The Layoff Club

Laid off from Darden.

Nineteen of the 24 Darden filings in our tracker since 2025 carry the Bahama Breeze name. Darden closed 15 of those restaurants in May 2025 and decided in February 2026 to close 14 more and convert the rest, with transfers offered and, in 2025, severance promised to anyone it couldn't place.

At a glance

What's known about Darden severance and layoffs

  • 24 filings covering 1,802 jobs · Darden filings in our tracker since 2025
  • 15, in eight states · Bahama Breeze restaurants Darden closed in May 2025
  • Close 14, convert 14 to other Darden brands · Darden's February 2026 Bahama Breeze decision
  • 97 jobs, Shelby County, Tennessee, May 2025 · Largest Darden filing in our tracker since 2025
  • More than 190,000 · Darden team members, per its July 2024 description

Recent Darden layoffs

Darden's Costa Mesa Yard House notice listed 78 jobs ending September 14, 2026

A Darden filing in our tracker dated July 14, 2026 lists 78 jobs at the Costa Mesa Yard House, effective September 14. The Orange County Register reported that day that the location would close September 13 after nearly 27 years, with property management saying the lease had ended and the restaurant opted not to renew.

Previous rounds

Darden layoff history

On Darden's record since 2025, losing a job has mostly meant losing the whole restaurant, which is a rotten way to go. Our tracker holds 24 Darden filings covering 1,802 jobs since the start of 2025, and 19 of them name Bahama Breeze, the chain Darden spent that stretch winding down. Two more are bare GMRI, Inc. filings, and three are single California restaurants at Seasons 52, Eddie V's and Yard House. Eleven were filed in Florida. The tracker runs short, though. Darden's February 2026 list put restaurants in Newark, Delaware and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and King of Prussia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the closing side with no filing here, and New York, a May 2025 closing state, has no 2025 rows in our archive.

The first wave came in May 2025, when Darden confirmed it had closed 15 Bahama Breeze restaurants in eight states, saying the closings would let the brand focus on its highest performing restaurants. Eight of that wave's filings carry a May 15 date, and the largest, 97 jobs in Shelby County, Tennessee, is dated May 29. A spokesperson said Darden was doing everything it could to place affected workers at nearby Darden brands, and that all others would get severance. Then on February 3, 2026, having called the brand and its 28 remaining locations no longer a strategic priority and weighed a sale, Darden said it would permanently close 14 and convert the other 14 into another Darden brand. The 14 were to keep operating through April 5, 2026, and Darden said its focus was placing as many team members as possible in roles within its portfolio.

The 2026 notices led with transfers. Darden's WARN letter said the number of affected workers wasn't known yet because it was offering transfer opportunities to other locations, and that it filed out of an abundance of caution, listing 75 jobs each in Jacksonville, Pembroke Pines, Kissimmee and Sanford and 77 in Miami. Jacksonville's staff were told the closing didn't reflect their performance and came down to the operating environment at and around the restaurant. Brandon, Florida got a second answer. It was on the conversion list in February, then in April Darden set its closing for April 20, citing that same operating environment. The notice counted about 86 employees, a figure that could change as people transferred, and the employee letter discussed possible severance.

Seasons 52 at Sacramento's Arden Fair Mall apparently closed abruptly, with no official announcement, CBS Sacramento reported, and its notice showed a permanent closure with 85 employees out of a job. Darden said of that month's Seasons 52 closings that it tried to place people at nearby Darden brands and gave severance to all others. The Eddie V's in Newport Beach set June 15, 2025 as its last day, with 61 staff on the notice and jobs at other locations offered. Then came 78 jobs at the Costa Mesa Yard House, effective September 14, 2026. Darden's 10-K tied fiscal 2025's impairment and disposal losses mainly to closing 22 underperforming restaurants, and fiscal 2024's to nine closings and a write-off of acquired Ruth's Chris assets, and $23.0 million in fiscal 2026 restaurant impairments mainly to the Bahama Breeze closings and conversions.

