Bloomin' Brands looks to address activist investors and woo customers

Outback’s parent company, Bloomin' Brands, has come out of the pandemic a leaner company, but a decline in customers has some investors and analysts worried.

By Jim Stinson
| 5:00 a.m. December 6, 2023
| 0 Free Articles Remaining!

Outback Steakhouse, founded in Tampa in 1988, now the flagship brand of Bloomin' Brands of Tampa.

Photo by www.Jamesmcentee.com

Tampa Bay-Lakeland

As Bloomin' Brands enters its 36th year doing business, the Tampa-based restaurant giant — owner of four major national brands — is having a bit of a midlife crisis.

The company, founded along Henderson Boulevard as a single Outback Steakhouse in 1988, is now a publicly traded conglomerate that runs Outback, Bonefish Grill, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, Aussie Grill and Carrabba's Italian Grill.