Brio parent has buyer, but return to state unlikely
The Italian bistro chain Brio is back after the bankruptcy sale of restaurants across the nation — but its new owner has signaled no immediate plans to resuscitate locations in Danbury or West Hartford.
The restaurant posted notice several weeks ago of its intent to close permanently at Danbury Fair mall.
After FoodFirst Global Restaurants filed in May for bankruptcy protection from creditors, Earl Enterprises reached a deal to purchase both Brio Italian Grille and sibling chain Bravo Italian Kitchen.
Earl Enterprises owns several other restaurant brands including Bertucci’s and Planet
Hollywood. In a statement forwarded by a public relations firm, the company indicated it was unable to come to an agreement with Danbury Fair’s owner “that would make sense for both parties.”
Brio was part of the original slate of tenants that took space in Macerich’s redevelopment of the former Filene’s department store at Danbury Fair, along with The Cheesecake Factory, L.L. Bean, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Forever 21. After Forever 21 exited the mall in two stages, Dick’s is taking over an adjacent level of the store
in an expansion.
The closures and moves are part of a volatile time for mall operators in general.
Macerich was among the mall operators to report plummeting April rent collections amid retail closures ordered in Connecticut and nationally.
This week, mall giant Simon Property Group announced it would pull out of a planned acquisition of Taubman Centers, which owns a 50 percent share of Stamford
Town Center. Simon claims the pandemic has had “a uniquely material and disproportionate effect” on the shopping centers operated by Taubman, which vowed to seek damages if Simon does not proceed.
Taubman also owns the Westfarms mall outside Hartford, where Brio had its only other Connecticut restaurant.
Other mall mainstays have declared bankruptcy or raised the possibility, notably J.C. Penney,
which is closing a Torrington store .
Bloomberg reported this week that the parent company of Men’s Wearhouse is exploring the possibility of a bankruptcy restructuring. The retailer has locations at Danbury Fair, Stamford Town Center and the Connecticut Post mall in Milford, as well as in Westport.