The Chuy's deal put its job terms in writing before it closed. In a July 2024 letter, Darden CEO Rick Cardenas told Chuy's employees that Austin support functions would move into Darden's Orlando support center, where some but not all would be offered positions. He committed that each would stay employed at least 120 days after closing and hear within 60 days whether an Orlando offer was coming, that base salary and benefits would stay the same right after the close, with the 2024 target bonus paid as scheduled, and that those who stayed until their role's final date would get a retention bonus of 50% of salary for the period from closing until a permanent offer or that date. The letter said anyone not offered a job, or who turned one down, and stayed that long would also get a prorated 2025 bonus and a severance and outplacement package. Darden closed the deal on October 11, 2024. Our tracker holds no Chuy's filing, though its Texas archive has rows for every month from October 2024 through June 2025.

A transfer offer on top of a closing can rush a decision that deserves a few days. Before you answer one, get in writing what happens to any severance if you say no, since Darden's 2025 statements paired severance with the people it couldn't place. If your letter names a final date, read what's tied to it, because the Chuy's terms made the retention bonus and severance depend on staying until then. Then look up your restaurant in our WARN filings tracker by city and date, and remember that some Darden notices name GMRI, Inc. rather than the brand on the sign.

Reporting on previous Darden layoff rounds

What to do after being laid off from Darden

  1. File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. Darden's biggest hubs: Florida, California. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
  2. Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what Darden's hub states run: Florida, California, and every other state is here.
  3. Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
  4. Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
  5. Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.

Darden layoff and severance questions

Is Darden closing all Bahama Breeze restaurants?

Every remaining one was slated to close or change brands. On February 3, 2026, Darden said it would close 14 of its 28 Bahama Breeze restaurants and convert the other 14 to another Darden brand over 12 to 18 months, without naming the brands. Brandon, Florida started on the conversion list and was switched to an April 20 closing.

Does Darden give severance when a restaurant closes?

For the May 2025 Bahama Breeze closings, a spokesperson said workers Darden couldn't place at nearby Darden brands would be provided with severance. For that month's Seasons 52 closings, a spokesperson said all others were provided with severance. The 2026 notices led with transfer opportunities, and Brandon's letter discussed possible severance. None of those statements gives an amount, so get yours in writing, including whether turning down a transfer changes it.

How many WARN notices has Darden filed since 2025?

Our tracker holds 24 Darden filings covering 1,802 jobs since the start of 2025, 11 in Florida and three in California, and 12 filings covering 915 jobs in 2026. Treat that as a floor, since some closings on Darden's own lists have no filing in the tracker.

What happened to Chuy's employees after Darden bought the chain?

The record covers the Austin home office. Before the October 11, 2024 close, Darden CEO Rick Cardenas wrote that support functions would move to Orlando, with jobs there for some but not all, and promised at least 120 days of employment after closing and unchanged base salary and benefits right after the close, plus severance and outplacement for those not placed who stayed until their role's final date. Our tracker holds no Chuy's filing.

Why search for GMRI, Inc. when looking up a Darden WARN notice?

Because some Darden filings in our tracker use it. Rows pair it with a brand, as in GMRI, Inc. dba Bahama Breeze, GMRI, Inc. d/b/a Eddie V's and GMRI, Inc. dba Yard House, and two filings since 2025, in Duluth, Georgia and Schaumburg, Illinois, carry the bare GMRI, Inc. name with no brand at all. Search the state lists under GMRI as well as the name on the sign.

Where do I file for unemployment after being laid off from Darden?

In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. Darden's biggest U.S. hubs are Florida, California. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.

Is it OK to file for unemployment after a layoff at Darden?

Yes. Unemployment insurance is funded by payroll taxes employers pay on wages, the claim never appears on credit reports or background checks, and future employers cannot see it. If the hesitation itself is the obstacle, whether filing is OK has its own article.

What happens to my health insurance after a layoff at Darden?

Your plan sets the end date rather than the law, so the separation packet is where that date actually lives, and it is often the last day of the month rather than your last day of work. After coverage ends, COBRA lets you keep the identical plan by paying the whole premium yourself, up to 102 percent of what the plan really costs, which lands as several times the payroll deduction you were used to. You get 60 days to elect, counted from the later of coverage ending or the election notice arriving, and electing reaches the coverage back to the day the old plan stopped so no gap exists. How continuation coverage works walks the timing, and whether to take it rather than a marketplace plan is a separate decision.

Should I sign the severance agreement right away?

First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.

Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from Darden?

Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.