Thursday, October 19, 2023

[UPDATE] Historic Atlanta Area Restaurant Prepares to Move to New Property

LongHorn Steakhouse is in the home stretch of making its move in East Cobb.  ToNeTo Atlanta first announced the restaurant's plans in early January 2022 and now, nearly two years later, the new LongHorn Steakhouse is about to open.  According to a representative from the Orlando-based restaurant, the new LongHorn is slated to officially open November 6 November 20.  

The new LongHorn, at 4370 Roswell Road, will be a bit larger than the existing restaurant and will have 42 vs. 39 tables, according to a company representative.  Additionally, the current East Cobb LongHorn at 4721 Lower Roswell Road was the second to ever open in the history of the Atlanta-born chain.  George McKerrow, Jr. opened the first LongHorn along Peachtree Road in south Buckhead on August 10, 1981, and opened the Lower Roswell Road restaurant on June 29, 1983.  

According to a LongHorn Steakhouse representative, the company hosted a "closing VIP Dinner event" on October 16 for their team members to thank them for their service at the current location.  There will reportedly be no additional commemorative celebration or event to celebrate the significance of the East Cobb restaurant in the history of the brand.  

The new location, across from the Publix-anchored East Cobb Crossing shopping center, offers superior visibility and access and features the brand's latest design.  The new LongHorn replaces what had most recently been a BB&T bank branch but was before that an outpost of Black-eyed Pea, a casual dining chain that once had more than 120 locations around the south including about a dozen in metro Atlanta.  

LongHorn is constantly looking to optimize its real estate and has in at least two other instances in recent memory relocated Atlanta-area restaurants to increase visibility and access, among other considerations.  In late 2012, LongHorn moved their existing and dated location in Akers Mill Square to a portion of the former Circuit City within the center.  In 2018 the chain relocated their Kennesaw area restaurant from a small strip center near Town Center at Cobb to a freestanding site along Barrett Parkway, close to Kennesaw Marketplace, where the restaurant replaced a former SunTrust Bank.  

In August 2007, LongHorn Steakhouse, along with sibling eatery The Capital Grille, then part of RARE Hospitality International Inc., were acquired by Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, Inc.  There are currently 70 LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants in Georgia and more than 560 nationwide.  

Are you excited for the relocation of LongHorn Steakhouse in East Cobb?  What is your fondest memory of LongHorn Steakhouse?  What is your favorite casual dining restaurant?

Please share your thoughts below 

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wish it was a new one for Tucker! They as a corporation should be ashamed of how old and worn out that location is. And still the town supports it. It is always packed. Tucker people deserve better.

Anonymous said...

I loved the original building that was on this site. It wasn’t fancy AT ALL but gave you a feeling that this was the town’s secret place to get a great steak. Like the dive all of the locals know about. One of our neighbors moved to Atl to join RARE and take Longhorn to market. They did a great job accomplishing their goal, but I will forever miss the quirky red building that was there before.

Anonymous said...

I remember going there when it was in a little white house before they razed it and built the current building.

Anonymous said...

Haven't eaten at Longhorn in years. Hated it when they "sanitized" the experience, removing the neon Bullsh!t signs, expanding the menu, taking the lovely pictures from the men's room. Hell, even adding carpet ruined the whole schtick. But that's just me......

Anonymous said...

John Perry ran it for years that's why it was such a great location!! My team was awesome! Thanks for the memories

Patrick said...

I remember when George McKerrow, Jr. opened the second LongHorn on Lower Roswell Road. It’s been such a staple in the community. Looking forward to the new chapter on Roswell Road!

Patrick said...

I remember when George McKerrow, Jr. opened the second LongHorn on Lower Roswell Road. It’s been such a staple in the community. Looking forward to the new chapter on Roswell Road!

Anonymous said...

As landlords at the 4721 Lower Roswell Rd site we learned from the newspaper in early 2022 that Darden would be closing the restaurant after being our tenant for 27 years. When they negotiated the current lease in 2020 they were disingenuous when they told us they were looking forward to being tenants for years to come, since at that time they were already working on putting together the deal with Warren East Cobb LLC for the new site. Finally a couple of months ago, as a courtesy, Darden let us know they would be closing, but refused to give us a date. We were completely surprised on Monday to find their crew on site emptying out the restaurant.

Anonymous said...

As the CFO of Monkey Business LLC, I find this an outrageous exaggeration of the truth, and in fact, an outright lie. We were completely aghast at how you pulled the plug on our endeavor after such a long and productive relationship.

Anonymous said...

I hope the new location isn't like the new location in Kennesaw on Barrett Pkwy - too open and noisy.

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