Two Bahama Breeze restaurants in Broward County were among 15 closed last week by the Darden Restaurant chain.
“We continually evaluate the performance of all our restaurants,” Darden said in a statement issued late last week to USA Today. “Closing a restaurant is a difficult choice because it impacts our team members and guests.
“However, we believe this is the right decision because it will allow Bahama Breeze to focus on its highest performing restaurants and strengthen the brand’s overall performance.”
The closures reduces the number of active Bahama Breeze locations from 44 to 29.
The closed restaurants in Broward were located in active retail centers.
One was at 2750 Sawgrass Mills Circle, near the Sawgrass Mills outlet mall in Sunrise.
The other was in Oakland Park at 3339 N. Federal Highway.
In all, five Bahama Breeze restaurants were closed in Florida. The others were in Gainesville, Naples and Daytona Beach. Four restaurants were closed in New Jersey as well as one each in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York and Tennessee.
The state of Florida has not yet been notified of layoffs stemming from the closures, according to the website that tracks Worker Adjustment and Training Act (WARN) notices. But a filing in Massachusetts tied to the closing of the state’s only Bahama Breeze location reported that 73 workers lost their jobs.
The chain promotes its Caribbean-style entrees and cocktails. Its current menu features dishes like Bahamian seafood chowder, jerk mahi mahi, “Tequila Sunburn” glazed salmon, lobster and shrimp linguine and shrimp pineapple bowl.
Just two Bahama Breeze restaurants remain open in South Florida — in Pembroke Pines at 11000 Pines Blvd., and in Miami at 12395 SW 88th St. in the Kendall Village Center.
News archives show that the Sunrise location was opened in 2002. The Oakland Park location opened 17 years later, in January 2019, replacing a defunct adult nightclub called Solid Gold at the location.
The closures mark another blow for the struggling fast-casual restaurant segment that has recently seen bankruptcy reorganization filings by iconic brands such as TGI Fridays, Red Lobster, Boston Market and Hooters.
Bahama Breeze is one of several restaurant brands owned by Orlando-based Darden Restaurants.
The others are Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Yard House, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, The Capital Grille, Chuy’s, Seasons 52 and Eddie V’s.
Investors in Darden, the world’s largest full-service restaurant company with 1,800 locations and more than 175,000 employees, took the news in stride. The company’s stock price climbed from $202.60 on May 12 to $211.65 at week’s end.
Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071 or by email at rhurtibise@sunsentinel.com.