Outback Steakhouse Delays Price Increases Into Early 2027

Outback Steakhouse customers won't see a price increase until early 2027 at the soonest. Bloomin' Brands CEO Mike Spanos told analysts on the company's third-quarter 2026 earnings call that the company has decided to delay its planned pricing moves at Outback and Bonefish Grill, pushing them into the first quarter of 2027 even though the chain's own costs have gone up.

"We just made the decision to delay pricing moves at Outback and Bonefish, more so Outback, in terms of we're going to move that into Q1 of 2027," Spanos said. "We just think that's the right thing to do. We've seen the consumers — consumers are hanging in there, based on what we're seeing." The clearest marker of the strategy is already on the menu: the entry-level Aussie 3-Course meal stays at $15.99.

Spanos treats that meal as more than a promotion. "When I start with Aussie 3-course, it actually has become a platform and a sub-brand of Outback. We've got great brand equity in Aussie 3-Course. Our guests know it means craveable food, great service with compelling affordability," he said. He credited the value push with lifting the chain's value scores for five quarters in a row, and with raising guests' intent to return.

The pricing hold lands in the middle of a turnaround that hasn't been gentle. Spanos took over as Bloomin' Brands CEO in late 2024 and told investors on the fourth-quarter 2024 call that the company had underperformed the industry and lost share — 260 basis points on sales and 410 basis points on traffic, by Black Box measures. Outback closed 24 locations in 2025, according to an SEC filing, and another 23 this year.

The chain's largest franchisee is now in court. Cerca Trova Restaurant Group Holdings, a San Diego-based company that operates about 60 Outback restaurants across California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Court for the District of Delaware on November 2. Bloomin' Brands has entered a $26.3 million stalking-horse agreement to buy 61 restaurants owned by the franchisee, along with substantially all of its other assets, according to an SEC filing.

Bloomin' says the parent company isn't exposed. "This is an isolated situation involving the franchisee and does not affect Bloomin' Brands' corporate operations, financing, or liquidity," a company representative told TheStreet, adding that Bloomin' is bidding to support operational continuity and protect the brand while the court process runs. Holding menu prices while bidding on 61 restaurants is a deliberate pairing: the dining rooms stay predictable for guests while their ownership gets sorted out.

The hold isn't free. CFO Eric Christel said adjusted restaurant margin was 9.3 percent in the quarter, down about 20 basis points from a year earlier, with the decline carrying the cost of the turnaround itself — food quality, a new service model, managing partner compensation, hospitality, front-of-house training, new uniforms and increased advertising. Outback is spending on the experience and refusing, for a few more months, to hand any of that bill to the guest.