Ohio diners who love a Bloomin’ Onion can relax: none of the 10 Outback Steakhouse restaurants that closed in October is in Ohio, and the chain’s 28 Ohio locations are not part of the latest round of closures, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The 10 restaurants that closed between Oct. 11 and Oct. 25 were all in the West — in Arizona, California, Colorado and Nevada — according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. The Enquirer, citing FOX Business, reported that the closed restaurants were underperforming locations that were losing money or were not generating enough revenue to cover their occupancy costs.
Ohio’s footprint in the chain remains substantial. There are 28 Outback Steakhouse restaurants in Ohio as of Nov. 5, according to the chain’s directory as reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer. That includes six restaurants in Cincinnati, three in Columbus and two in Dayton, along with single locations in communities including Cuyahoga Falls, Boardman, Canton, Centerville, Independence, Macedonia, Mansfield, Mason, Maumee, Mentor, Niles, Parma, St. Clairsville, Strongsville, Troy, West Chester and Westlake.
The closures are tied to a bankruptcy — but not Outback’s. Out West Restaurant Group, also known as Cerca Trova Restaurant Concepts, the franchisee that operated the closed restaurants, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Nov. 2, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. The Enquirer reported that the franchisee operates Outback restaurants in California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico — a list that does not include Ohio.
Outback Steakhouse itself and its parent company, Bloomin’ Brands, did not file for bankruptcy, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Instead, Bloomin’ Brands has agreed to serve as the stalking-horse bidder for the franchisee’s assets in a deal valued at roughly $26.3 million, subject to the bankruptcy process, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. The closures also fit a broader effort by Bloomin’ Brands to improve Outback’s performance and eliminate weaker locations.
Just as important for diners and employees: the franchisee’s other 61 restaurants are expected to remain open and operating during the bankruptcy process, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. The bankruptcy filing is not an announcement that those restaurants are closing, and the confirmed closure count in this round remains the 10 restaurants that shut down in October.
For Ohio, then, the story is what did not happen. All 28 Ohio locations — from the six in Cincinnati to the single restaurant in Cuyahoga Falls — stay open, and the chain keeps a sizable nationwide presence, with more than 650 U.S. restaurants counted from its public store locator in October, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Ohio customers do not need to change their dinner plans; if anything changes for an individual Ohio location, it would come as a separate announcement, not as part of this Western franchisee’s case.
Photo: Mike Mozart, CC BY