[UPDATE] Bahama Breeze Seems Primed For Sale After Wave of Closures

Things are not looking so "pleasant" at Bahama Breeze Island Grille.  The Florida-based chain owned by mega operator Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) has in recent weeks shuttered more than a third of the entire chain, leaving just 29 locations open.  

Darden launched the Caribbean-inspired Bahama Breeze in its home market of Orlando in 1996 and later expanded the brand nationwide, including three locations in Georgia.  Metro Atlanta once had three locations, including units in Alpharetta, Duluth, and Kennesaw, but the Alpharetta unit near North Point Mall closed about a decade ago and is now home to a large Rooms To Go store.  

A new Bahama Breeze was planned for The Bridges at Jodeco, a large new project already home to Sprouts Farmers Market, Costco, and the futuristic elevated Chick-fil-A in Stockbridge in Henry County.  The restaurant withdrew from the development earlier this year.  

Following the closures, there are just 29 Bahama Breeze restaurants remaining, with sixteen of those in Florida.  Bahama Breeze is now the smallest chain in Darden's stable of ten brands when ranked by unit count.  

As a company, Darden traces its roots to Georgia and William "Bill" Darden, who opened his first restaurant, The Green Frog, in Waycross in 1938 at age 19.  He later founded Red Lobster Inns of America and opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland, Florida, in 1968.  

In the decades since, the company has grown through both internal development and acquisition to include some of the most well-known and popular casual and fine dining brands around.  

Darden purchased LongHorn Steakhouse and The Capital Grille from Atlanta-based Rare Hospitality in 2007. Upscale seafood and steak restaurant Eddie V's (which will open its first Atlanta area location this year) was acquired in 2011, while beer-centric eatery Yard House was acquired in 2012.  The company sold its legacy brand Red Lobster in 2013.  

Over the following decade, the company went on to acquire Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen (2017), Ruth's Chris Steakhouse (2023), and Chuy's (2024).   

Olive Garden and its roughly 900 locations typically accounts for about half of Darden's overall annual sales.  Bahama Breeze Olive Garden and Seasons 52 are currently the only brands owned by the company that Darden started itself rather than acquired.  

Darden has over the past three decades or so launched three other brands besides Bahama Breeze including China Coast, an American Chinese restaurant in 1990, Smokey Bones, a barbeque concept, in 1999, and Seasons 52, a healthy-ish American eatery in 2003.  China Coast over-expanded and ultimately proved too costly to operate and ceased to exist as of 1995.  Smokey Bones never seemed to live up to Darden's growth projections and was sold by the company to private equity firm Sun Capital Partners in 2007, and was sold again to FAT Brands in 2023.  

The company has not commented on the future of Bahama Breeze, but the writing seems to be on the wall that Darden will soon look to offload the disappointing brand.  

Are you a fan of Bahama Breeze?  Who do you think the Bahama Breeze brand has struggled so much?  What is your favorite casual dining chain?

Please share your thoughts below.