New Hampshire
Outback Steakhouse closes in Seabrook: One of 41 restaurants on the chopping block
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.”
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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.
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New Hampshire
Massachusetts man in burning car rescued by trooper on N.H. Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s security detail
A Bay State man who was trapped in his vehicle after crashing into a toll plaza was rescued by a trooper who’s on New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s security detail, according to police.
The governor also helped at the chaotic scene, police said, as the group helped the seriously injured 51-year-old man from Massachusetts at the Bedford Toll Plaza on the F.E. Everett Turnpike.
The state trooper assigned to the governor’s security detail helped pull the driver from his burning vehicle. The driver has been identified as Yevgeny Mirman.
At 11:55 a.m. on Tuesday, troopers assigned to the Troop B barracks responded to the single-vehicle crash involving a 2026 Lucid Gravity that struck the toll plaza. 911 callers said the vehicle had caught fire, and someone in the vehicle appeared to be trapped.
While units were responding, a veteran trooper assigned to Ayotte’s security detail came upon the crash, saw that the vehicle was actively on fire, and spotted the driver inside the car.
The trooper then pulled the driver from the burning car through a window. Ayotte, along with other witnesses at the scene, provided assistance to the trooper.
Mirman was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with serious injuries. The name of the trooper is being withheld due to the nature of their position.
“Certainly, their actions were heroic in what they did,” Colonel Mark B. Hall said in a statement. “Without hesitation, they put themselves in danger to render aid to someone who was in need of it.”
Troop B was assisted by members of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, Bedford Fire Department, Litchfield Fire Rescue and Merrimack Fire Rescue.
No charges were immediately filed. However, all aspects of the crash remained under investigation.
Anyone with information that may help the ongoing investigation was asked to contact Trooper Nathan Belanger at Nathan.R.Belanger@dos.nh.gov.
New Hampshire
Texting and driving? Lawmakers want you to pay steeper fines – Monadnock Ledger-Transcript
If you use your cell phone while driving, you may want to think twice — unless you’re willing to pay twice as much.
A bipartisan bill, backed by state law enforcement, would institute higher fines for drivers who use handheld devices behind the wheel. In some cases, motorists could lose their licenses for a month or more.
Sen. Donovan Fenton, a Democrat from Keene who serves on Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s Highway Safety Task Force, pointed to state crash data as reason for the change proposed in his Senate Bill 649
The number of traffic deaths in New Hampshire has crept up over the past few years. In 2023, there were 127 fatalities, at least six of which stemmed from distracted driving, Fenton said.
“Distracted driving is becoming more pronounced, more dangerous and more deadly,” he said at a public hearing last week. “The current penalties are not enough to change behavior, particularly with repeat offenses.”
There were 133 traffic deaths in 2024 and 138 in 2025, according to the Office of Highway Safety. In 2026 so far, thirteen people have died in car crashes.
Fenton’s bill would increase the amount someone has to pay for violating the prohibition on cell phone use while driving. First-time offenders would pay $250 instead of the current $100, and on the second violation in two years, the offender would pay $500. For the third offense in two years, they would pay $750 and lose their license for 30 days. All those penalties could increase if cell phone use behind the wheel is found to be a contributing factor in a car crash.
Current law allows hands-free operation of a cell phone via Bluetooth but prohibits handheld device use. The state collected more than $568,000 in related fines and penalty assessments in the most recent fiscal year.
Distracted driving was a contributing factor in 4,520 of the state’s nearly 28,000 non-fatal crashes in 2023, according to the Department of Safety. That’s a little over 16%, though a report from the task force said officials suspect distracted driving is difficult to track and underreported in more serious collisions. Cell phones are a common culprit in distracted driving.
Ayotte’s task force has highlighted other policies that it says would increase public safety, including doubling the license suspension period for refusing a breathalyzer test.
In the first 10 weeks of 2026, three-quarters of the people arrested for impaired driving in New Hampshire refused to take a breath alcohol test, Ayotte said in a recent press release. The governor has waged a public campaign for the proposed law, Senate Bill 260, which she says would disincentivize drivers from refusing the test.
What’s next: Senate Bill 649 breezed through the Senate earlier this year. The House of Representatives is set to vote on it in the coming weeks after a committee recommended its passage almost unanimously.
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