Insider Q&A: Bloomin' Brands CEO David Deno

As coronavirus lockdowns hit the U.S. in March, Bloomin’ Brands CEO David Deno called an emergency meeting for his 12-member executive team.

“We collectively said, ‘What we do today and over the next few months will be remembered forever, so let’s be proud of the decisions we make during this time,’” Deno said.

There have been plenty of decisions. Bloomin’ Brands — which operates more than 1,100 Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse restaurants in the U.S. and Brazil — decided not to furlough its 93,000 employees. It offered them relief pay and health insurance while restaurants were closed.

As restaurants reopened, menus were streamlined to cut costs and ease growing delivery and carryout orders. Over the summer, the Tampa, Florida-based company launched a new delivery-only brand, Tender Shack, which makes fried chicken in Carrabba’s kitchens.

Those efforts helped Bloomin’ outperform some rivals. U.S. same-store sales were down 13% in the July-September period. Industrywide, spending at full-service U.S. restaurants was down 25% in the same period, according to NPD Group.

Deno spoke with The Associated Press about the impact of the coronavirus. His comments have been edited for length.

Q: How are things looking as you head into winter?

A: What we’re seeing is, as long as you make sure you serve your food in a safe environment, we are in really good shape. I don’t make light of it at all, and there are concerns out there. But we’re finding our customers want to come in and eat our product and enjoy our service. A large part of our footprint is in the Texas and Florida area, where actually eating outdoors is preferable than the hot summer. So that’s going to help us. And then we...