Rochester Hills Outback Steakhouse Among Nationwide Closures

(Updated) ROCHESTER HILLS, MI — An Outback Steakhouse in Rochester Hills is among 43 underperforming restaurants its parent company is shuttering in Michigan, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts in a cost-saving move, according to reports. The closures will be spread across the four chains owned by Bloomin’ Brands, including Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse, the company said.

In an earnings report earlier this month, Bloomin’ Brands said revenues dropped $4.3 million in the fourth quarter and $41.7 million for all of 2016. In the year prior, revenues were down $127.3 million. At Outback Steakhouse alone, fourth quarter 2016 revenues fell 4.8 percent. During the same period, revenue declined 2.3 percent at Carrabba’s and 1.9 percent at Bonefish, but increased 0.2 percent at Fleming’s, the company said.

Bloomin’ Brands CEO Liz Smith said in a statement that 2016 was a “challenging year for both Bloomin’ Brands and the industry,” but the company “made real progress on our strategy to reallocate spending away from discounting toward investments to strengthen brand health.”

The full earnings report can be found here.

A spokeswoman for Bloomin’ Brands told Patch that employees at the restaurant were notified of the closure on Feb. 16 and were offered a severance package, as well as the opportunity to interview that day for jobs at the chain’s other restaurants.

The 43 restaurants to be closed by Bloomin’ Brands were not named, according to Nation’s Restaurant News, which reported a change in restaurant customers’ dining habits has hurt the industry as a whole.

Restaurant customers’ dining habits have changed as well, hurting the industry as a whole. More people are choosing quick-service or fast-casual restaurants, or eating at home. Outback has nearly two dozen restaurants in Michigan. Besides the recently closed Rochester Hills location, others in the Detroit area are in Brighton, Roseville, Canton, Novi, Madison Heights, Southgate, Southfield, Clarkston, Livonia and Shelby Township.

Customers of the Rochester Hills restaurant at 1880 S. Rochester Road learned it had been closed by reading a sign on the door, according to a post on the Around Rochester Facebook page. Some commented that the closure was surprising because the place always seemed to be packed with customers.

Not everyone agreed, though.

“Just another chain restaurant gone,” Dan O’Neil commented. “I’m OK with that. I love that our city’s dine-in restaurants are all independent places and not national chains.”

“I agree!” Jessica Redding replied. “I think it’s wonderful that the community obviously chooses to support our (numerous) locally owned restaurants.”

Photo by Mike Mozart via Flickr Commons