Wednesday, February 14, 2018

[UPDATE] Outback Steakhouse Double Switch to Start in Alpharetta

Tampa based Bloomin' Brands plans to open their latest Outback Steakhouse Monday February 19 on North Point Parkway in Alpharetta.  The restaurant, located in a newly constructed outparcel of North Point MarketCenter, sports the brand's latest design elements including a far more modern aesthetic and updated branding.  The new look is reportedly referred to as "Modern Australia."  
The new Outback Steakhouse on North Point Parkway 
The new Outback is actually replacing another nearby Outback. The existing Outback, located in North Bridges Shopping Center at the corner of State Bridge & Jones Bridge Roads, closed at the end of business this past  Monday, according to Elizabeth Watts, Director of Media & Community Relations for Bloomin’ Brands, Inc.  

The North Bridges restaurant is officially in Johns Creek and is about 5.5 miles from the new location.  The Johns Creek  restaurant was "in line," meaning that it was within the shopping center versus a freestanding building.  According to the Outback website, the restaurant had been in business for ten years.  

The new restaurant, which reportedly measures 6,494 square feet with a 432 square foot outdoor lounge/patio, is slightly smaller than the former location which measured 6,632 square feet.   The new location will offer lunch seven days a week  whereas the previous location was not open for weekday lunch.

Despite North Point Mall's loss of Apple and Gap, among others, to Avalon, the North Point Mall corridor continues to thrive with a robust retail and restaurant mix with a number of recent and upcoming openings.  


A second new look Outback is expected to open in May on Scenic Highway in Snellville.  The restaurant, which is currently under construction, is opening in the Park Place development, already home to Cracker Barrel, Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers and Zaxby's. 

The new Snellville Outback will also replace another nearby location.  The Outback at 1525 East Park Place Boulevard near its intersection with Stone Mountain Highway will reportedly close in April, according to a source close to the restaurant.  The Stone Mountain Outback, like the Johns Creek restaurant, is inline, and is rather hidden behind a Hardees and Waffle House, among other businesses.  The Stone Mountain and Snellville locations are about eight miles apart.  

According to the Outback website, the Stone Mountain restaurant has been in business for 26 years.  The relocation of the Outback follows the closure of the nearby SuperTarget in 2010 and the relocation of the nearby TJ Maxx to Loganville in 2013.  A nearby former Best Buy was later occupied by a Goodwill thrift store while a former Cub Foods sits largely vacant.  

Have you been to the one of the new Outback Steakhouse restaurants yet?  Are you more inclined to patronize Outback Steakhouse given their new look?  What is your favorite casual restaurant? 

Please share your thoughts below   

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

The North Bridges location was always awful, from the food to the service — compared to other Outbacks. It lasted so long only because of it’s good location.

Anonymous said...

Outbacks is NOT GOOD. Bad food bad service. Was good back in the day but now its nothing special.

Timmyg said...

Totally agreed

Anonymous said...

Please Outback, and other restaurants in general, stop hiring incompetent, rude, bad-attitude-having, disrespectful ‘yoofs’ and ‘teens’! We are sick of it, and your places will not thrive...the word gets out! Forget quotas, think quality!

Anonymous said...

I waited tables at the Toco Hills Outback for a year back in 1996 just after college while simultaneously working a day job (they were only open for dinner back then). That restaurant was a tight ship. The servers were mostly excellent, the kitchen staff was outstanding and the GM/proprietor was top notch. After climbing the Outback corporate ladder he eventually launched his own restaurant chain which I believe has about 20 locations now. We ran about a 45 minute wait on most weeknights and much longer on weekends. We scored a 100 on our health inspection every single time and people actually cared. I learned a lot from that guy and notice all the deficiencies when I dine out now. The last time I visited that Outback, it had fallen really far in food service and quality. It's too bad as it used to be a pretty good meal for the price.

Anonymous said...

@ 6:29 Echo your sentiments. I am Gen X and worked in a chain restaurants, a large clothing retailer and small service industry jobs back in the day. The whole structure top to bottom was exactly as you described. Not so much today. Part of the reason many retailers and restaurants are suffering today is due to horrible service server/cashier to the customer. Unfortunately I don't see it improving at all across the board given the entitlement attitude and uncivilness in today's society.

Eric said...

