Carrabba’s had been at West Broad Village since 2014. (Mike Platania photos)
A nationwide round of closures by a publicly traded restaurant group has rippled into the Richmond market.
Carrabba’s Italian Grill, owned by Bloomin’ Brands, has closed its Short Pump location in West Broad Village.
Carrabba’s had operated at 11237 W. Broad St. since 2014 and was among the mixed-use development’s earlier restaurant tenants. Its closure came late last month as one of 41 locations across the U.S. that Bloomin’ Brands announced it would be closing.
A spokeswoman for Bloomin’ Brands said in a statement that the closure was “a business decision that is not a reflection of the management or staff,” adding that some employees will have a chance to transfer locations, and those who don’t will receive severance.
Bloomin’ Brands also owns Fleming’s, Bonefish Grill and Outback Steakhouse, as well as Outback’s ghost kitchen spinoff Aussie Grill. The company did not release a list of the 41 planned closures, but did reportedly say in its earnings call last month that the closures impacted Outback the hardest.
Bloomin’s spokeswoman said the Richmond-area Outbacks, Fleming’s and Bonefish Grills are not among the other 40 closures, nor was the other Carrabba’s at 11450 Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield.
There are five Outbacks, two Bonefish Grills and one Fleming’s throughout the Richmond region. Fleming’s has a location at Stony Point Fashion Park, and the chain recently signed on to open a steakhouse at the West Village development that’s under construction just west of Short Pump Town Center. The company has not said what will become of the Stony Point spot once the West Village location opens.
Carrabba’s’ 6,100-square-foot building joins six other vacant spaces at West Broad Village. Among those is 11275 W. Broad St., which had been home to MPM Tiki Bar before it relocated within West Broad Village to the former Halligan Bar & Grill space at 2451 Old Brick Road.
Since MPM’s move, rumors have abounded that P.F. Chang’s would be taking over 11275 W. Broad St., but a spokesperson for P.F. Chang’s recently said they’re not planning to open a location there.
West Broad Village recently got a new restaurant tenant in Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chão, which just opened in the old Kona Grill space down the street from Carrabba’s. Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille also recently opened in front of Short Pump Town Center.
Carrabba’s’ building, along with the bulk of West Broad Village’s commercial space, is owned by CTO Realty Growth. The Florida-based firm paid $94 million in 2022 to purchase around 392,000 square feet within the mixed-use development, including the buildings occupied by Whole Foods, REI, HomeGoods and Dave & Buster’s, and the inline space with tenants such as Gather and Burger Bach.
Carrabba’s had been at West Broad Village since 2014. (Mike Platania photos)
A nationwide round of closures by a publicly traded restaurant group has rippled into the Richmond market.
Carrabba’s Italian Grill, owned by Bloomin’ Brands, has closed its Short Pump location in West Broad Village.
Carrabba’s had operated at 11237 W. Broad St. since 2014 and was among the mixed-use development’s earlier restaurant tenants. Its closure came late last month as one of 41 locations across the U.S. that Bloomin’ Brands announced it would be closing.
A spokeswoman for Bloomin’ Brands said in a statement that the closure was “a business decision that is not a reflection of the management or staff,” adding that some employees will have a chance to transfer locations, and those who don’t will receive severance.
Bloomin’ Brands also owns Fleming’s, Bonefish Grill and Outback Steakhouse, as well as Outback’s ghost kitchen spinoff Aussie Grill. The company did not release a list of the 41 planned closures, but did reportedly say in its earnings call last month that the closures impacted Outback the hardest.
Bloomin’s spokeswoman said the Richmond-area Outbacks, Fleming’s and Bonefish Grills are not among the other 40 closures, nor was the other Carrabba’s at 11450 Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield.
There are five Outbacks, two Bonefish Grills and one Fleming’s throughout the Richmond region. Fleming’s has a location at Stony Point Fashion Park, and the chain recently signed on to open a steakhouse at the West Village development that’s under construction just west of Short Pump Town Center. The company has not said what will become of the Stony Point spot once the West Village location opens.
Carrabba’s’ 6,100-square-foot building joins six other vacant spaces at West Broad Village. Among those is 11275 W. Broad St., which had been home to MPM Tiki Bar before it relocated within West Broad Village to the former Halligan Bar & Grill space at 2451 Old Brick Road.
Since MPM’s move, rumors have abounded that P.F. Chang’s would be taking over 11275 W. Broad St., but a spokesperson for P.F. Chang’s recently said they’re not planning to open a location there.
