An Italian Restaurant Now Makes Unexpected Closures Nationwide

July 31, 2024

An Italian restaurant now makes unexpected closures nationwide, reducing their footprint by over 20%, marking a significant contraction.

Buca di Beppo, the Florida-based chain renowned for its family-style servings, has abruptly closed a total of 13 restaurants nationwide.

In a statement, parent company Earl Enterprises said the locations had been unable to recover from the pandemic and other market pressures.

The closures included restaurants in Sacramento, California; Salt Lake City and Midvale, Utah; Livonia and Utica, Michigan; Springs Township, Pennsylvania; and Colonie, New York.

They now leave Buca di Beppo with a total of 44 locations nationwide.

The Orlando-based chain known for family-style Italian-American fare has been closing restaurants for years since peaking at 95 locations in 2013.

Systemwide sales declined 4.7% last year, according to data from Technomic.

It is one of several casual-dining chains to close locations recently as the full-service segment grapples with rising costs and falling traffic.

Others include Hooters, TGI Fridays, O’Charley’s and Red Lobster.

During the pandemic, many of Buca di Beppo’s outlets became hubs for delivery-only virtual brands from Virtual Dining Concepts, an affiliate of Earl Enterprises that owns MrBeast Burger, Pardon My Cheesesteak and other digital concepts.

The chain was founded in 1993 in Minneapolis as a stereotypical “red sauce joint” decorated with framed family photos and other Italian-themed kitsch.

It grew quickly and went public in 1999 but in 2005 was derailed by an SEC investigation into fraud by three executives.

Its CEO, CFO and controller later pled guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company.

Robert Earl’s Planet Hollywood International acquired the chain in 2008 for $28.5 million.

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Also Read: An Unexpected Retailer Is Now Closing All Stores in Illinois

Other Economy News Today

A beloved grocery chain now confirms unexpected closures across the Northeast taking place by the end of the year.

Grocery chain Stop & Shop has announced that a total of 32 underperforming locations will shutter in the U.S.

The company said the select stores across the Northeast will be closed before the end of the year.

Stores in New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island will close by November 2.

In May, the company announced the coming store closures.

“Stop & Shop has evaluated its overall store portfolio and made the difficult decision to close underperforming stores to create a healthy base for the future growth of our brand,” company president Gordon Reid said, per a July 12 press release.

The company’s president added that the closures were essential “to create a healthy base for the future growth of our brand.”

Fortunately, employees will be offered other positions within the company, according to a press release.

The grocery outlet first opened in 2014 and currently has around 400 stores and 60,000 employees, per Fox affiliate KRLD.

Stop & Shop is owned by Ahold Delhaize which also owns Food Lion, Giant Food, and Hannaford.

Which grocery stores are closing?

In New Jersey, 10 locations will close, while only seven will close in New York.

Rhode Island will see two closures and Massachusetts, the home of the first location, will be closing eight.

Five stores will also be closing in Connecticut.

As other chains such as Walmart and Amazon join the grocery business, it has pushed traditional grocery stores out of view, reports The-Sun.

Stop & Shop hopes the closure of underperforming stores will create “future growth” for the company.

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