More Outback Steakhouses expected to close in Bloomin’ Brands turnaround plan

The parent company of Outback Steakhouse is cooking up a turnaround strategy to improve its restaurants.

As part of its turnaround plan, Bloomin’ Brands has closed nearly two dozen U.S. restaurants and has decided to not renew the leases of more than 20 additional U.S. restaurants, the company said in a news release on Thursday, Nov. 6, announcing the company’s third-quarter financial performance.

Restaurants already closed and expected to close when their leases are up include Outback Steakhouse, Bonefish Grill and Carrabba’s Italian Grill locations, Bloomin’ Brands CEO Mike Spanos said during a Nov. 6 conference call.

The closures came as the company said each of its four restaurant brands had positive comparable sales growth for the first time since the first quarter of 2023. “We have great momentum in our business as demonstrated by our third quarter results,” Spanos in a statement.

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Bloomin’ Brands said it had closed 21 U.S. restaurants during the three-month period ending Sept. 28 and had decided not to renew the leases of 22 additional U.S. restaurants, the majority of which will close over the next four years, the company said in the news release.

USA TODAY has requested a list of closings and locations where leases were not renewed but has not received a response.

In October, Bloomin’ Brands closed several Outback Steakhouse restaurants locations across the U.S., including at least two restaurants in Florida. Those closures came about 20 months after Bloomin’ Brands shuttered 41 locations in February 2024, with Outback Steakhouse restaurants making up the majority of the closures.

The Bloomin’ Brands turnaround strategy is focused on the Outback Steakhouse brand, Spanos said. The company, which had been getting traffic below that of competitors, had been testing ways to focus on steak quality, menu simplification and improving the guest experience at some of its restaurants.

Its U.S. restaurant traffic, which had fallen 2% in the previous quarter, was down just 0.1% in the most recent quarter. Comparable sales rose 1.2%, after being down 0.1% in the previous quarter. Comparable sales at Outback Steakhouse restaurants were up 0.4% and traffic remained stable.

“We plan to use our test environments to continue to refine and test new ideas,” Spanos said. “Our focus this past year on our operational priorities is translating into improved guest metrics and sales and traffic gains, putting us in a strengthened position to execute our turnaround strategy.”

To boost Outback’s fortunes, the company will focus on “steak excellence,” Spanos said. “Simply put, we are getting back to our roots of serious food and a focus on steak. We are first and foremost a steakhouse.”

Bloomin’ Brands, which opened the first Outback in 1988 in Tampa, Florida, operates more than 1,450 restaurants, including 678 Outback Steakhouse locations across the U.S., according to its third quarter report filed Nov. 6.

The company portfolio also includes Carrabba’s Italian Grill (with more than 200 locations in the U.S.), Bonefish Grill (166) and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine (65). Bloomin’ Brands also operates more than 350 restaurants in other countries, primarily in Brazil and South Korea.

Bloomin’ Brands reported revenue of $928.8 million, up 2.1% from the same period a year ago. But the company reported a net loss of $45.9 million, compared to $6.9 million in profit in the same period a year ago.

In connection with the restaurant closures, the company reported an assessment of $33.2 million during the quarter, and will have $5 million to $7 million of related severance and closure charges during the current three-month period in connection with the restaurant closures completed during October, the company said.

The company expects U.S. comparable restaurant sales of 0.5% to 1.5% for the fourth quarter.

Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at  mikegsnider  &  @mikegsnider.bsky.social  &  @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Outback Steakhouse closures planned in Bloomin’ Brands turnaround