Outback Steakhouse

History

The first Outback Steakhouse location was opened on March 15, 1988, in Tampa, Florida.

Canadian Outback Steakhouse restaurants began in 1996. In March 2009, Outback Steakhouse Canada abruptly closed all nine locations in the province of Ontario, citing poor economic conditions, but in June 2009, Outback Steakhouse opened a location in Niagara Falls, Ontario, with a second location later opening in the same city. these are the only Outback Steakhouse locations operating in Canada.

Outback locations in Hawaii began to open in the mid 1990s, as part of a massive expansion across the country. On February 17, 2024, Outback’s parent company, Bloomin’ Brands, announced the permanent closure of all remaining Hawaii locations, as part of financial restructuring, citing a significant decrease in profits. This was part of a larger, mass closure of over 41 locations. All three locations in Hawaii were permanently closed by February 18, 2024.{{cite web

Outback Steakhouse opened in the UK with locations in Birmingham, Basildon, Enfield, Romford, Stevenage, Wandsworth in London and Staines. By September 2011, only its Basildon and Romford stores remained and they closed down on September 13, ending Outback's foray into the UK market.

In 2006, a new Outback logo was introduced, dropping the old kangaroo logo for a more simplistic and modern Outback mountain range logo. With this new logo, Outback then went on an aggressive remodeling campaign, starting in 2008, renovating most of their locations, along with opening brand new ones, for a fresher, more modern look to their business model. This included the removal of their iconic neon signs for more energy efficient LEDs, and the switch from a dark, rustic feel to a brighter, more vibrant look. Today, few original-style Outback locations remain, with most of them either abandoned for newer locations, or renovated.

On June 14, 2007, OSI Restaurant Partners completed a stock repurchase plan, and the company became privately held. In April 2012, Bloomin' Brands, the current owner of Outback Steakhouse, filed with the SEC to raise up to $300 million in an initial public offering.{{cite news

Most Outback locations are corporately owned by Bloomin Brands, however locations in California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico are separately owned by a corporate franchisee, Out West Restaurant Group.{{cite web

Outback Steakhouse currently operates over 1,000 locations worldwide, with 670 in the United States.

Menu

Bloomin' Onion

Main article: Blooming onion

The Bloomin' Onion is a signature Outback item, though it is not an Australian item and is not typically sold in Australia apart from at this chain. It is a 1 lb onion cut to 'bloom' open, breaded, deep-fried and served with mayonnaise-horseradish sauce. Other restaurants offer items similar to the Bloomin' Onion, as in Chili's Awesome Blossom (discontinued), Texas Roadhouse's Cactus Blossom, and Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon's Texas Rose. Many of the Bloomin' Onions have come under fire for high-calorie counts, sometimes going over 1,500 calories.{{cite web | access-date = 2010-01-17 | archive-date = 13 July 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100713124758/http://www.outback.com/menu/nutritionitem.aspx?id=1130 | url-status = dead

Involvements

Community

Outback Steakhouse has a program to support the communities in which its restaurants are located. They have also joined GroupRaise, a platform where non-profits can book restaurant fundraisers in their locations. On a national level, Outback partners with Heineken USA and their Heineken with a Heart program to raise funds for various organizations in these communities.

Political

The company and its founders are major contributors, via the Outback Steakhouse PAC, to the Republican Party, contributing $303,015 and $334,197 for the 2000 and 2004 election cycles, respectively. The Outback Steakhouse PAC itself is one of the largest donors in the food and beverage sector, second only to the National Restaurant Association, which itself represents 300,000 restaurants.

Food sourcing

Cage-free eggs

In 2022, Outback Steakhouse's parent company, Bloomin' Brands, announced their commitment to source 100% cage-free eggs across all of their locations by 2030. In 2024, they reported that they had reached this goal in their United States locations.

Advertising

• The company owns two blimps: the Bloomin' Onions I and II, both named after their appetizer.{{cite web | access-date = 2006-08-26 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060503161932/http://www.outback.com/sportscontestsgames/airship.asp |archive-date = 2006-05-03}}
• For several years, the company ran a media campaign with an Australian-themed variation of the Of Montreal composition "Wraith Pinned to the Mist (And Other Games)."
• General (Ret) Tommy Franks sits on the Board Of Directors for OSI Restaurant Partners, INC., which owns Outback Steakhouse.{{cite web | access-date = 2006-08-30

Sports

Outback Steakhouse was the title sponsor of the Outback Champions Series tennis events and NCAA football's Outback Bowl. The sponsorship lasted through 2020.

Outback is also a partner of the Tampa Bay Lightning and has a concession stand in Amalie Arena.

Motorsports

In 2012, Outback Steakhouse became a sponsor of Ryan Newman and the No. 39 Chevrolet for Stewart–Haas Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. In their first race as sponsor, Newman won the 2012 Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. One of the promotions the company had with Newman was a free Bloomin' Onion on the Monday after a race in which Newman would finish in the top ten. Kevin Harvick took over Outback's sponsorship and promotion in 2014 for two races in their No. 4 after Newman left the team. The company was on Harvick's car from 2014 until 2018, including his championship in 2014, and in 2019 and until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the steakhouse was a personal sponsor which kept the Blooming Monday promotion around still. It ended after 2020. The company also sponsored future four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon's No. 67 for the AC-Delco 200 in the Busch Series during the 1990 season.

In September 2023, Outback Steakhouse sponsored Stephen Mallozzi, who had previously worked as a server at the restaurant, for a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

|File:Outback Steakhouse Foothill Ranch.jpg|Original style restaurant in Lake Forest, California, September 2023 |File:Foothill ranch interior.jpg|Interior, February 2024. The original interior still remains, . |File:Outback Steakhouse CA.JPG|Outback restaurant at Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, California, in September 2007. This was relocated to the outdoor wing in 2018 and was demolished and replaced with Marshalls. |File:Outback blimp Tampa 2008.jpg|One of the two Outback blimps |File:Outback Steakhouse Hummer.JPG|The Outback Steakhouse Hummer vehicle

References

References

1. "Bloomin' Brands, Inc. 2015 Annual Report".
2. (13 March 2013). "Outback founders celebrate the first location in South Tampa".
3. (8 June 2021). "We Need To Talk About Bloomin' Onions, The Made-Up Aussie Delicacy That Americans Think We Eat". Zac Crellin.
4. "Outback Gives Back - Outback Steakhouse".
5. "Outback Steakhouse Fundraiser | Find Fundraising Restaurants Near You".
6. "Soft Money Donations: Outback Steakhouse (2000)". [[OpenSecrets]].
7. "Soft Money Donations: Outback Steakhouse (2004)". [[OpenSecrets]].
8. link. "Food & Beverage PAC Contributions to Federal Candidates, 2003-2004". [[OpenSecrets]]
9. Mitchell, Stuart. (2022-12-23). "Sixth EggTrack highlights global cage-free progress {{!}} Ethical Marketing News".
10. (2013-06-26). "Outback Steakhouse renews title sponsorship of Outback Bowl through 2020". [[WTSP]].
11. Kurz, Jr., Hank. (2012-04-01). "Newman wins wild finish at Martinsville Speedway". [[Yahoo! News]].
12. (2012-12-24). "OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE OFFERS FANS TASTY REASON TO CHEER FOR NEWMAN". [[Ryan Newman (racing driver).
13. "2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Paint Schemes - Team #4". [[Jayski's Silly Season Site]].
14. "1990 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference.
15. (2011-10-20). "Hallways To The Past". Gordon Online.
16. Christie, Toby. (2023-09-05). "Outback Steakhouse Returns to NASCAR With Stephen Mallozzi at Bristol".