Maggiano's to close its only Long Island restaurant, laying off 57 workers

Maggiano’s Little Italy, a Garden City Italian eatery known for family-style fare and large portions, is closing, according to state filings.

Maggiano’s, near the Roosevelt Field mall at 600 Garden City Plaza, will cease operations on Aug. 26, according to on-site management there, laying off 57 workers at the eatery. The restaurant, which seats 280 and has banquet dining room space for events, notified the state of its closure plan in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice posted Tuesday.

The restaurant, which opened in late 2015, is owned by Brinker International, which also owns national dining chain Chili’s Grill & Bar.

Officials with Brinker did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

While the WARN notice lists a Sept. 28 closure date, citing the expiration of the restaurant’s lease as the reason for the closure, local management at Maggiano’s said it would be closing in late August.

Brinker is currently working with some impacted employees to relocate them to nearby Chili’s locations, the manager said.

Maggiano's has no other locations on Long Island or New York City, according to the restaurant's website. The closest locations to the Island are in Hackensack and Bridgewater, New Jersey. 

Industry analysts said Maggiano's has been lagging sales at its restaurants compared to Chili's and other comparable competitors. 

"Maggiano’s and Chili’s had vastly different sales results in 2025 with Maggiano’s down 4% and Chili’s U.S. sales up [more than] 21%," Kevin Schimpf, senior director of industry research for Technomic, a Chicago-based restaurant industry research firm, said in an email.

The story is similar when it comes to other Italian restaurant chain competitors.

"Maggiano’s has posted same-store sales declines each of its last 4 quarters, while its primary competitor Olive Garden has posted strong growth," Schimpf said. 

Sales at individual restaurants were up 3.2% for Olive Garden restaurants during the first quarter of 2026, while sales at Maggiano's were down 4.6%, Technomic data shows. 

The planned Garden City closure also follows the closure of two Maggiano's restaurants last year, bringing its total location count down from 53 to 50, according to Technomic data.

"This closure would be a continuation of the trend we saw in 2025," Schimpf said.