Bloomin’ Brands is the powerhouse behind Outback Steakhouse and a couple of other popular dining spots. In a recent statement, the company revealed that it is closing 41 of its locations.

The popular steakhouse chain shared a statement explaining their decision. According to the company, they chose the locations to close down from calculated business data. The staff and their service were not the deciding factors. “Closing restaurants is never easy. This was a business decision that has no reflection on the staff or their service,” the statement read.

Bloomin’ Brand might be closing many branches, but it isn’t doing this without looking out for the affected employees. Instead, it is ensuring that these displaced workers have other options. It gave them the option to transfer to other locations. For those who cannot move to another location, it will offer severance packages to help them.

Bloomin’ Brands CEO David Deno has revealed some of the company’s plans for the future. During an earnings call, he said, “We periodically review our asset base and, in our latest review, we made the decision to close 41 underperforming locations.” Therefore, the closure of these branches is part of a larger effort to streamline their operations.

According to the company’s representatives, the closure of the branches is primarily for older sites. These locations have leases from the ‘90s and early 2000s. Therefore, those sites are outdated and do not fit in the company’s recent vision. They are also focusing on refreshing their portfolio to keep their sites up-to-date and in line with their recent developments.

According to Deno, there are also a couple of other factors that influenced their decision to close down those branches. These include significant factors like sales performance and the financial investments required for renovations. Therefore, they had to shut them down to focus on better, more viable locations. This also ensures a more profitable future for the business.

The company is looking forward to a brighter future despite closing 41 branches. In fact, they are planning to open just as many branches again to make up for lost ones. According to Deno, Bloomin’ Brands has plans to open 40 to 45 new locations next year. “Despite this initiative, our confidence in our portfolio remains high,” Deno said.

Although the company has plans in place to rebuild, the closures are still quite significant as they have affected many Bloomin’ Brands’ chains.
Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar are some of the restaurants in the chain that have gotten the chop. As of last week Friday, they had already closed thirty-three restaurants.

Outback Steakhouse is one of the most popular restaurants in the chain and it is suffering the heaviest impact of this initiative. This is because it has the most significant number of closures according to several sources. However, Bloomin’ Brands has decided to not release a detailed list of the affected locations to the public.

Bloomin’ Brands still has a very strong global presence. This is because they have about 1,480 restaurants worldwide. In the U.S. alone, there are hundreds of Outback Steakhouses. Therefore, lovers of the restaurant can still get their favorite meals from another location near them.

While the reduction hit Outback Steakhouse hard, the restaurant is still gearing up for growth. These plans go as far back as 2022. In May of that year, the chain announced plans to open about 100 new restaurants with modern features and technology-enhanced designs. Therefore, closing down their less profitable and outdated outlets is a significant step in the right direction for them.

According to various sources, Outback hopes to modernize its new locations as much as possible. They will have a more compact, efficient layout with a contemporary design that incorporates Australian-inspired elements.
USA Today also reported that this will make their catering and delivery services more advanced, helping them make more profit. Therefore, there will still be Outback Steakhouse, just with a lot more enhanced services.

Brett Patterson, the President of Outback Steakhouse, also emphasized the importance of the new design in an interview. He said, “This new restaurant design features the Aussie spirit of Outback from the moment you arrive at the restaurant.”
Therefore, Bloomin’ Brands is not just shutting down locations, but they are also trying to help build a stronger, more dynamic future.