New Hampshire

Outback Steakhouse closes in Seabrook: One of 41 restaurants on the chopping block

Published

2 years ago

February 27, 2024

Outback Steakhouse closes in Seabrook: One of 41 restaurants on the chopping block

Angeljean Chiaramida
| news@seacoastonline.com

SEABROOK — Outback Steakhouse in Seabrook was one of dozens of locations across the United States permanently shut down last week by the chain’s parent company.

U-Haul trucks were seen outside the restaurant at 712 Lafayette Road (Route 1) Monday, with crews moving out equipment and furniture. According to the recording on the restaurant’s Seabrook phone, the eatery “is permanently closed,” with advice that callers visit Outback.com to find other Outback locations still open for business.

The Outback location in Seabrook was the only one in New Hampshire.

Owned by Florida-headquartered Bloomin’ Brands, Inc., Outback is just one of the food service company’s chain restaurants, which also includes Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse, Bonefish Grill and Aussie Grill.

Elizabeth Daly, director of media and community relations for Bloomin’ Brands, Inc, said “closing a restaurant is never easy.”

“This was a business decision that is not a reflection of the management or staff,” she said. “We appreciate the community’s support over the past 8 years and hope to see you at our Peabody restaurant.”

According to the Feb. 23, 2024, announcement to investors posted on the Bloomin’ Brands website, in the last quarter of 2023, the company decided “to close 36 predominantly older, underperforming restaurants and three U.S. and two international Aussie Grill restaurants.” The expectation was that all closings would be completed during the first quarter of 2024, which ends March 31.

Additionally, the report also indicated the company would be opening “40 to 45 system-wide restaurants.”

A majority of the restaurants closing “were older assets with leases from the ’90s and early 2000s,” according to Bloomin’ CEO David Deno.

In the announcement to investors, Deno said, “The fourth quarter was a good finish to 2023, especially the holiday season. As we head into 2024, we remain focused on elevating the guest experience that in turn will drive sales and profit growth at Outback Steakhouse and all of our brands.”

Major development: Al Fleury pulls plug on 94-unit apartment complex, hotel in downtown Hampton

Seabrook shocked by Outback Steakhouse closing

Many on local social media pages were upset about the lack of notice Seabrook’s Outback employees received of the closing with some expressing concern for employees who lost their jobs.

In addition, there were comments about what to do with still unused Outback gift certificates.

Daly said employees will have the opportunity to transfer to another restaurant. Those who do not, she said, will receive a severance package.

If guests have questions about gift cards, Daly said they can call 813-282-1224 ext. 3032.

According to the office of the Seabrook tax collector, 712 Lafayette Road is not owned by Bloomin ‘Brands, Inc., but by B33 Seabrook Commons 2, LLC, the owner of Seabrook Commons Shopping Center, headquartered in Las Vegas.

Stoneface Brewing: Company celebrates 10 years with 10 beers, new line of hard seltzers and more

Source link

Click to comment

New Hampshire

Shooter cleared in New Hampshire road rage incident that ended in gunshots

Published

14 hours ago

November 15, 2025

Press Room

Shooter cleared in New Hampshire road rage incident that ended in gunshots

A New Hampshire man who shot and killed another man after a terrifying road rage incident was cleared of wrongdoing, with the state attorney general ruling the shooting was in self defense.

“I’ve got a flat tire, this mother (expletive) keeps ramming me, and I’m about to shoot him in his (expletive) face,” Shane Miller told dispatchers shortly before his car was disabled and the two men faced off on Pleasant Street in Littleton, New Hampshire.

The 911 call recording from around 11:15 p.m. on Sept. 16, 2024, then “captured squealing tires … the sounds of a vehicle crash, a car door opening, and then ten gunshots being fired in rapid succession.” It also recorded Miller’s voice saying “I didn’t want to kill you! … I’m sorry, I didn’t (expletive) mean that.”

Eric Rexford, 38, would die of multiple gunshot wounds. Miller, 44, said he acted in self defense, which the attorney general’s office affirmed following an investigation.

“The use of deadly force by Shane Miller was justified,” the investigation report concludes. “In addition, even if the shooting was not justified, there would be insufficient evidence to disprove Mr. Miller’s claim of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. As such, no charges will be filed against Shane Miller in the shooting death of Eric Rexford.”

The tension between the two men began at a mutual friend’s house at Coreys Mobile Home Park in Littleton, when Rexford accused Miller of sleeping with his girlfriend, according to the report. As the discussion escalated, Miller decided to leave and “drive to a local convenience store for cigarettes and beer.”

But Rexford wasn’t done with him. When Miller called Rexford to explain that there was no cheating going on in an effort to prevent further “drama,” Rexford told him he was waiting for him in his driveway. As Miller, behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Equinox, cautiously approached his house, Rexford pulled up behind him in his Subaru Impreza and began a chase that got as fast as 60 mph.

