How Is That Chain Still Open?

[obigbo 8]

/csb

Had a neighbor 20 or so years ago that had a big nice house, pool, expensive cars, a bad ass boat, trailer smoker and a nice Harley.  He had a lot of toys and and a new younger hot wife.  One day he had a party and we started to discuss his company.  He owned all the crazy crane claw machines at all Cici's and some other restaurants.  Found out he had his company office at small nearby airport where he kept his plane.  Once a week they would fly to different parts of Texas to collect from all their machines.  That was his only source of income. 

[Litig8r 414]

Is it some kind of rule that you start a good restaurant franchise, make big bucks, start cutting corners and it goes to shit..or do our taste buds get more "refined".  Outback used to be the shit, it's fucking awful now.  

[conVINCEd 21469]

4 minutes ago, Litig8r said:

Is it some kind of rule that you start a good restaurant franchise, make big bucks, start cutting corners and it goes to shit..or do our taste buds get more "refined".  Outback used to be the shit, it's fucking awful now.  

I think a lot of them are trying to meet a certain price point.  Their target demographic is value steak consumers.  When the costs go up the just buy cheaper meat so they get in south of $20/plate (I have no idea what it actually costs to eat at Outback these days).  A lot of those people go somewhere else if you bump it up to $30.  The folks dining at Mastro’s  just bitch about the price increase for 30 seconds if they even notice, shrug, and order.

[Litig8r 414]

14 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

I think a lot of them are trying to meet a certain price point.  Their target demographic is value steak consumers.  When the costs go up the just buy cheaper meat so they get in south of $20/plate (I have no idea what it actually costs to eat at Outback these days).  A lot of those people go somewhere else if you bump it up to $30.  The folks dining at Mastro’s  just bitch about the price increase for 30 seconds if they even notice, shrug, and order.

I had not heard of Mastro's...checked it and it looks strong as new rope.  

[conVINCEd 21469]

5 minutes ago, Litig8r said:

I had not heard of Mastro's...checked it and it looks strong as new rope.  

It’s a lovely evening, particularly if someone else is picking up the tab as repayment for an incredibly stupid wager on their part.

[baboso 6054]

3 hours ago, Litig8r said:

Is it some kind of rule that you start a good restaurant franchise, make big bucks, start cutting corners and it goes to shit..or do our taste buds get more "refined".  Outback used to be the shit, it's fucking awful now.  

It is the slippery slope of every restaurant.  Sales go down, you cut corners on quality of products, sales slip more.  Next thing you know, you're putting plywood over the windows and hoping some insurance agent will buy your building for what is owed on it.

[66BUFF 2562]

10 hours ago, baboso said:

It is the slippery slope of every restaurant.  Sales go down, you cut corners on quality of products, sales slip more.  Next thing you know, you're putting plywood over the windows and hoping some insurance agent will buy your building for what is owed on it.

 

[South Austin 52456]

15 hours ago, obigbo said:

/csb

Had a neighbor 20 or so years ago that had a big nice house, pool, expensive cars, a bad ass boat, trailer smoker and a nice Harley.  He had a lot of toys and and a new younger hot wife.  One day he had a party and we started to discuss his company.  He owned all the crazy crane claw machines at all Cici's and some other restaurants.  Found out he had his company office at small nearby airport where he kept his plane.  Once a week they would fly to different parts of Texas to collect from all their machines.  That was his only source of income. 

Well that was three years of law school tuition down the drain.

[Texzilla58 4732]

If schools did a better job of showing how much money regular folks can make with little businesses everyone would ditch law school or medicine and buy a franchise or a car wash or some commercial real estate.

About 20 years ago a colleague called to tell me he was leaving our industry. He had bought the Ohio territory for something called Red Bull. “What’s that?” It’s some kind of euro drink thing. He started with a van, in a year he had a fleet. Made a fuckibg fortube.

[Patricio Swayze 17058]

Fortubes are tough to make.

[Underdog 28584]

Maybe not so difficult in Ohio. 

