Olive Garden parent company Darden Restaurants has announced that it will shut down its Bahama Breeze restaurant chain for good. But in an unusual move, some current Bahama Breeze locations will live on as a different brand, while the remaining stores will close.
Here’s what you need to know.
What’s happened?
On Tuesday, Darden Restaurants revealed the fate of one of its restaurant chains. The restaurant group, which is based in Orlando, Florida, owns LongHorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden, and Ruth’s Chris Steak House, and others. In a news release, it announced the closure and conversion of all of its Bahama Breeze restaurants.
That Darden is jettisoning Bahama Breeze is no surprise. Last May, the company closed 15 Bahama Breeze locations and, in June, it announced that the brand’s 28 remaining locations were no longer “a strategic priority” for the company.
At the time, CEO Ricardo Cadenas said the company would be “considering strategic alternatives for Bahama Breeze, including a potential sale of the brand or converting restaurants to other Darden brands.”
Jump forward to yesterday, and Darden did indeed confirm the final fate of Bahama Breeze.
A buyer for Bahama Breeze never materialized, so instead, the company has revealed that it will simply shut down the brand. Yet not all 28 locations are actually closing. Instead, half will shutter their doors for good, while the other half will continue running until they can be converted into locations of other restaurant chains Darden owns.
These Bahama Breeze locations will close
The following 14 Bahama Breeze locations will be closing for good. According to Darden, the closures should be completed by April 5. Those permanently closing locations include stores in nine states:
Delaware
- 500 Center Blvd., Newark
Georgia
- 3590 Breckenridge Blvd., Duluth
Florida
- 12395 SW 88th St., Miami
- 10205 Rivercoast Drive, Jacksonville
- 1251 West Osceola Pkwy., Kissimmee
- 11000 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines
- 1540 Rinehart Road, Sanford
Michigan
- 19600 Haggerty Road, Livonia
New Jersey
- 2000 Route 38, Cherry Hill
North Carolina
- 3309 Wake Forest Drive, Raleigh
Pennsylvania
- 320 Goddard Blvd., King of Prussia
- 6100 Robinson Center Drive, Pittsburgh
Virginia
- 2714 Potomac Mills Circle, Woodbridge
Washington
- 15700 Southcenter Pkwy., Tukwila
These Bahama Breeze locations will be converted
As for the remaining 14 Bahama Breeze locations, they will be converted into other Darden-owned restaurants. Darden did not disclose which brands the stores will transition into.
“The company believes the conversion locations are great sites that will benefit several of the brands in its portfolio,” Darden said in a statement.
The 14 transitioning Bahama Breeze locations are expected to continue operating until their temporary closures are needed for the conversion. Those converting locations include stores in five states:
Florida
- 499 E. Altamonte Drive, Altamonte Springs
- 805 Brandon Town Center Drive, Brandon
- 14701 S. Tamiami Trail, Ft. Myers
- 8160 Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy., Kissimmee
- 25830 Sierra Center Blvd., Lutz
- 5620 W. Oak Ridge Road, Orlando
- 8849 International Drive, Orlando
- 8735 Vineland Ave., Orlando
- 1200 N. Alafaya Drive, Orlando
- 3045 N. Rocky Point Drive East, Tampa
Georgia
- 755 Earnest W. Barrett Pkwy NW, Kennesaw
North Carolina
- 570 Cross Creek Mall, Fayetteville
South Carolina
- 7811 Rivers Ave., Charleston
Virginia
- 4554 Virginia Beach Blvd., Virginia Beach
How is Darden Restaurants stock reacting?
It seems investors have taken the news of Bahama Breeze’s demise in stride, most likely because Darden had previously announced that it was seeking to divest itself of the chain.
Yesterday, shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) closed up about 2.2% to $205.49. As of this writing, in premarket trading, DRI shares are down slightly by about 0.4%.
So far this year, the company’s stock price has risen more than 11%. That is nearly triple the return of the broader New York Stock Exchange during the same period. However, shares are currently down from their all-time high of around $228 in June of last year.
Darden’s brands, like many restaurant chains, are facing tough times as inflationary pressures increase costs and make diners more choosy about where they spend their discretionary dollars.
Darden is far from the only company closing restaurants in 2026.
In January alone, Fat Brands disclosed that it would close a number of restaurants (including some Smokey Bones, Johnny Rockets, and Yalla Mediterranean locations) as it seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Meanwhile, Noodles & Company said it would close between 30 and 35 locations, and Salad and Go announced it would close more than 32 locations.