Bloomin’ Brand Inc. during the height of coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions made the decision to maintain its payrolls and not furlough or lay off workers amid the numerous lockdowns.

David Deno, CEO of Tampa, Fla.-based Bloomin’ Brands, said the decision paid off in helping sales normalize when restaurant dining rooms were allowed to open some of their dining rooms.

“When this first happened in mid-March, we wanted to do two things. One, we wanted to take care of our employees. And two, we wanted to serve great food in a safe environment — either in the restaurant or in peoples’ homes.”

Because of state and local coronavirus restrictions, that soon became exclusively off-premise Bloomin’s brands, which include Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and the newer stand-alone, drive-thru Aussie Grill by Outback.

“We knew that if we could retain our people and pay them, even if they weren’t working, and not let them go, it would improve employee engagement [and] that would enable us to bring people back right away when the restaurants reopened,” Deno said. “We wouldn’t have to recruit people. And we wouldn’t have to train people. That is exactly what happened.”