company did not release a list of closed restaurants. Local reports show that Outback locations in Pennsylvania, Iowa and every Outback restaurant in Hawaii have recently closed. Bonefish Grill locations in New Jersey and Virginia also closed, and at least three Carrabba's locations in New York also closed.
Of the 41 closures across all brands, 33 restaurants were closed as of Friday, a Bloomin' spokesperson told Nation's Restaurants News.
“Closing restaurants is never easy,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. “This was a business decision that had no impact on employees or their service. Many team members have the opportunity to transfer to open positions at another restaurant. Employees who do not do this will receive severance pay.”
However, Outback said it plans to open up to 18 new restaurants in the U.S. this year, following a redesigned restaurant layout unveiled in 2022. The company has approximately 700 locations in the United States.
Sales at Outback were difficult in the fourth quarter, falling 0.3%, as were Bonefish, where they fell 3%. Carrabba's was actually a bright spot, with same-store sales increasing 2.5%. Bloomin''s stock price rose more than 6% in the last five days, at one point topping $28.
In total, Bloomin' plans to open up to 45 restaurants across all of its brands in the coming year.