[TheStoicPaisano 9922]

Better use those giant-ass coupons they send every week.

 

[Guest]

Beyond is not that far?

[Ignatius 4017]

On 3/21/2023 at 10:51 AM, Texzilla58 said:

If schools did a better job of showing how much money regular folks can make with little businesses everyone would ditch law school or medicine and buy a franchise or a car wash or some commercial real estate.

About 20 years ago a colleague called to tell me he was leaving our industry. He had bought the Ohio territory for something called Red Bull. “What’s that?” It’s some kind of euro drink thing. He started with a van, in a year he had a fleet. Made a fuckibg fortube.

So is the moral of your story that small business is the easy way to riches, professor?

[MNLonghornFUKM 8817]

These $1.79 McDonald’s slushees are freaking crack. With that 20% discount from the app theyre pretty much free. Hot damn

[billfromlaketravis 11448]

On 3/20/2023 at 3:02 PM, Litig8r said:

Is it some kind of rule that you start a good restaurant franchise, make big bucks, start cutting corners and it goes to shit..or do our taste buds get more "refined".  Outback used to be the shit, it's fucking awful now.  

Is it one location or do they all suck? The Outback by my house slams and goes hard when I get in the mood for a cheap steak and baked potato. 
 

I won’t order the Blooming Onion again. It’s too damn big to split between 2 people. 

[WBT 20561]

18 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

These $1.79 McDonald’s slushees are freaking crack. With that 20% discount from the app theyre pretty much free. Hot damn

Get one now before Mickey D's shuts down for good!

[TheStoicPaisano 9922]

I thought this turned into a fast food catchall.

 

[Longboard Horn 40296]

On 3/13/2023 at 1:54 PM, Al_4_ISU said:

Jason's has a good salad bar, but their sandwiches definitely blow.

Now just seeing this. Agreed. 

[Incredulity 11655]

On 5/29/2023 at 11:28 AM, billfromlaketravis said:

Is it one location or do they all suck? The Outback by my house slams and goes hard when I get in the mood for a cheap steak and baked potato. 
 

I won’t order the Blooming Onion again. It’s too damn big to split between 2 people. 

This is a great question.

My last few experiences at Outback(different locations) have been fucking awful.

Literally:

 

It was never fine dining, but really above average at a pretty darn fair price.

Sad to see it go away.

[HenryJames 66038]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-16/red-lobster-mulls-filing-for-bankruptcy-to-fix-balance-sheet?embedded-checkout=true

[gsoda3 3248]

On 3/20/2023 at 2:21 PM, obigbo said:

/csb

Had a neighbor 20 or so years ago that had a big nice house, pool, expensive cars, a bad ass boat, trailer smoker and a nice Harley.  He had a lot of toys and and a new younger hot wife.  One day he had a party and we started to discuss his company.  He owned all the crazy crane claw machines at all Cici's and some other restaurants.  Found out he had his company office at small nearby airport where he kept his plane.  Once a week they would fly to different parts of Texas to collect from all their machines.  That was his only source of income. 

i'm sure they hope the IRS and treasury department are as gullible as you are.  

[Zepol87 9185]

18 minutes ago, BeardIP said:

25 years ago this placed slapped.

I was surprised to find out they still existed. I thought they went the way of Black Eyed Pea and Tony Roma's:

TGI Fridays to go public through merger with its U.K. franchisee

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/16/tgi-fridays-to-go-public-through-merger-with-its-uk-franchisee.html

I still hit TGIF  once a month when I am in Dallas for work, I stay down the street from the one in Addison. The patio area of that isn't bad at all for a few drinks for HH. Haven't eaten any food there in a long time though.

[Zepol87 9185]

That is what I see most people do for that one, we drink outside by the fire pits and chill then walk to Ida Claire or Hudson House for dinner most of the time. The 9pm to close HH they have is solid as well if you aren't driving

[TheStoicPaisano 9922]

Crosshimoffthen.gif

 

[4th&Five 41519]

[WBT 20561]

 

Quote

The restaurant chain, which has been owned by seafood supplier Thai Union Group Plc since 2020, serves 64 million customers per year and purchases 20% of all North American lobster tails, as well as 16% of all rock lobsters worldwide.