Police would find Miller lying next to his Equinox, which had at least one popped tire and extensive body damage. Another 911 caller reported that a bumper was lying in the road in front of his house.

Miller told police that Rexford had chased him “all over town” before the conclusion in front of the laundromat. Rexford, he said, had just kept ramming his vehicle, causing him to spin out every time and that Miller kept varying his speed so that there wouldn’t be a high-speed collision. With the final ramming, Rexford had Miller’s disabled car pinned firmly up against a sidewalk and there was no more room for Miller to maneuver.

The report includes extensive summaries of interviews with multiple eye witnesses, which back up Miller’s claims that Rexford was chasing him and ramming his vehicle. That includes a male passenger in Rexford’s vehicle during the entire ordeal, who said “he felt unable to do anything once Mr. Rexford saw Mr. Miller’s car, and began chasing Mr. Miller and repeatedly ramming into him.”

He said that Rexford would drive in the op[posing lane or on the grass so he could get at Miller’s vehicle better and that Rexford ignored his repeated requests to be let out of the car.

A medical examiner said that Rexford suffered eight gunshot wounds: to his right cheek, his chest, his abdomen, his right arm, his right thigh, his left knee, and his right index finger. A toxicological report revealed that Rexford had amphetamine, cocaine, methamphetamine, marihuana, alcohol, and processed metabolites of the same drugs in his system. His blood alcohol content was tested at 0.16, double the legal limit.

Source link

New Hampshire

Syringe picked up by child at New Hampshire Macy’s contained fentanyl or heroin, father says

Published

1 day ago

November 15, 2025

Press Room

Syringe picked up by child at New Hampshire Macy’s contained fentanyl or heroin, father says

November 14, 2025 / 11:11 PM EST
/ CBS Boston

A family outing to a mall in New Hampshire turned in an instant when a child picked up a syringe that was laying in the middle of the floor.

A New Hampshire father spoke to WBZ-TV under the condition of anonymity. He and his wife were shopping with their three children, ages 3, 5 and 6, on Sunday at the Macy’s in Salem, New Hampshire. The family was waiting near the dressing room when their middle child walked up to him with something in her hand.

“Something incredibly sinister”

“I immediately noticed it and said put that down,” the father recalled. “When she handed it to me, I immediately realized that it was a syringe that was full of brown fluid. There was just something incredibly sinister about it.”

The man said he immediately took the syringe, which appeared to have a cap on it, to an employee of the store. He said that employee notified a manager and then called police.

Syringe Salem, NH — The syringe a child picked up inside a Macy’s in Salem, New Hampshire.

CBS Boston
Advertisement

Neither the father or his daughter showed any symptoms, but he said on the car ride home an officer from the Salem Police Department called to check in and notified the family the syringe likely contained fentanyl or heroin.

“We were just in shock of what happened,” he said. “That night I just held my child the entire night just waiting for something to happen. Asking myself as the father what did I do wrong? What could I have done differently?”

The father praised the work of the Macy’s employees who acted urgently and even called him mid-week to provide an update. The company said its employees followed the proper protocol during the incident.

“At Macy’s, the safety of our customers and colleagues is always our top priority, and all incidents that put that at risk are taken seriously. Per our policy, we are unable to provide additional information and defer further questions to the local authorities,” a Macy’s spokesperson said.

It is still unclear how the syringe got there. The Salem Police Department would not respond to WBZ-TV’s request for comment.

Source link

New Hampshire

New Hampshire (NHIAA) High School Football 2025 Playoff Brackets, Schedule – November 14, 2025

Published

2 days ago

November 14, 2025

Press Room

The 2025 New Hampshire high school football playoffs continue on Friday, November 14.

High School On SI has brackets for every Division in the NHIAA high school football playoffs. The NHIAA playoffs culminate with the state championships on November 28.

New Hampshire (NHIAA) High School Football 2025 Playoff Brackets, Schedule – November 14, 2025

2025 New Hampshire (NHIAA) Division I Football Bracket

Bedford vs. Winnacunnet – 11/14 at 7 p.m.

Nashua South vs. Bishop Guertin – 11/14 at 7 p.m.

Manchester Memorial vs. Salem – 11/14 at 7 p.m.

Pinkerton vs. Windham – 11/14 at 7 p.m.

2025 New Hampshire (NHIAA) Division II Football Bracket

Souhegan vs. Pelham – 11/15 at 7 p.m.

Trinity vs. Plymouth – 11/15 at 7 p.m.

2025 New Hampshire (NHIAA) Division III Football Bracket

Monadnock vs. Gilford – 11/14 at 7 p.m.

Laconia vs. Inter-Lakes – 11/14 at 7 p.m.

2025 New Hampshire (NHIAA) Division IV Football Bracket

Hillsboro-Deering vs. Mascoma – 11/15 at 1 p.m.

Create an account to get alerts for your favorite teams!

Get even closer to the action by creating a free account. Follow your favorite teams and get score updates, breaking news and alerts when new photo galleries are available. Sign up for free here.