A common occurrence for consumers lately has been discovering their favorite dining establishment is out of business.
Restaurants usually close locations quietly and abruptly without much fanfare, unlike retail stores that decorate their premises with huge signs declaring “Store Closing” and “Everything Must Go.”
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Retail stores will spend days and sometimes weeks promoting their closing, hoping to lure crowds of people inside to purchase their remaining inventory at huge discounted prices.
Related: Popular grocery store chain closes all locations, no bankruptcy
But restaurants tend to disappear without giving notice. On one day, they are operating with hosts, servers and cooks, and the next day the lights are off and the place is empty.
The latter situation has been happening more lately, as several popular casual restaurant chains have shut down locations that undoubtedly disappointed dining fans.
In some cases, restaurant chains shut down locations for financial distress and filed for bankruptcy, and in other situations, companies have closed locations that don’t make sense to continue operating but don’t file for bankruptcy.
Popular restaurants file for bankruptcy
Popular seafood chain Red Lobster closed about 187 restaurants and filed for bankruptcy in May 2024. The dining chain emerged from Chapter 11 in September 2024 and now operates about 478 locations in 44 states.
Smaller Italian restaurant chain Buca di Beppo filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Aug. 4, 2024, to reorganize its business with the support of its lenders. The restaurant chain on Nov. 4, 2024, won approval to sell its 44 remaining corporate-owned restaurants to its lender Main Street Capital Corp. for a credit bid of $27 million.
Classic bar and grill chain TGI Fridays had 161 U.S. locations when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Nov. 2, 2024, to reorganize and close restaurants. The number of locations further plummeted over the next five months to 85 U.S. locations on April 24.
Seasons 52 closes locations in Kansas City, Mo., and Sacramento, Calif.
Image source: Shutterstock
Seasons 52 closes locations
And now, days after revealing that it will close over one-third of its Bahama Breeze restaurants, or 15 locations, Darden Restaurants (DRI) , which has no plans to file for bankruptcy, on May 19 announced that it closed two of its Seasons 52 casual restaurants that are located in Kansas City, Mo., and Sacramento, Calif.
Related: Struggling firearms company closes down business, no bankruptcy
The restaurant chain operator permanently closed its Seasons 52 restaurant in Kansas City’s historic Country Club Plaza shopping and dining area at the close of business on May 19.
More closings:
Popular retail chain to close unprofitable store locationsBankrupt retail chain unloads store leases, key assetPopular discount retailer files bankruptcy, closes all stores
“Closing this restaurant is a difficult decision, and one that we made carefully and thoughtfully, particularly because it impacts our team members and guests,” a Darden spokesperson told Kansas City media outlets.
The company said that team members would have the opportunity to relocate to one of the other Kansas City-area Darden restaurants, including Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Yard House, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, The Capital Grille, and Eddie V’s Prime Seafood.
“Country Club Plaza is focused on shaping a stronger future with plans to enhance the property and overall experience for our visitors,” a spokesperson for Country Club Plaza said in a statement to Kansas City’s Fox4-TV. “We are disappointed to see Seasons 52 leave the historic property, but as we progress, we realize that it may be a natural transition time for some tenants.
“We are proud of the behind-the-scenes progress being made and are committed to these necessary improvements that will support our long-term vision for the Plaza,” the statement said.
Darden also on May 19 abruptly closed its Seasons 52 restaurant at Arden Fair mall in Sacramento and laid off 85 workers, the Sacramento Bee reported.
In its Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice filed with the state of California, Darden blamed “business conditions and distribution challenges in the area” as the reasons for closing the restaurant, which opened in January 2013. Employees will receive 60 days of wages and benefits and the opportunity to transfer to another Darden restaurant location.
After closing the Kansas City and Sacramento locations, Seasons 52 currently has 43 locations nationwide, according to its website.
Related: Popular beer brand closes down and files Chapter 7 bankruptcy
