Bahama Breeze Island Grille, a chain of Caribbean-themed restaurants, has laid off 342 employees after closing five locations in Florida, including one on Ninth Street North in Naples where 68 people lost their jobs.
In all, the chain closed 15 of its restaurants nationwide leading to at least 830 job cuts.
The closings — and the associated job cuts — are part of what the chain’s parent company, Orlando-based Darden, calls a decision to focus its efforts on “its highest performing restaurants and strengthen the brand’s overall performance.”
A spokesperson says in an emailed statement that the company is continually evaluating the performance of its our restaurants and following a “thorough analysis and careful consideration, we made the decision to close 15 Bahama Breeze locations.”
The company is attempting to place laid off employees at other Darden restaurants and will pay severance to those it cannot find work for, the spokesperson says.
In a copy of a letter sent to Florida employees included in a Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification notice filed with the state Tuesday afternoon, Darden say the decision was “based on the operating environment at and around this location.”
The spokesperson did not respond to questions about what the conditions were that led to the closings.
In addition to the Florida restaurants, Darden shuttered Bahama Breeze locations in Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Tennessee, New Jersey, Michigan and Las Vegas.
According to its third quarter earnings report issued March 20, Darden operated 43 Bahama Breeze locations as of Feb. 28. The restaurants, according to the letter sent to each locality to meet federal requirements, closed May 15.
Darden’s portfolio, in addition to Bahama Breeze, includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52 and Eddie V’s.
As of Feb. 28, it operated 2,165 restaurants and its total sales for the quarter were up 6.2% from the same time last year to $3.2 billion.
