Carrabba's Italian Grill (or simply Carrabba's) is an American

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many pa ...

featuring

Italian-American cuisine Italian-American cuisine () is a style of Italian cuisine adapted throughout the United States. Italian-American food has been shaped throughout history by various waves of immigrants and their descendants, called Italian Americans. As immigra ...

. It is owned and operated by

Bloomin' Brands Bloomin' Brands, Inc. is a restaurant holding company that owns several American casual dining restaurant chains. The company was established in 1988 in Tampa, Florida, where it is headquartered. History The company was founded in August 1988 as ...

, and headquartered in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

History

The chain was founded on December 26, 1986, by John Charles "Johnny" Carrabba III and his uncle Damian Mandola. Together, they opened the first restaurant on Kirby Drive in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. A second location was opened soon after at the intersection of Woodway and Voss Road. After a considerable enlargement of the restaurant, it was renamed "Rosie Carrabba's" in honor of Damian's sister Rose. Johnny Carrabba and his family are still the proprietors of both original locations. In January 1993, under a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with Outback Steakhouse, Inc. (the predecessor to

), 10 new Carrabba's locations were opened in Houston and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Two years later, OSI acquired the rights to develop the Carrabba's chain nationwide. In 2008, OSI teamed up with

HMSHost HMSHost is an American highway and airport food-service company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Switzerland, Swiss company Dufry. , Steve Johnson is the CEO of HMSHost. History The company's origins are in the Van Noy Railway News and Hotel Co ...

to open the first airport location in

Tampa International Airport Tampa International Airport is an international airport west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA)., effective May 15, 2025. The airp ...

. As of 2013, there were more Carrabba's restaurants in Florida—home to parent company Bloomin' Brands' corporate headquarters—than any other state in the United States. In 2015, the first Carrabba's international location opened in Brazil, rebranded as "Abbraccio" In 2020, Carrabba's expanded into Canada, opening a location in

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. Th ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. In 2021 Bloomin Brands bought out the founders of Carrabba’s Italian Grill in a royalty termination agreement. As part of the agreement the founders kept their original two locations in Houston.

References

External links

*
Bloomin' Brands website
{{Authority control Companies based in Tampa, Florida Italian-American cuisine Italian restaurants Restaurants established in 1986 Restaurant chains in the United States 1986 establishments in Texas Bloomin' Brands American companies established in 1986

History

Menu

References

Further reading

External links