Add the Bombshells breastaurant chain to the lengthy list of full-service operations that are shutting stores.
Parent company RCI Hospitality Holdings said Wednesday that it has closed two underperforming restaurants on leased sites and is selling a third. All three are located in Texas, along with all current surviving stores. Bombshells’ website lists 11 restaurants still in operation, with a twelfth scheduled to open in Denver.
RCI also operates 11 brands of what it calls gentlemen’s clubs and adult-themed nightclubs. It also owns a media company, ED Publications, that produces websites, magazines and tradeshows for the adult entertainment industry.
The company describes Bombshells as a military-themed sports bar, but it features many of the adult-oriented features that characterize concepts like Hooters and Twin Peaks. It, too, features female servers wearing tight-fitting tank tops and other revealing clothing.
The reduction of the chain is part of RCI’s 9-year-old asset relocation program. The company announced in 2015 that it would sell underperforming pieces of the business and use the proceeds to acquire more operations and pay down debt.
A public company, RCI reported a 16.2% decline in Bombshells’ same-store sales for the quarter ended Sept. 30. It attributed the steep decline to five locations being closed for a combined total of 26 days after parts of Texas were hit by Hurricane Beryl in early July. Quarterly revenues for the concept fell 12.2%, to $11.9 million.
RCI’s nightclub operations generated revenues for the period of $60.2 million, with same-store sales increasing 2.2%. It did not reveal its profits for the quarter via a press release or SEC filing.
Closings have abounded in recent months in the full-service sector. Denny's has announced plans to close 150 restaurants by the end of 2025, and TGI Fridays shut about 100 branches this year before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The landlord of several dozen Frisch's Big Boy family-dining restaurants has gone to court to evict at least 20 of the units for nonpayment of rent. An Applebee's franchisee recently closed eight stores in and around Kansas City.
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