Those of you bemoaning the decline in chain restaurant service: this is the capitalist free market at work. The deal behind the whole structure is that we as consumers can take our money wherever, but a capitalist system also hinges on the fact that labor is also a mobile commodity, and workers can seek out better employment. Over the past two decades, local small businesses and ATL-based restaurants have upped their game and offered a better work environment, better pay, better benefits, more flexibility, a better atmosphere, more pride in what they're selling... that's where the better servers go. If that's what you value, that's where you should dine.

Anonymous said...

Part of the reason is that these people especially this generation feel entitled to larger amounts verses actual amounts. $15 an hour my ass! That's like $30,000.00 a year! I didn't make that when I graduated from college! Liberals expect more than reality is willing to give. Notice computer/tablets at restaurants now. They can be replaced. Service standards/smiling faces are soon to be gone. Sad.

Anonymous said...

I used to work at Outback in West Palm Beach Florida. I love Outback Steakhouses. However, I tried the Outback at North Bridge/ Johns Creek probably 10 times in 5 years and EVERY SINGLE TIME the service and food was not Outback quality. I eventually stopped going there completely. I am saddened to hear that it has closed because I have a strong feeling that the same poor quality of cooks, servers and management will be at the new location. I have been very excited until now. Dang it.

dal787 said...

Corporations are as much to blame as the so called "liberals." When you don't guarantee employees hours or advance schedules, how can you expect them to be loyal, to provide good service, or a clean restaurant? I worked at Burger King in high school and always knew my schedule a month in advance. In turn, I provided good service to my customers. On-demand scheduling? Not so much.

Anonymous said...

@Eric - I'm not sure what you are referring to. Are you saying that local Atlanta owned restaurants have pulled all the good, quality servers from the chain restaurants? It seems to be more of a price point thing to me - the higher end the restaurant, the better the service (generally speaking, not always of course).

When I worked at Outback, many of the servers there were Emory students. They were generally not the bread winners trying to support a family on a server's wage. They were earning extra money for school, living expenses or spending money. It was a second job for me and I used the money to buy an engagement ring for my wife.

Anonymous said...

"Part of the reason is that these people especially this generation feel entitled to larger amounts verses actual amounts. $15 an hour my ass! That's like $30,000.00 a year! I didn't make that when I graduated from college!"

Clearly when you went to college they did not teach you how inflation works, because $30k won't get you too terribly far these days. It's a living wage, but a bare minimum.

Anonymous said...

Look crooked lazy hilary the day a counter sever/order taker gets to make $30k a year for that type of service is the day they get replaced by a non complaining computer! McDonald's is already doing that with large self ordering tablets and automatic grills. What will happen is that these expensive workers will have their hours cut and become part time employees. That is reality vs entitled. Minimum wage was created as a start. People get lazy and seem to remain in the same position for years. Us older folks were told that every 2-3 years you should be moving up in your career. Even if you have to leave your current employee and go to a new one. You should have goals that takes you to the next level. You are responsible for you not the government. Lazy. I'm glad to see this happen because it shows how the "entitled" is outsmarted! Enjoy the 20 work hours a week!

Anonymous said...

@ February 21, 2018 at 6:24 PM

What your referring to is McDonald's kiosks .... Interesting article below as well as quotes.

https://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/economics/item/24699-mcdonald-s-response-to-15-minimum-wage-automation-in-every-store

"It’s all about the math. Rensi oversaw every aspect of McDonald’s: sales, profits, operations, customer satisfaction, product development, personnel, and training. If a store can replace a $15 an hour employee with a robot that costs $35,000, it will not only improve that store’s operating margins but will actually enhance customer experience: robots don’t get sick, they don’t have attitudes or get pregnant, they don’t go on strike, they always show up for work on time, and, as software improves, will provide a friendly, interactive interface with the store."

"Here’s the math: a worker being paid $15 an hour costs his employer $38,500 a year, including unemployment insurance and the employer’s part of Social Security. If Rensi is right, and the average robot in a McDonald’s costs $35,000, in less than a year that store has paid for it in reduced wages, and eliminates that $15 an hour cost forever after. If there are 30 employees in a McDonald’s, and if just 10 of them are replaced by a robot, customers will enjoy another benefit: lower prices on their Happy Meals."

Anonymous said...

Oh snap! Now the company is even testing self-serve McCafe kiosks where a customer can prepare and customize their own coffee beverage and pay via app! No more entry level no more pain!

Anonymous said...

It's a good idea on paper, but what happens when the kiosk provides you with something other than what you ordered? Plus I'm sure those things break down just as often as humans get sick.

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