Italian restaurant chain: Popular restaurant Brio Italian Grille abruptly closes after 15 years as parent company files for bankruptcy
Popular Italian restaurant Brio Italian Grille has abruptly closed after 15 years as its parent company files for bankruptcy.
Brio Italian Grille closed abruptly in Raleigh this week after more than 15 years in business. The Raleigh location of Brio Italian Grille is now closed, according to the brand’s website and a recorded message on its phone line.
Many of the country’s Brio locations were in major shopping malls, but in the last few years the brand has seen a national shrinking, permanently closing several locations. The restaurant appears to have quietly closed this week, with one customer posting on Facebook that they had received a surprising call that their weekend reservation would be canceled.
It comes as the parent company of popular upscale Italian restaurant chains Bravo Italian Kitchen and Brio Italian Grille has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in five years to reorganize its businesses and restructure debt. Bravo Brio Restaurants LLC, which is owned by Planet Hollywood owner Earl Enterprises, and four affiliates filed their Chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida on Aug. 18.
The restaurant chain's previous owner Food First Global Restaurants filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2020, suffering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Food First Global sold its assets to Earl Enterprises during the first bankruptcy case.
Bravo Brio Restaurants listed $50 million to $100 million in assets and liabilities in its petition, including its largest unsecured creditor, food distributor Sysco Corporation, owed $1.9 million. The company operates 25 Brio Italian Grille and 23 Bravo Italian Kitchen locations, according to its website.