Shuttered Bravo restaurant at Fairfield Commons may reopen, owner says
Restaurant’s new owner ‘hopeful’ amid talks with landlord.
The vital signs are not encouraging for the BRAVO! Cucina Italiana restaurant that occupies a prime spot next to the main entrance of the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek.
Consider: The restaurant hasn’t served customers since before the March 15 state-mandated closure of all dine-in services. It is no longer listed on the restaurant chain’s website as an open
Bravo location in Ohio. Even the Mall at Fairfield Commons’ own website does not list Bravo as one of its many dining options. And the restaurant reservations website opentable.com lists the Beavercreek Bravo as “Permanently Closed.”
And yet ... there is still a chance that restaurant could reopen as a Bravo, according to a spokeswoman for the company that last week finalized its purchase of the Bravo and Brio Tuscan Grille brands and many of its restaurants.
When asked whether the Fairfield Commons Bravo would
reopen, a spokeswoman for Earl Enterprises, the new owner of Bravo and Brio, replied via email:
“We are in talks with the landlord to reopen the restaurant and are hopeful that we will be able to come to terms that make sense for both parties.”
The mall’s management did not provide any details.
“We are unable to comment on behalf of a tenant, and it is our policy not to comment on any active leasing negotiations,” a spokeswoman for the Mall at Fairfield Commons said late last week.
Bravo operates a restaurant in front of the Dayton Mall in Miami Twp., and Brio operates a location at The Greene Town Center in Beavercreek. Both of those restaurants are open and operating as carryout, delivery and curbside-pickup locations, and its customers are being told by employees at each restaurant that they are gearing up to open the dining rooms.
The new owners of the chains have not yet released the list of restaurants it will keep open.
“We agreed to assume at least 45 leases from the existing portfolio,” the Earl Enterprises spokeswoman said. “The exact list is still being finalized, but we are optimistic that the final count will be higher than 45.”
Earl Enterprises also operates Planet Hollywood and Buca di Beppo restaurant brands, among others. The company announced on Thursday that it had acquired the assets of Brio and Bravo from FoodFirst Global Restaurants, which had filed for reorganization bankruptcy in April.
Contact this reporter at 937-225-7355 or email Mark.Fisher@coxinc.com.