Are you familiar with Brio and Bravo restaurants? If you have ever eaten there, you must have experienced the cozy and family atmosphere, and a menu full of Italian classics such as lasagna, involtini or pasta al pesto. So yummy, right? And what about the smell of fresh basil and warm bread drifting from the kitchen? They were part of the magic that made people want to go back over and over again.
However, today those kitchens are closed and the parent company, Bravo Brio Restaurants LLC, filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11. Although this doesn’t mean the entire chain is going to disappear immediately, it’s true that tens of restaurants are at risk. So, for those loyal customers the question is: What happened to Brio and Bravo restaurants? Let’s find out.
The fall of Brio and Bravo
The bankruptcy documents show how serious the situation is: the company listed assets between $50 million and $100 million, but more than $50 million of debts. Here is included $900,000 of unpaid salaries and almost $1.9 million owed to Sysco, which is one of the largest food suppliers in the United States.
Customers already feel what’s going on since some restaurants closed all of a sudden such as Brio in Beavercreek, Ohio, and Brio in Delaware. Both closed the same day the company failed for bankruptcy. However, this situation could be noticed long before because restaurants in Virginia and Missouri had already closed, which showed Brio and Bravo restaurants had problems.
Nothing new
Unfortunately, this is not the first time Brio and Bravo restaurants experience a crisis, we just need to go back to 2020 when the chains had to be rescued by Earl Enterprises (the owner of Planet Hollywood and Bertucci’s). After going bankrupt, Earl Enterprises decided to buy it and it seems like a new beginning for them. However, four years later, all the same problems started all over again and that rescue was just a temporary solution.
Number of restaurants at risk
Today, there are (or were) 48 Brio and Bravo restaurants in total: 25 Brio and 23 Bravo. The company states that most of them will continue to open during the financial restructuring, but each restaurant is under review. What this means is that if the restaurant can’t cover all the expenses, it could permanently close. Of course, this would mean workers and suppliers would be out of work; and customers would be left without knowing which restaurants will survive.
The reason behind this sad situation
As it happens with many food chains, Brio and Bravo faced a lot of problems too hard to handle leading to too many empty tables and too many bills stacking up:
High rents and operating expenses that ate into profits.
Inflation, making ingredients and labor more expensive.
Weakened consumer spending, with many people cutting back on dining out.
Changing habits, as younger diners often prefer fast-casual spots or delivery instead of traditional sit-down meals.
Lingering debts, leftovers from past financial troubles that were never fully resolved.
More cases
It’s worth noting that Brio and Bravo restaurants aren’t the only ones at risk because the food industry in general is under pressure. So, big names like Red Lobster, TGI Fridays, Hooters, and Tijuana Flats have also faced bankruptcy fillings or major downsizing in the last couple of years. This happens because times change and chains incapable to adapt to these changes, deal with difficulties to survive.
So, what now?
For now, many Brio and Bravo restaurants are still open and serving their customers. So, if you are willing to try it or you just want to keep consuming their food, you can still do it! However, we don’t know how long this will be for…
Dining and Cooking