Kennesaw's Last Bahama Breeze in Georgia Closes This Weekend for Cheddar's

Georgia's last Bahama Breeze restaurant is about to disappear for good. The Kennesaw location on Earnest W. Barrett Parkway NW will serve its final customers Saturday before permanently closing Sunday, marking the end of the Caribbean-themed chain's presence in the state.

Darden Restaurants, the Florida-based parent company that also owns Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, confirmed the closing date in a statement, according to CBS News Atlanta. The Kennesaw site is one of 14 Bahama Breeze locations nationwide being converted into another Darden brand, and this one will reopen as a Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen on September 23. Darden has estimated the conversion process will take about three weeks.

The shutdown is the local endpoint of a much larger corporate decision. On February 3, Darden announced the conclusion of a strategic review that determined Bahama Breeze was no longer a strategic priority, confirming plans to permanently close 14 of the chain's 28 remaining locations by April 5 and convert the other 14 into different Darden concepts over the following 12 to 18 months, according to a Darden Restaurants announcement.

Duluth Location Already Gone

Kennesaw wasn't always going to be the last one standing in Georgia. Metro Atlanta's other remaining Bahama Breeze, at 3590 Breckinridge Blvd. in Duluth, was among the 14 locations permanently shuttered on April 5 — but unlike Kennesaw, it wasn't picked for a brand conversion, according to PhillyBite.com Magazine. That left the Kennesaw store as Georgia's sole surviving Bahama Breeze for the past several months.

The Atlanta area's relationship with the brand has been shrinking for years. Metro Atlanta once had three Bahama Breeze locations, including an Alpharetta store near North Point Mall that closed roughly a decade ago, and a planned new restaurant at The Bridges at Jodeco in Stockbridge was pulled from development in early 2025 before it ever opened, per Tomorrow's News Today - Atlanta.

From Orlando Tiki Bar to National Retreat

Bahama Breeze got its start in 1996 with a single restaurant on International Drive in Orlando, eventually growing to a peak of 43 locations known for tropical decor and oversized cocktails before the footprint began steadily shrinking, according to a Wikipedia account of the chain's history. The warning signs came earlier than this year's full wind-down: Darden closed 15 underperforming Bahama Breeze locations across eight states in May 2025 after systemwide sales dropped 7.7% in 2024, per Restaurant Business.

Hoodline previously reported on Bahama Breeze closures in the Orlando area as part of the same 14-store shutdown wave that is now claiming Kennesaw, and covered a similar conversion of a North Carolina Bahama Breeze into a Chuy's location this fall.

Cheddar's Takes Over the Space

The replacement concept has deep roots in Darden's portfolio. Darden acquired Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen in an all-cash deal valued at $780 million in April 2017, adding 165 locations across 28 states and a value-focused, made-from-scratch American menu to its lineup of full-service brands, according to the company's own acquisition announcement. Darden now operates more than 2,100 full-service restaurants across North America with over 190,000 employees, a portfolio that also includes Yard House and Chuy's.

In its statements on the Bahama Breeze wind-down, Darden said its primary focus during the closures and conversions is offering affected team members reassignment elsewhere within its broader restaurant portfolio. It remains unclear how many Kennesaw employees will be retained during the roughly three-week renovation before the Cheddar's opens.

The Kennesaw closure also fits into a wider pattern of casual dining chains retrenching under rising costs and shifting consumer spending. Hoodline has covered how chains such as Hooters and TGI Fridays have trimmed their own store networks or filed for bankruptcy amid similar pressures, as larger operators increasingly re-flag existing restaurant real estate with higher-margin concepts.