Yard House has listed a December 9 opening date for a new restaurant at 25830 Sierra Center Blvd. in the Wesley Chapel area, taking over the spot where Bahama Breeze served its final customers on November 7. The former Bahama Breeze site's exterior has already been painted, with Yard House coming soon signs posted outside, according to local media reports.
The December 9 opening date comes from Yard House's own new-locations page, as reported by the Wesley Chapel Community Website. Darden Restaurants, which owns both chains, had signaled the swap was coming: the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported in September that Darden planned to convert the Lutz Bahama Breeze into a Yard House by December, according to bizjournals.com.
Yard House's careers site already lists the Sierra Center Boulevard address as a location, and the chain's careers page includes a job posting for a food runner at that same address. The Wesley Chapel Community Website recommends that residents seeking work at the new restaurant watch Yard House's hiring postings before the doors open.
Part of a Broader Bahama Breeze Wind-Down
The Wesley Chapel closure is one piece of a larger retreat by Darden from the Bahama Breeze brand. USA TODAY reported in August that 11 Bahama Breeze locations remained operational nationwide, down from a much larger footprint, with the same report noting that the same account also described the chain as no longer fitting the company's plans. The outlet quoted Darden describing Bahama Breeze as “no longer a strategic priority” when it announced the chain's shuttering.
The Lutz-area conversion echoes a similar move Darden made in Kennesaw, Georgia, where the company said a Bahama Breeze would eventually be converted to a Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen and reopen Sept. 23, per the same USA TODAY account. Together, the Kennesaw and Wesley Chapel cases show Darden repurposing shuttered Bahama Breeze real estate for other brands in its portfolio rather than simply closing the locations for good.
What's Next for Sierra Center Boulevard
For now, the Wesley Chapel property sits between its old identity and its new one, with painted signage pointing toward the December 9 debut. Residents curious about job openings at the new restaurant are being pointed toward Yard House's own hiring postings as the opening date approaches.