West Broad Village recently got a new restaurant tenant in Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chão, which just opened in the old Kona Grill space down the street from Carrabba’s. Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille also recently opened in front of Short Pump Town Center.
Carrabba’s’ building, along with the bulk of West Broad Village’s commercial space, is owned by CTO Realty Growth. The Florida-based firm paid $94 million in 2022 to purchase around 392,000 square feet within the mixed-use development, including the buildings occupied by Whole Foods, REI, HomeGoods and Dave & Buster’s, and the inline space with tenants such as Gather and Burger Bach.
National chains has just struggled in those space along Broad in front of West Broad village since its opening. I wonder if it is the location (it is not the easiest to get into them) or that they are well national chains well with ok food options.
Ah HA! Someone was typing what I expected while I was typing and beat me to the punch. Maybe it IS partially a national chains/location thing — but just in recent days we’ve had some DECADES LONG restaurants close in my area. Epidemic level, it seems. All sit-down. I would suggest that perhaps “Italian” (that is, “American Italian” restaurants are losing their status as being viable enough for there to be too many of them. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up in them, like the better ones, but modern tastes find them a bit uninspiring — perhaps someone should… Read more »
Before anyone tries to make this something it is not, understand that a long predicted shock to the sit-down restaurant market is going on. MANY long time non-fast-casual restaurants in the area, and nationwide, are closing as restauranteering, NEVER an easy enterprise as Peter Thiel famously pointed out, has gotten a LOT harder as inflation has squeezed restaurant owners hard. McDonalds can make their patties smaller as they are forced by the labor market to pay their employees more, but increasingly customers are eating out less because their $$$ are buying less. But sit down get hurt the hardest: not… Read more »
My client’s issue with West Broad Village, if not located directly on Broad Street, was the visibility, and parking issues. As for national chains, it appears that Maggiano’s is doing well at Short Pump Town Center, and it’s a large restaurant.
you may want to check out the Henrico Citizen for recent health reports on the brand new Perry’s Steakhouse. And Carrabbas was on it earlier in February.
I never understood this argument. If a restaurant is very good, visibility is irrelevant. However, visibility certainly helps if you have nothing else to offer. Look at how long visibility sustained Bill’s BBQ. Those all should have closed in the 90s. All of these restaurants are terrible, and overpriced for what they are. Not only that, the local versions are immensely better, so why even bother? Does Edo Squid, Cobra Cabana, Stella’s, L’Opposom, Pinkys, Gersi, ZZQ, Sub Rosa, Portico, etc stay busy every day because people can spot them easily from a main road and offer plenty of parking? Do… Read more »
Like it or not, there’s a thing called “the masses”, and they like their chain/franchise restaurants. Whether it’s Mission BBQ or Texas Roadhouse or Cheesesteak Factory they’re drawing them in to the mall or strip mall frontage parcels day in and day out for the menu chocked full of 1700 calorie courses. Well one must oblige the worst snob known to humankind: the enlightened middle class snob. The snob who has grown tired of a segment that positioned itself as a little more fancy than a Red Lobster but not fancy enough to require a coat or coat-check. Yet, his/her… Read more »
Bravo for the interesting post. Upvoted it even though I am not onboard with the fast causal hate. Fast casual is on the rise for a reason — read what I said about sit-down and then read your own post — it is getting hard to pay the dishwashers and the waiters — and it is getting hard for the customers to pay the waiters tips as well. Given what I HEAR (but have not experienced) about the arrogance of Richmond waitstaff, most middle class people regionally are not willing to get NYC-style indifferent treatment. I have to say that… Read more »
Yes. But. Visibility still matters. You can have a very good product, but others in food service do too. Why do people buy billboard space? To keep a purveyor top of mind — people forget how good you are. Second, MANAGEMENT counts! People who run restaurants and coffee shops tell me that you can’t tell who is making money by how busy the place is. Third, regarding the chain thing, MANY people who open a restaurant who know what they are going BUSINESS-WISE aspire to have an expandable model that can become a chain or even franchise — why? Because… Read more »
It continually behooves me why intelligent decision makers believe there brands will be successful on this over saturated strip. One closes, two more pop up. A landlords nightmare is being left with empty space, yet alone a shuttered restaurant tenant.
Well…. the same can be said for many businesses in the fan…. a restaurant owner once said to me that Richmond was where restaurants go to die — a bit of an exaggeration, sure….
Compared to Henrico that is probably true, just because Henrico is better run. No tax screw ups, easy to get inspections and the like
Industrial taphouse just opened a couple miles west.