Steakhouse Chains That Are Struggling To Stay In Business
A hybrid of casual dining with a buffet restaurant and a steakhouse, Sizzler first opened its doors in Culver City, California, in 1958, offering quality food like New York strip steaks (with a potato and bread) for cut-rate prices — even disallowing tipping to keep the price of a family dinner as low as possible.
A restaurant pod in Columbus, Ohio called "The Patio" became the home of the first-ever York Steak House in 1966. The restaurant successfully expanded into a chain over the next decade by opening locations in shopping malls, feeding hungry shoppers looking to drop a moderate amount of cash on a nice meal.
For residents of New Jersey in the latter half of the 20th century, Charlie Brown's Steakhouse was an institution. The slightly elevated but family-friendly restaurant offered premium cuts of beef and big slices of prime rib with the trimmings as well as a more cost-effective option
The 1980s and 1990s spawned a new era of family-friendly, casual steakhouse chain concepts. Outback and Texas Roadhouse debuted in those years and still dominate the sector decades later.
Launched in 2004, BLT Steak sought to combine French bistro vibes with chef-centric reinventions of classic steakhouse menu items. In the 21st century, it grew into a moderately sized string of elegant, modern fine-dining establishments offering familiar fare like porterhouse and New York strip steaks
Claim Jumper tried to occupy a spot at the apex of the chain restaurant pyramid. The average outlet promised the consistency and familiarity one gets when one dines at a chain restaurant while also selling very nice steaks
In 1974, Bill McCormick and Doug Schmick, the owner and manager, respectively, of one of Portland's oldest restaurants, Jake's Famous Crawfish, branched out to form a new seafood eatery, McCormick & Schmick's.