Popular Restaurant Chain Abruptly Closes 41 Locations – Are Any in Michigan?

It's always shocking and sad when one of your favorite restaurants shuts down - especially when its a popular chain eatery.

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I experienced this myself back in 2014.  After working at Ruby Tuesday on 28th St. Grand Rapids, Mich. for more than a decade, we all walked in one day to learn that we were out of jobs as the restaurant was permanently closed.

Bloomin' Brands Closes 41 Restaurants Nationwide, Including Outback Steakhouse Locations

Well, it sounds like many folks around the country recently said goodbye to their local Outback Steakhouse.

According to CNN, Bloomin' Brands, parent company of the Australian-themed steak chain, revealed in an earnings call on on Friday, February 23 that it closed 41 “underperforming locations”. In addition to Outback, the company owns Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, and Fleming’s.

Outback Steakhouse saw the most closures. CNN reports Bloomin’ Brands cited a variety of factors for the shutdowns including sales, shrinking customer traffic, and financial investments that were too costly to improve the locations. Bloomin' Brands CEO David Deno also said, a “majority of these restaurants were older assets with leases from the ’90s and early 2000s."

The company did not share a list of the closed restaurants.

Is Outback Steakhouse in Grand Rapids Closed?

After seeing chatter online, I decided to check if MY Outback Steakhouse in the Grand Rapids area (coincidentally right next to where Ruby Tuesday used to be on 28th St.) had shut its doors.

Sadly, it appears the answer is yes. A sign on the door reads,"This location is now closed".

The restaurant at 3650 28th. St. SE in Kentwood is listed as permanently closed on Facebook.

It has also been wiped from the company's website. The only Grand Rapids-area locations that remain are Grandville and Walker.

Do you know of any other Outback locations in Michigan that suddenly shut down?