Struggling Steakhouse Chains That Turned Things Around

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Brian Boone

Sat, Mar 15, 2025, 12:40 PM 12 min read

While immoderate whitethorn deliberation that steakhouses are overrated, specified restaurants are an all-American classical establishment, presenting meals, and exacting service, which were collectively decided by the civilization to correspond the highest of good dining. Once recovered chiefly successful ample cities and catering to a affluent clientele, steakhouses were erstwhile beauteous overmuch the same, not that there's thing incorrect with that — patrons could brushwood immoderate of the implicit champion cuts of steak of premium origin, cooked precisely the mode they expertly ordered it, and served alongside tried and existent sides similar mashed potatoes and classic, no-nonsense creamed spinach on with appetizers, awesome desserts, and astir apt immoderate cocktails. A nighttime astatine a steakhouse is decadent and luxurious, adjacent erstwhile undertaken astatine an introduction successful a edifice chain.

Certain standards of prime are expected from a steakhouse, and determination are adjacent galore concatenation restaurants to sojourn if you're looking for high-quality steak. Such places, which are much invaluable than you thought, connection consistently bully meals astatine decent prices, but it makes for a crowded market. Nothing lasts forever, and successful caller years, immoderate erstwhile ascendant steakhouse chains fell by the wayside owing to economical factors oregon taste trends. But galore are pulling themselves retired of the doldrums to re-emerge arsenic viable players connected the edifice scene. Here are immoderate steakhouses erstwhile thought to beryllium dormant oregon dying that are grilling their mode backmost to the apical of the charred nutrient heap.

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After starting retired arsenic a azygous edifice successful Atlanta successful 1981, LongHorn Steakhouse fell nether the purview of conglomerate Darden Restaurants successful 2007. Selling large meals of beef cuts and the acquainted sides astatine a per-person complaint of astir $20 to $30, LongHorn is to steakhouses what chap Darden Restaurants subsidiary Olive Garden is to Italian-American food. Business was booming for LongHorn Steakhouse up until mid-March 2020, and the aboriginal days of the COVID-19 pandemic. To bounds the dispersed of the virus, LongHorn had to rapidly alteration the mode it did concern with authorities orders and nationalist information successful mind. About 60% of Darden's restaurants adopted a to-go exemplary portion others constricted edifice capableness by half. That led to an archetypal concern diminution of 60%, and that's a taxable that played retired crossed 2020.

In 2024, things were increasing again astatine LongHorn Steakhouse. Same-store income accrued by 7.5% successful the past 4th of that year. Executives judge the business's upturn is related to much businesslike usage of Uber arsenic a nutrient transportation work and expanding its portions, seemingly providing much worth for customers.