Casual dining chains across the U.S. are still closing stores as operators deal with higher costs and slower customer traffic. Bravo Brio Restaurants, the company behind Bravo! Italian Kitchen and Brio Italian Grille, is one of the clearest examples after its second bankruptcy filing in five years.
Bravo Brio files again as its footprint keeps shrinking
Bravo Brio Restaurants filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2025, according to court filings cited by NewsBreak and other recent reports. The filing marked the company’s second bankruptcy since 2020 and came after years of restaurant closures across its two Italian chains.
The scale of the decline is significant. Bravo Brio operated about 118 locations in 2017 and reached roughly 130 locations at its peak, according to the reporting cited in the source material. Today, the company is down to about 38 restaurants nationwide.
That means the chain has lost roughly 80 locations from its 2017 count and more than 90 from its peak. Company leaders said the Chapter 11 process was meant to restructure debt, bring in new investors, and stabilize the business after several years of financial pressure.
Closures have hit multiple states, but a full list is not public
Confirmed closures tied to the company’s recent downsizing have affected several states, including Ohio, Missouri, Virginia, and Alabama, according to the source reporting. Those states were specifically named as places where locations shut down before or after the August 2025 bankruptcy filing.
What is not yet clear is the complete national map of affected stores. The company has not released a comprehensive public list of every location closed during this latest round, and it has not publicly detailed how many remaining restaurants are in each state.
For local customers, that means availability can vary sharply by market. Some metro areas that once had multiple Bravo! Italian Kitchen or Brio Italian Grille restaurants may now have one location left, while others may have none at all after the latest retrenchment.
Rising costs and weak traffic have weighed on the chain
In court filings tied to the August 2025 case, Bravo Brio pointed to inflation, rising food and labor costs, higher interest rates, and weaker consumer spending. The company also cited underperforming restaurants in shopping centers with declining foot traffic, according to the source material.
Those pressures are not unique to one chain. Across the casual dining sector in 2024 and 2025, operators have been dealing with occupancy costs, wage pressure, and tougher competition from fast-casual brands and independent local restaurants.
For customers, the practical takeaway is simple: the Bravo and Brio brands are still operating, but on a much smaller national footprint than they had a decade ago. Recent reports said the company emerged with new investment and a turnaround plan, though it remains far below its former size of more than 100 locations.
