This is the second bankruptcy in five years for a parent company of Brio Italian Grille. | Photo: Shutterstock.
Bravo Brio Restaurants, the parent of a pair of Italian casual-dining chains, declared bankruptcy on Monday, according to court documents.
The Orlando-based company estimated both its assets and liabilities at between $50 million and $100 million. The largest unsecured creditor listed in bankruptcy documents is the distributor Sysco Corp., at $1.9 million.
There were several filings on Monday under Bravo Brio Restaurants and its brands Bravo Cucina Italiana and Brio Italian Grill.
Bravo Brio said in a statement on Tuesday that the Chapter 11 process will allow it to close underperforming locations, restructure its debt and cut costs.
The company blamed “macroeconomic forces beyond the company’s control” for the problems, noting that the casual-dining sector “has faced declining consumer demand and increased competition, principally from fast-casual restaurant alternatives.”
“In addition, outgoing inflationary pressure, rising food and labor costs and a softening in discretionary consumer spending have contributed to underperformance, especially in shopping centers with high vacancies and declining foot traffic,” the company said. “These pressures have proved insurmountable to numerous other legacy casual-dining restaurant brands, many of whom have also turned to bankruptcy as a tool for restructuring.”
Exactly how many restaurants could close is uncertain, but local reports suggest that both Bravo and Brio have been shutting down locations.
This is the second time the two chains have filed for bankruptcy. FoodFirst Corp., the brands’ parent company at the time, declared bankruptcy in 2020, shortly after the outbreak of the pandemic.
But Bucca di Beppo owner Earl Enterprises later bought many of the restaurants in a court deal. Robert Earl, the founder of Planet Hollywood and Earl of Sandwich, had earlier taken interest in Bravo Brio, when it was a publicly traded company.
It is also the fourth bankruptcy filing connected with Earl Restaurants, following Buca di Beppo, Bertucci’s and Planet Hollywood.
Bravo Brio was founded in Columbus, Ohio, and for a while appeared to be leading a generation of polished casual-dining chains. It went public in 2010, breaking a four-year-old drought of restaurant IPOs.
But the company didn’t do well under the public spotlight. It was sold to GP Investments in 2018 for $100 million, less than the amount raised in that 2010 offering. It then filed for bankruptcy shortly after the start of the pandemic and shuttered about half of the chain’s nearly 100 locations.
Both brands struggled last year. Bravo Brio Italiana generated $64 million in system sales at its 25 company-run locations, down 7.1% from the year before and 47% since 2019, according to data from Restaurant Business sister company Technomic.
Brio Italian Grille, the larger of the two chains with 31 locations, generated $113.6 million, down 5.5% and also down 47% over the past five years.
They are the latest casual-dining chains to declare bankruptcy. Several large chains, including those under the Earl banner, have sought Chapter 11 over the past two years, including Red Lobster, Hooters and TGI Fridays.
UPDATE: This story has been updated to include additional information.
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Restaurant Business Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze is a longtime industry journalist who writes about restaurant finance, mergers and acquisitions and the economy, with a particular focus on quick-service restaurants.
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