That's crazy

[TheStoicPaisano 9922]

42 minutes ago, WBT said:

 

That's crazy

Lots of trouble (Hoorah)

Lots of bubble (Hoorah)

[LCHorn 2615]

2 hours ago, TheStoicPaisano said:

Crosshimoffthen.gif

 

My personal worst dining experience that I can recall is eating at the Red Lobster in Mishawaka, Indiana in January at the behest of the Marines with whom I was training at the AM General plant. 

I don't even remember the food or service, just that it was bad.  What I do remember is looking around the mostly empty restaurant and seeing utter despair, both in the faces of the obese diners and the harried waitstaff.  And yes, all the result of running out cheddar biscuits...

[SimonBolivar 10957]

On 5/20/2024 at 12:53 PM, 4th&Five said:

Make the biscuits at home pretty often, but Red Lobster WAS fine dining as kids. 

 

"Put your church clothes on, it's your grandma's birthday and we're going to Red Lobster."

Edited May 21 by SimonBolivar

[Mittens 8258]

 

[Mittens 8258]

I see a lot of sad posts about losing restaurants we went to as kids, or years ago, but when was the last time you or anyone you know stepped inside a Red Lobster?

I know I haven't been in one since the early 2000's.  They used to do an all-you-can-eat king crab legs on specific days for like a month or two.  We'd go in there and fuck that up so hard.  But yeah - an easy 20+ years since I've eaten at Red Lobster.  

[Al_4_ISU 12452]

A buddy of mine went recently because his teenage son wanted endless shrimp for his birthday.  Personally, I haven’t been since the last Bush Administration.  In college we’d go sometimes to order the cheapest thing on the menu and fill up on the biscuits.

[Deej 76755]

32 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

Male the biscuits at home pretty often, but Red Lobster Steak & Ale WAS fine dining as kids. 

 

[hornian 5210]

41 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

Male the biscuits at home pretty often, but Red Lobster WAS fine dining as kids. 

Shit. If this is gonna be that kind of party, I’m gonna stick my dick in the mashed potatoes.

[gofuckyourself 8206]

Steak and Ale was 100% the fancy going out destination as kids..

Dad swiped one of the meat cleaver menus and we had that hanging in our kitchen, to prove our fanciness.

 

[Underdog 28584]

6 minutes ago, hornian said:

Shit. If this is gonna be that kind of party, I’m gonna stick my dick in the mashed potatoes.

Yeah, stay away from the crabs. 

[Deej 76755]

2 hours ago, gofuckyourself said:

Steak and Ale was 100% the fancy going out destination as kids..

Dad swiped one of the meat cleaver menus and we had that hanging in our kitchen, to prove our fanciness.

 

$7.95 for sirloin and two lobster tails. Nice.

[conVINCEd 21469]

2 minutes ago, Deej said:

$7.95 for sirloin and two lobster tails. Nice.

Plus the salad bar.

[Deej 76755]

Loved the salad bar as a kid. 

[conVINCEd 21469]

3 minutes ago, Deej said:

Loved the salad bar as a kid. 

There’s a lesson there for parents who have a hard time getting kids to eat their veggies. I usually ended up with two leafs of lettuce, a pound of croutons, and 1/2 gallon of ranch.

Edited May 20 by conVINCEd

[Deej 76755]

3 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

There’s a lesson there for parents who have a hard time getting kids to eat their veggies. I usually ended up with two leafs of lettuce, a pound of croutons, and 1/2 gallon of ranch.

I always ended up with a half gallon of Bleu cheese dressing. 

[Deej 76755]

The best was the ride home, with both parents shitfaced while we were in the back seat with no seat belts. 

