Anytime businesses — especially restaurants — go out of business in (or near) our distribution areas, I do feel their pain a little — although some more than others.
Case in point: Over the past couple of weeks, both the Bahama Breeze Island Grille (above) located at 25830 Sierra Center Blvd. (across S.R. 56 from the Tampa Premium Outlets) and the O’Brien’s Irish Pub & Grill at 5429 Village Market announced they were closing, albeit for different reasons.Â
Bahama Breeze, which is owned by Darden Restaurants, is closing all 28 of its remaining locations across the U.S., according to a Feb. 3 Darden news release, after previously shuttering a third of its locations in 2025.
Half of those remaining locations — including the one in Lutz/Wesley Chapel — will be converted to other Darden brands (see below), although it was not disclosed which locations would be converted into which brands.
The other 14 Bahama Breezes will close permanently on April 5. The 14 remaining open, including ten of the 14 in Florida, where the brand first opened in the 1990s, will remain open for the next 12-18 months, although there will likely be some temporary closures along the way, as needed for them to be converted.
The list of Darden brands still operating include a number of more upscale brands that many locals, after first reading about this news on social media, are hopeful will find a home at the location on S.R. 56. Here is that list of possible Darden brands our Bahama Breeze could become:
• Eddie V’s Prime Seafood
• Ruth’s Chris Steak House
• The Capital Grille
• Seasons 52
• Yard House
• Olive Garden Italian Kitchen
• Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen
• Longhorn Steakhouse
• Chuy’s
Of course, Cheddars, Longhorn and Chuy’s all already have locations on S.R. 56 and many of us saw announcements that an undeveloped parcel on Wesley Chapel Blvd. to the east of Chick’n Fun already is supposed to be an Olive Garden. At our press time, however, we were unable to get confirmation as to whether or not Olive Garden is still coming to 27391 Centerline Dr., just west of Gateway Blvd., the plans for which were apparently submitted in Aug. 2025, or whether that location would preclude another Olive Garden being opened in the former Bahama Breeze spot.Â
Obviously, the first four or five (as most people would probably also be OK with Yard House) Darden brands on the list would be the most desirable to locals, but we will keep you posted on any such announcements.
O’Brien’s To Close February 21!
Meanwhile, in a Facebook post released on Feb. 2, Randy and Mike Goodwin, the owners of the O’Brien’s location in the Village Market (left) for right about 10 years, said that they will be hosting “An Irish Goodbye” party on Saturday, February 21, after which that O’Brien’s location would close permanently, “at the conclusion of our 10-year lease.”Â
The Facebook post said, “It is with full hearts, deep gratitude, and a touch of sadness that we share the news that O’Brien’s will be closing our doors [by] the end of February…At the end of 2024, the Village Market strip center was sold, and in early 2025, we began discussions with the new ownership (JBL Asset Management) in hopes of securing a renewed lease. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we were unable to reach an agreement that felt sustainable for both sides. After much consideration, we made the difficult decision not to renew.”
There has been a huge outpouring of support for O’Brien’s, which has been the only full-band live music venue in Wesley Chapel pretty much since the day it opened, so I’m hoping that hundreds of those supporters will come out to say goodbye to Mike, Randy and their wonderful staff.
The event will feature O’Brien’s “beloved corned beef & cabbage,” as well as bagpipe music from Emma Briggs, Irish music from Captain Kirk and DJ Aloha Kev closing out the event — and the restaurant. It’ s just a shame we couldn’t get one final O’Brien’s St. Patrick’s Day event this year.
For more info about the O’Brien’s “Irish Goodbye” party, see the ad below.-GNÂ
