MIAMI VALLEY — The future of some Bravo and Brio restaurants, which have several locations in the Miami Valley, is uncertain after the parent company of those two eateries has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as the coronavirus pandemic has radically altered its rebuilding process.
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FoodFirst Global Restaurants, Inc. filed for bankruptcy in Florida court April 9, according to online court records.
The Orlando-based company had operated Bravo restaurants at the Dayton Mall and Fairfield Commons Mall and a Brio location at the Greene. The Fairfield Commons Bravo location has been closed, court records show.
According to online court filings, FoodFirst acquired Brio and Bravo in May 2018 in a $100 million transaction.
The restaurants saw “consistent customer declines at the restaurants between 2013 and 2018” due to the rise of quick-service and fast casual restaurant options.
FoodFirst took the company private in 2018 in an effort to rebuild with the expectation to expand nationally. It moved the company’s headquarters from Columbus to Orlando “to take advantage of the thriving economy.”
Sales in 2019 were $307 million, which was well below the company’s expectations, court records read.
New CEO and COO Steven Layt was hired in January to help turnaround the company.
“The improvement process was radically altered due to the current international health crisis...creating massive restaurant closings and employee losses throughout the country via state ordered shelter-in-place requirements, which exacerbates the need to reduce the Restaurants’ footprint," court records read.
The company previously closed 10 locations in January and a substantial number of additional locations were under review for potential closure. It’s unclear where the Dayton Mall and The Greene locations will fall into FoodFirst’s future plans.
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