Steakhouse dining chains have faced a challenging year of rising beef prices, which increased by 9.4% year-over-year in July 2026, making it harder for many restaurants to maintain profitable businesses and keep their doors open.
Among the restaurant chains implementing plans to improve their business performance is Bloomin’ Brands’ Outback Steakhouse, which has closed locations that no longer make economic sense to operate.
Outback Steakhouse is closing two more of its restaurants about 10 months after the chain’s owner Bloomin’ Brands launched a multi-year turnaround strategy that will eliminate locations that lack the potential for growth.
Outback shuts Wyoming location
The 38-year-old steakhouse chain abruptly closed its Evansville, Wyo., location on Aug. 23, 2026, and posted a farewell note on its front door.
“G’Day Casper/Evansville: Outback Steakhouse is now closed. Thank you for all your support over the last 21 years. It has been a pleasure working with so many great, local Outbackers over the years. To all the fond memories!!! Cheers, The Outback Team,” the note stated.
The Evansville location, which opened in November 1998, was operated by a franchisee, according to a media representative from Outback Steakhouse parent company Bloomin’ Brands. The company did not have any information about the closing because the location was owned by a franchisee, Bloomin’ Brands told Oil City News.
The franchisee, whose name was not listed in the farewell note, had owned the Evansville location since about 2005 or 21 years, based on the message on the restaurant door.
Outback continues to operate one other location in Wyoming at 1626 Fleischli Business Parkway in Cheyenne.
Chain closing Baltimore steakhouse
Outback Steakhouse will also close its restaurant at 2400 Boston Street in Baltimore on Oct. 11 after over 20 years of operating, an Outback spokesperson told WBAL-TV. The chain will continue to operate a location at 4215 Ebenezer Road in Baltimore and 21 other restaurants in Maryland.
“We are incredibly grateful to the community for its support over the years and to our team members, past and present, for their many contributions to this restaurant,” Outback said in a statement to Baltimore Business Journal. “We’ve been proud to be part of the community and appreciate the many guests who have chosen to dine with us over the years.”
The Australian-themed restaurant chain did not state a reason for closing the restaurant, but suggested that customers could visit the chain’s restaurants in Glen Burnie and Perry Hall, Md.
Bloomin’ Brands closed nine restaurants in its portfolio, including four company-owned restaurants and five franchised, and opened five in its second quarter of 2026, which ended June 28.
Operator closing dozens of restaurants
As part of the restaurant operator’s turnaround strategy, it closed 21 U.S. restaurants in 2025 and chose not to renew the leases on 22 additional U.S. locations. The company said the majority of those leases were set to expire over the following four years.
The company was satisfied with the turnaround’s second quarter performance, based on CEO Mike Spanos’s comment.
Pleased with turnaround progress
“I am pleased with our financial results in the second quarter and our continued progress on the Outback Turnaround, which has led us to raise our full-year earnings guidance,” Spanos said in an Aug. 5 statement. “We remain focused on consistency of execution across food, service, experience, and affordability to deliver a great guest experience.”
Outback Steakhouse, founded in 1988, has 660 locations in 44 states in the U.S., according to its locator page on its website. The chain’s parent, Bloomin’ Brands, is one of the world’s largest casual restaurant companies with over 1,440 locations in 46 states, Guam, and 12 countries.
Bloomin Brands’ dining portfolio includes Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, as of Aug. 5.
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