Bravo Brio Restaurants Seeks Bankruptcy Protection Again as Casual Dining Declines

Bravo Brio Restaurants LLC is the parent company of Bravo! Italian Kitchen and Brio Italian Grille, once again, are in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This action was filed on August 18, 2025, in the U.S Bankruptcy Court, Middle District of Florida, the second attempt in five years.

The company still runs 48 restaurants around the country, employing approximately 4,000 people. But the business, with high operating costs, mounting debt, and changing customer behavior, has been compelled to reorganize. It plans to close the weaker stores, cut lease payments, and seek new capital to ensure stability.

The Core Financial Struggles

Before the bankruptcy filing, Bravo Brio had already shut down 7 restaurants and was currently trying to free up as many as 47 of its leased restaurants that are not profitable. Financial pressures were accelerated by inflation that increased the costs of food, labor, and rent, as well as interest rates that doubled.

The broader food setting has gone sour, too, since most consumers reduced discretionary spending. Specifically, casual dining chains are dependent on customers who are prepared to pay a premium for sit-down meals, a practice that has lost force.

Bravo Brio stressed that its fight is not the only one. The bankruptcies of such big names as Red Lobsters and Hooters also show that the problems of the industry are spreading even to the household names.

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The Bigger Picture for Casual Dining

The COVID-19 pandemic is identified as the turning point by industry experts. During lockdowns, restaurants such as Bravo Brio, Red Lobsters, and Hooters resorted to loans, subsidies, and deferred expenses. These obligations were unbearable when the customer traffic had not resumed in full.

There is also a permanent change in consumer behavior. A large number of diners currently prefer home-cooked meals, delivery, or fast-food restaurants to traditional in-situ restaurants. According to lawyer Daniel Gielchinsky, subsidies only postponed the demise of restaurants, but the systemic changes in customer tastes made survival hard.

In the case of Bravo Brio, this Chapter 11 filing will give them breathing room to reorganize. The company is hoping to adjust to the new reality of dining by cutting costs, shutting down unproductive outlets, and finding new shareholders. However, as the case of Red Lobsters and Hooters demonstrate, survival in the casual dining industry is no longer guaranteed.