Bloomin' Brands closed 21 underperforming Outback Steakhouse restaurants last week and has identified 22 more locations where it will not renew the lease, pulling the 38-year-old chain into a smaller footprint as it tries to stop the slide. Most of the remaining lease expirations are expected over the next four years.
The company said it wants to direct more of its resources to the healthier restaurants that remain open, but the shrinkage lands at a delicate moment for a brand still trying to win back diners. Outback has struggled in recent years with its menu, its execution and its ability to keep customers coming back, while losing share to Texas Roadhouse and LongHorn Steakhouse.
Eric Christel said the company completed a detailed review of the restaurant base and found 21 underperforming stores to close, along with 22 more leases it will let lapse. He said the goal is to focus resources on the stronger locations, a move that suggests Bloomin' Brands sees a smaller network as the best path to stabilizing the chain rather than trying to hold every site in place.
The deeper issue is that Outback's comeback plan still depends on drawing back the very customers it has been losing. The chain has had a particularly hard time attracting households with incomes below $100,000, and leadership has said value is a major part of the problem. The overhaul now centers on menu changes, better execution and a clearer value pitch, even as the company trims the store count to make those efforts more effective.
Michael Spanos said the strategy rests on four platforms: delivering a remarkable dine-in experience, driving brand relevancy, reigniting a culture of ownership and fun, and investing in restaurants. Roland Ornelas added that the restaurant business lives on new items and on giving guests a value proposition strong enough to pull them away from competitors. The open question is which 22 locations will be left to run out their leases, but the direction is already clear: Outback is betting that fewer restaurants, better run, can do more than a wider chain that is still losing ground.
