Bahama Breeze

Does anyone know what is going on with the old Bahama Breeze building? It has been sitting empty for over a year now.

I start a thread on the same topic a couple of months ago. Nobody knew what was going on but there was a lot of speculation and hopes. Here's a link to that thread: Bahama Breeze

I still don't understand this one.

When they closed, the reports were that the Louisville location was one of the most profitable in the chain, but they were closing nation-wide.

I can definitely report that they are still operating in Cleveland (Beachwood specifically) and Chicago (Schaumburg), since in the past two months we've either seen their full parking lots or eaten there!

I wonder why the louisville one closed, if it was truly that profitable.

After seeing this subject come up again I thought I'd write an e-mail to Bahama Breeze's corporate office just for the fun of it. To my surprise they replied rapidly. Here's the text of their reply:

Dear Mark:

Thank you for expressing your concerns about Bahama Breeze and allowing us an opportunity to respond.

As you know, at the end of the business day on Friday, April 27th, 2007, the Louisville, KY Bahama Breeze was permanently closed. We're very sorry to have disappointed you and your family with this closing, and we want to thank you very much for your past support.

This was a very difficult decision because of guests like you, and because of the managers and team members affected by it. This in no way reflects on the quality of their work, and we have made every effort to transfer all of them to other Bahama Breeze locations around the country, or to other Darden restaurants in your area, including Red Lobster and Olive Garden.

Closing this restaurant was part of the continuous financial performance evaluation every restaurant company does, and even the most successful casual dining brands close restaurants from time to time. We take this very seriously and felt it was absolutely necessary and in the long-term best interests of all our stakeholders - guests, employees, Darden stockholders and the community.

We want you to know we still operate 23 other restaurants around the United States and we are actively building a pipeline of sites for future new restaurants. If you ever have the opportunity, we'd love you to Feed Your Island Spirit(r) at any of our other Bahama Breeze locations. For a national Bahama Breeze locator guide, visit our Web site at bahamabreeze.com.

Thanks again for caring enough to share your feedback with us, and for supporting Bahama Breeze.

Jan
Bahama Breeze Guest Relations

It didn't come out and say why the local restaurant was closed but it inferred it was for financial reasons? Makes me think what we heard about it being the top performing restaurant was untrue.