[Brisketexan 105077]

Sheeeeit.  Growing up, Red Lobster and Steak & Ale were the exacta of fine dining choices.  Hell, we ate at Steak & Ale after my high school graduation.

As for the last time I had Red Lobster....was probably during the pandemic.  First pandemic birthday in our house was my son, turning 17.  He wanted Red Lobster.  I musta ordered $100 worth of stuff to pick up.  I know these items were on the list:

Admiral's Feast:

Crab linguini alfredo:

I think there was also some fried calamari, some regular fried shrimp, and surely some biscuits.  He was a happy boy.

I truly can't remember eating any Red Lobster since then.

[LonghornJones 837]

We were more of a Western Sizzlin' family. Had the Steak and Ale experience once. Glorious.

[Underdog 28584]

Ponderosa.  
 

My first job was as busboy for York Steakhouse at a nearby mall. 

[SimonBolivar 10957]

On 5/20/2024 at 2:58 PM, Mittens said:

I see a lot of sad posts about losing restaurants we went to as kids, or years ago, but when was the last time you or anyone you know stepped inside a Red Lobster?

I know I haven't been in one since the early 2000's.  They used to do an all-you-can-eat king crab legs on specific days for like a month or two.  We'd go in there and fuck that up so hard.  But yeah - an easy 20+ years since I've eaten at Red Lobster.  

Yeah I would guess 2008

[MonkeyDoughnut 10229]

Wife and I stopped eating at Reb Lobster years ago after looking around and saying "I don't want to look like one of the regulars here".  Everyone was VERY overweight.  When Ozempic first came about I even thought.. no way Red Lobster survives this.  As for Steak & Ale... fine dining (for us)... had rehersal dinner there way back in the day.

[Jiggy-Z 3432]

Louie's on the Lake (Austin) alum checking in. They closed in 1986 due to mismanagement and a bad Texas economy for pricey dining.

All you can eat gourmet salad bar and seafood buffet which had king crab, snow crab, fried shrimp, fried frog legs, prime rib and a bunch of other stuff for $18.00 per person, which was a lot back then.

Part of the poor management was not having a system of controls to limit food theft by the high school aged guys working the buffet line.

Im not talking about pinching a shrimp or two or cutting off a sliver of prime rib and hiding it in the au jus. We flat out just took whatever we wanted. My folks loved it, their two boys helping out with some fancy eats and making a wage to boot. We always told them it was leftover stuff that was going to be thrown away.

Sunday brunch was the best because we could dissappear a lot of champagne while working the line. I was the omlet guy most of the time and the 6 or 8 glasses of champagne would help me overcome my shyness and chat up the ladies while crafting their omlets.

That's kind of where my problems with alcohol started.

[Knoxtnhorn 5971]

On 5/21/2024 at 2:59 PM, LonghornJones said:

We were more of a Western Sizzlin' family. Had the Steak and Ale experience once. Glorious.

Ate Western Sizzlin once.  In Flagstaff, AZ.  It was really, REALLY good.

FYI, they put a hold on reopening Steak and Ale.  Sucks, because it was always a bucket list place before I knew what a bucket list was.  Growing up, there was one near our house.  We were dirt poor, so there was no chance we'd ever eat there.  I always thought it was some magical, mysterious place because, from what I could see from the street, the lighting inside was really dim and I had no idea what a "fancy" restaurant was like on the inside.

On 5/21/2024 at 2:59 PM, LonghornJones said:

We were more of a Western Sizzlin' family. Had the Steak and Ale experience once. Glorious.

Ate Western Sizzlin once.  In Flagstaff, AZ.  It was really, REALLY good.

FYI, they put a hold on reopening Steak and Ale.  Sucks, because it was always a bucket list place before I knew what a bucket list was.  Growing up, there was one near our house.  We were dirt poor, so there was no chance we'd ever eat there.  I always thought it was some magical, mysterious place because, from what I could see from the street, the lighting inside was really dim and I had no idea what a "fancy" restaurant was like on the inside.