Carrabba’s, Outback, Flemings closing: 5 things to know

Approximately 40 “under-performing” Carrabba’s, Outback, Bonefish Grill and Flemings restaurants will be closing by the end of 2017, according to the owner.

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

Here are five things you need to know about the closings:

1. The restaurants are owned by Bloomin' Brands Inc., which has more than 1,500 restaurant locations. The company recently released its financial projections for 2017 after a challenging 2016. Bloomin' Brands Inc. opened 42 new restaurants in 2016, including 30 in international markets. However, reported restaurant sales were down overall in 2016, and in the fourth fiscal quarter.

2. Bloomin' Brand has not specified what locations will be impacted by the closures, but all four restaurants have a presence locally. This news outlet has reached out to see if there will be local closures.

3.Carrabba's Italian Grill has restaurants in Washington Twp., Mason, Troy, Columbus and Cincinnati. Outback Steakhouse has restaurants in Centerville, Cincinnati, Dayton, Kenwood, Mason, Columbus. Bonefish Grill has restaurants in Dayton, West Chester Twp., Columbus and Cincinnati, and Flemings has a location in Beavercreek at The Greene Town Center.

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4. Locally, restaurants in Ohio brought in almost $1 billion in sales last year, but those numbers have lagged in the first couple months of 2017. A new survey by the Ohio Restaurant Association and the Cleveland Research Company found restaurant owners saw weaker consumer demand in January after a strong fourth quarter that ended in December. In January, same-store sales for restaurants were up 1.6 percent, which was lower than any month in 2016.

5. Bloomin' Brands recorded a net loss of $4.3 million, or 4 cents per share, down from a profit of $17.7 million in the same period a year ago.

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