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As you could probably guess from the name, a “steakhouse” is a restaurant that specializes in steak. Or… at least claims to. They weren’t invented in the US, but it was America that turned steakhouses into a big business; and then, into a somewhat smaller business. In other words… Today we’re going to take a look at the rise and fall of American steakhouses.
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Today we're going to take a look at the rise and fall of American steakhouses
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Americans love steakhouses, but they didn't invent them, not by a long shot. In fact
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the earliest steakhouses predate the existence of the U.S. as a country by a good 75 years or so
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The oldest known examples started cropping up in London during the 1690s, but the steakhouse
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industry as we know it today was an outgrowth of more traditional bars and inns during the 19th
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century. The first proper American steakhouse may have been New York City's Delmonico's
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It first opened its doors in 1837 and is widely believed to be the first American dining
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establishment to ever refer to itself as a restaurant, and their upscale approach would
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set the tone for the American steakhouse industry going forward. Of course, in America, the brass
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ring of retail food sales is a big chain of restaurants, and chain steakhouses have been
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a thing since the late 1950s. Sizzler Steakhouse, for example, was founded in California in 1958
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Unlike many of the upscale hoity-toity steakhouses of the previous era, Sizzler was casual and
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budget-friendly. They were also incredibly profitable, so their business model would be widely copied and quickly become the norm for U.S. steakhouses. Nothing lasts forever
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and the steakhouse boom of the 80s and 90s was no exception. What went wrong? Well, for starters
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right around the turn of the millennium the commercial steakhouse market became
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saturated and everyone sales started to fall off additionally trends towards healthier eating since the 1990s had a lot to do with it as did the combined effect of the 2008 financial recession and the pandemic of 2020 which were both pretty brutal on sit
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restaurants in general. A series of controversies didn't help much either. For example, in 1993
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Sizzler allowed their salad bars to be contaminated by E. coli-infected meat
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causing nearly 40 confirmed cases of food poisoning. You'd think they'd have learned
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their lesson, but it happened again at locations in Milwaukee in 2000. Meanwhile, Lone Star developed
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a reputation for cutting corners. One reviewer from 1995, for example, reported being served an
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old, inedible piece of fish, which was only replaced with a fresher one after the reviewer
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something the manager admitted the kitchen staff did frequently. As of 2024, Ponderosa and Bonanza
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Steakhouses have just 14 locations left. Sizzler had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
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in 2020. And except for one lone location that remains open in Guam, of all places
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Lone Star Steakhouse rode off to the Great Cattle Ranch in the Sky in 2019. That being said
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the commercial steakhouse business may be making something of a comeback. Texas Roadhouse, for example, now has nearly 750 locations in the U.S., up from just under 700
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last year. And in 2023, Brand Finance named them the fastest-growing restaurant brand
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Longhorn Steakhouse recently announced plans to open around 15 new locations. And in 2023, their parent company, Darden, bought out the Ruth's Chris chain due to their optimism
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about the future of the upscale dining sector. Now if they'd only change that tongue twister of a name
#Hospitality Industry
#Restaurants