2026-02-04T05:02:01.227Z
Bahama Breeze is a Caribbean-inspired restaurant that was founded in 1996 by Darden Restaurants.
Darden said it will permanently close 14 Bahama Breeze locations by April 5.
The other 14 locations will be converted into another Darden-brand restaurant.
Bahama Breeze, the Caribbean-themed chain known for its “island escape” fare for suburban diners, is closing or converting its remaining 28 locations.
Parent company Darden Restaurants, which also owns Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, said on Tuesday that it will permanently close 14 Bahama Breeze locations by April 5. The other 14 locations will be converted into “another Darden brand” in the next 12-18 months, the parent company said in a press release.
Darden said it would not be disclosing which brands the locations will be converted to.
A spokesperson for Darden Restaurants did not immediately return a request for comment.
Bahama Breeze was founded in 1996, with its first location in Orlando. The restaurant’s Caribbean-inspired theme offered a casual, getaway dining experience near home. Its motto: “Your island escape starts here.”
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At the time, Darden Restaurants was exploring alternative concepts beyond the company’s main profit drivers, Red Lobster and Olive Garden. Darden sold Red Lobster to Golden Gate Capital, a private equity firm, in 2014.
Bahama Breeze at its peak had more than 40 locations throughout the East Coast, SEC filings showed, but began to contract its footprint last year.
In May of last year, Darden closed down 15 locations. By June, Darden CEO Ricardo Cardenas announced during an earnings call that the company would consider “strategic alternatives” for the Bahama Breeze chain.
“We have made the difficult decision that these remaining locations and the Bahama Breeze brand are not a strategic priority for us,” Cardenas said during the call.
Permanent closing locations:
500 Center Blvd, Newark, DE3590 Breckinridge Blvd, Duluth, GA12395 SW 88th St, Miami, FL10205 Rivercoast Drive, Jacksonville, FL1251 West Osceola Parkway, Kissimmee, FL11000 Pines Blvd, Pembroke Pines, FL1540 Rinehart Road, Sanford, FL19600 Haggerty Road, Livonia, MI2000 Route 38, Cherry Hill, NJ3309 Wake Forest Drive, Raleigh, NC320 Goddard Blvd, King of Prussia, PA6100 Robinson Center Drive, Pittsburgh, PA2714 Potomac Mills Circle, Woodbridge, VA15700 Southcenter Parkway, Tukwila, WA
Converted locations:
499 E Altamonte Drive, Altamonte Springs, FL805 Brandon Town Center Drive, Brandon, FL14701 S Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers, FL8160 Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee, FL25830 Sierra Center Blvd, Lutz, FL5620 W Oak Ridge Road, Orlando, FL8849 International Drive, Orlando, FL8735 Vineland Ave, Orlando, FL1200 N Alafaya Drive, Orlando, FL3045 N Rocky Point Drive East, Tampa, FL755 Ernest W Barrett Parkway NW, Kennesaw, GA570 Cross Creek Mall, Fayetteville, NC7811 Rivers Ave, Charleston, SC4554 Virginia Beach Blvd, Virginia Beach, VA
