By Jordan Valinsky, CNN Business
Outback Steakhouses of the future won’t be nearly as expansive as the outback itself.
Like many casual dining chains, Outback is pivoting toward a post-pandemic future in which delivery and takeout orders are increasingly important to the bottom line. So the chain, known for its Bloomin’ Onions and steaks, is reducing the size of its restaurants by 17% to clock in at about 5,000 square feet.
These new and more compact locations will include smaller kitchens and expanded pickup areas for takeout and delivery.
“Outback is a 34-year-old brand with a fairly large national footprint,” Brett Patterson, president of Outback Steakhouse, said in an interview with CNN Business. “The brand resonates fairly well in smaller markets, but in order to continue to grow we wanted a more approachable prototype.”
The chain’s owner, Bloomin’ Brands, said in its most recent earnings report that off-premise sales — meaning takeout and delivery — made up 29% of Outback’s revenue in the fourth quarter, nearly double the last three months of 2019. The brand’s delivery partnership with DoorDash in 2019 proved “very fortunate during the pandemic,” Patterson said, adding that delivery is here to stay: “The consumer isn’t going back to how they behaved a few years ago.”
And that is what’s informing Outback’s rethinking of its restaurants. The new locations have a dedicated space for pickup orders, and kitchens will include “completely new equipment” capable to better...
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