NORTH CHARLESTON — A Caribbean-themed restaurant chain that once had 50 locations nationwide is closing its last few holdouts, including the only one still operating in South Carolina.
Bahama Breeze at 7811 Rivers Ave. in North Charleston is expected to shut its doors for good Oct. 26, according to Rich Jeffers, spokesperson for the chain’s owner, Darden Restaurants.
The North Charleston restaurant is one of just 11 Bahama Breeze locations still open today. The chain opened its first spot in Orlando in 1996.
By May 2027, they will all be shuttered, Darden Restaurants said in a February news release. The Florida-based, multi-brand restaurant operator — which also owns Olive Garden — said at the time Bahama Breeze was “no longer a strategic priority.”
When the operator announced Bahama Breeze’s approaching closure earlier this year, the chain had 28 locations. While half of those will be permanently closed, the other 14 — including North Charleston’s — will be converted into other Darden Restaurant brands, the news release said.
Chuy’s, a Tex-Mex restaurant chain, will take over the commercial space next to Northwoods Mall, with an anticipated opening date “by the end of November,” Jeffers said.
“(Darden Restaurants) believes the conversion locations are great sites that will benefit several of the brands in its portfolio,” the news release said. “Going forward, the primary focus will continue to be on supporting team members, including placing as many as possible in roles within the Darden portfolio.”
Darden Restaurants internally developed, then opened Bahama Breeze in 1996. Its first location was on International Drive in Orlando, which will close after more than three decades in April 2027.
North Charleston’s Bahama Breeze opened in 2021.
Dining and Cooking