Following the closing of 15 Bahama Breeze Island Grille restaurants — including the Naples location — May 15, Darden Restaurants plans to sell the remaining 28 locations of the Caribbean-inspired dining concept or convert them to another one of its brands.
“After further review, we have made the difficult decision that these remaining locations and the Bahama Breeze brand are not a strategic priority for us. We also believe that this brand and these restaurants have the potential to benefit from a new owner. Consequently, we will be considering strategic alternatives for Bahama Breeze, including a potential sale of the brand or converting restaurants to other Darden brands,” said Ricardo Cardenas, president, CEO and director of Darden Restaurants Inc., during a June 20 conference call the Orlando-based company hosted to review its financial performance for the fourth quarter and fiscal year that ended May 25.
The Naples location launched June 24 last summer and operated only 10 ½ months at Coastland Center. That freestanding restaurant at 2088 Ninth St. N. was the newest location of the 43 Bahama Breeze locations, before Darden’s surprise decision to close more than a third of them on the same day. Five of those closings were in Florida. In addition to Naples, other Florida locations of Bahama Breeze closed in Daytona Beach, Gainesville, Oakland Park and Sunrise. Four restaurants in the chain shuttered in New Jersey; the other closings were in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York and Tennessee.
Darden continues to operate 28 locations of Bahama Breeze, including the longtime location at 14701 S. Tamiami Trail in south Fort Myers. Excluding the recently closed restaurants, Bahama Breeze saw average annual restaurant sales of $6.2 million in fiscal 2025, the company reports.
Nevertheless, Darden made the decision that Bahama Breeze no longer meets its portfolio criteria and that the brand could have more growth potential with another owner, Cardenas said.
“We were not going to be putting a lot of investment into Bahama Breeze,” he said. “And so, to give those team members and those managers growth opportunities, it’s better for them to be under a different ownership.”
Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse remain Darden’s top performers in a portfolio of iconic dining brands that also includes Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Chuy’s.
Darden’s total sales for the quarter increased 6% to $12.1 billion, the company reported during the June 20 earnings call.
“We had a strong quarter with same-restaurant sales and earnings growth that exceeded our expectations,” Cardenas said. “Our adherence to our winning strategy, anchored in our four competitive advantages and being brilliant with the basics, led to a successful year. Our strategy remains the right one for the company, and we will continue to execute it to drive growth and long-term shareholder value.”
