Regular customers of the Outback Steakhouse located in Merrick Mall in Long Island, New York, encountered the permanent closure of the establishment on October 27. According to information from The US Sun, employees were seen saying goodbye in Greater Long Island. A spokesperson stated that the closure of Outback, owned by Bloomin’ Brands, occurred because the lease had expired, and that the workers were transferred to other locations.
It is not the only location of this chain closing, as the one in Silver Spring, Maryland also shut down. In addition to this chain, the restaurant industry in the United States is facing the closure of numerous chains such as Denny’s, Red Lobster, TGI Friday’s, Applebee’s, IHOP, Noodles & Company, Hooters, and Bar Louie. The main reason that has caused these closures has been individual business issues and the inability of the establishments to reverse sales trends.
Goodbye to Outback Steakhouse
If you are a regular customer of Outback Steakhouse at Merrick Mall in Long Island, New York, you should know that it has permanently closed. According to information from The US Sun, workers were seen saying goodbye and removing signs in Greater Long Island. They themselves stated that the reason for the closure was related to a lease agreement between Outback and Merrick Mall. According to a spokesperson, “the lease is expiring,” and noted that “team members were offered the opportunity to transfer to a nearby restaurant, and everyone received a transition bonus.
We truly appreciate the community’s support over the past 29 years and look forward to serving guests at our Westbury or Island Park locations”. Outback, owned by Bloomin’ Brands and based in Florida, had more than 670 restaurants across the United States by the end of 2024. Despite this closure, they will still have a presence in Long Island with five locations still open and operating. Another piece of bad news for the chain was the closure of a location that had been open for less than a year in Silver Spring, Maryland. On its door, a ‘Closed’ sign can now be seen, along with a list of other open locations to visit.
Other establishments that have closed their doors in 2025
In addition to Outback Steakhouse, there are quite a few restaurant chains that have had to plan closures this year, 2025:
- Denny’s – Denny’s has confirmed that up to 150 locations are set to close in the US by the end of the year as many of them are no longer profitable.
- Red Lobster – The chain has said that it plans to close over 100 stores across the country this year as new CEO Damola Adamolekun takes over.
- TGI Friday’s – TGI Friday’s is still being forced to shutter locations due to a bankruptcy filing, including 30 in April alone.
- Applebee’s – This chain is projecting a loss of 20 to 35 Applebee’s locations in 2025 but is teaming up with IHOP to introduce dual-branded locations with a curated menu of the best items from both.
- Noodles & Company – This chain is set to close between 17 and 21 locations in 2025 following a difficult 2024.
Will Outback manage to survive?
According to data from Bloomin’ Brands, at the beginning of 2024 there were 41 locations that were underperforming. According to their CEO, David Deno, “Most of these restaurants were older assets with leases from the 1990s and early 2000s”.
The closures have been ongoing, with at least three of them occurring in February and another recently in Hawaii. According to Mike Spanos, also a CEO, “The team is working hard, but we are not satisfied with our performance and we know we can do better”.