Darden to close Bahama Breeze restaurant
Darden Restaurants announced plans to close 28 stores in its Bahama Breeze chain and convert half of them to other brands in its portfolio.
After all, someone might be able to “OutPizza The Hut”.
Pizza Hut, like parent company Yum!, plans to close 250 “underperforming” stores in the U.S. by the first half of 2026. Brands, Inc. continues its strategic review of underperforming brands.
Yum on February 4th! Speaking on the brand’s earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Ranjith Roy said the move is part of its “Hat Forward” strategy, which includes “vibrant marketing, technology modernization and franchise agreements.”
“While we do not share specific details of our franchise agreements, we are pleased to work with our franchisees to enhance our efforts to achieve short-term sales while advancing our long-term strategy,” Brands told Restaurant Business Online in an emailed statement.
Notice of closure is Pizza Hut’s U.S. store sales fell 3% in Q4 2025, as other Yum! Branded restaurants such as Taco Bell, Revenue increased 7% in the quarter.
“The 250 stores we mentioned represent a small portion of the 20,000 properties Pizza Hut owns worldwide,” Roy said on an earnings call. “And that is the right answer for the brand as we move forward with our strategic review.”
Hmm! The brand did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment on Feb. 4.
Pizza Hut faced declining sales before closing.
Pizza Hut closing is yum! Brands, which also owns Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken, is continuing to “formally explore strategic options for the Pizza Hut brand” with a possible sale in mind.
Hmm! The brand announced the overhaul in November 2025, when Pizza Hut sales in the U.S. fell 7%.
“The Pizza Hut team has worked hard to address business and category challenges. However, Pizza Hut’s performance shows that we need to take additional steps to enable the brand to realize its full value. This can be done more effectively outside of the Yum! brand,” Yum! Brand CEO Chris Turner said in a news release.
Other restaurant closures
With only a month left until 2026, multiple fast-food and fast-casual chain restaurants across the U.S. have announced plans to downsize, with some saying they intend to focus resources on top-performing locations.
Restaurants that have announced closures include Noodles & Co., Red Robin and Wendy’s.
Noodles & Company announced in a news release on January 12 that it will close 30 to 35 stores in 2026. Wendy’s said in January that it was continuing to evaluate unprofitable restaurants that may close this year.
USA TODAY’s Saleen Martin and Mike Snider contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Contact him at fernando.cervantes@usatoday.com and follow him at X @fern_cerv_.
