South Carolina’s last Bahama Breeze is down to its final days.
The Caribbean-themed restaurant at 7811 Rivers Ave. in North Charleston, next to Northwoods Mall, is expected to close for good Oct. 26, Rich Jeffers, a spokesman for owner Darden Restaurants, told The Post and Courier. Chuy’s, a Tex-Mex chain that Darden also owns, will take over the building, with an opening expected “by the end of November,” Jeffers said.
Darden, the Florida-based company that also owns Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, said in February that Bahama Breeze was “no longer a strategic priority,” The Post and Courier reported. The chain had 28 restaurants at the time. Half are closing for good, and the other 14, including North Charleston’s, are being converted to other Darden brands, the newspaper reported, citing Darden’s announcement.
“Going forward, the primary focus will continue to be on supporting team members, including placing as many as possible in roles within the Darden portfolio,” Darden said in that announcement, as quoted by The Post and Courier.
Darden counted 10 Bahama Breeze restaurants as of Aug. 30, down from 28 a year earlier, according to its Sept. 24 earnings release. The company expects all of them to be closed or converted to other brands by the fourth quarter of its 2027 fiscal year. It had 112 Chuy’s restaurants on Aug. 30, the release said.
Darden developed Bahama Breeze itself and opened the first one on International Drive in Orlando in 1996, The Post and Courier reported. That restaurant is scheduled to close in April 2027.
The North Charleston Bahama Breeze opened in 2021, according to the newspaper.
