LongHorn Steakhouse is an American

casual dining Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the USA, while catego ...

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

owned and operated by

Darden Restaurants, Inc. Darden Restaurants, Inc. is an American multi-brand restaurant operator headquartered in Orlando. As of January 2022, the firm owns two fine dining restaurant chains: Eddie V's Prime Seafood, Eddie V's and The Capital Grille; and six casual dini ...

, headquartered in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. As of 2016, LongHorn Steakhouse generated $1.6 billion in sales in its 559 locations.

History

LongHorn Steakhouse was founded in 1981 by George McKerrow, Jr. and his best friend Brian. McKerrow was a former manager at Quinn's Mill Restaurant, a subsidiary of Victoria Station, a San Francisco-based concept with railroad cars used as dining areas that was popular in the US during the 70's and 80's. The first location, originally called LongHorn Steaks Restaurant & Saloon, opened on

Peachtree Street Peachtree Street is one of several major streets running through the city of Atlanta. Beginning at Five Points (Atlanta), Five Points in downtown Atlanta, it runs North through Midtown Atlanta, Midtown; a few blocks after entering into Buckhead ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. It was a former antique store, then an adult entertainment business. The walls were still painted black and some of the booths were divided by recycled black partitions. He filled it with steer heads and western paraphernalia. The LongHorn featured steaks grilled in a butter sauce. Longhorn sirloin steak and fries (STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAK)

Longhorn sirloin steak and fries (STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAK)

It was across from a very popular pub, Harrison's on Peachtree. Harrison's was the favorite hangout of Atlanta Journal and Constitution columnist Ron Hudspeth and

Lewis Grizzard Lewis McDonald Grizzard Jr. (October 20, 1946 – March 20, 1994) was an American writer and humorist, known for his Southern demeanor and commentary on the American South. Although he spent his early career as a newspaper sports writer and ed ...

. Hudspeth regularly featured quotes from "Pete the barkeep" at Harrison's. Harrison's had a very limited bar menu. So, regulars ventured over to the LongHorn for a steak after a night of drinking. However, in January 1982, a sudden snow storm that became known as SnowJam 82, trapped the area's commuter population within the city limits and McKerrow offered $1 drinks and menu specials to the stranded motorists. Hudspeth featured it in his column. This helped turn the struggling restaurant around. By 1990, the franchise expanded further south. It primarily has locations throughout the

Eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

. It also has many locations in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

, and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. In August 2007, LongHorn Steakhouse, formerly owned and operated by RARE Hospitality International Inc., was purchased by Darden Restaurants, Inc.

Theme

LongHorn Steakhouse has a Western/Texan theme. Each restaurant is decorated with oil paintings, photos, and selected Western memorabilia that support this theme.

side dish A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal.soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ing ...

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

es, and

hamburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically Ground beef, beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles ...

s is available. File:Flo's Filet at Longhorn Steakhouse.jpg, Flo's Filet, a filet mignon File:Longhorn Steakhouse Ribeye steak.jpg, Ribeye Steak File:The Longhorn (porterhouse) steak.jpg, The "Longhorn", a

porterhouse steak The T-bone and porterhouse are steaks of beef cut from the short loin (called the sirloin in Commonwealth countries and Ireland). Both steaks include a "T"-shaped lumbar vertebra with sections of abdominal internal oblique muscle on each side ...

File:Longhorn Steakhouse Chopped Steak.jpg, Chopped Steak (

ground beef Ground beef, minced beef or beef mince is beef that has been finely chopped with a knife, meat grinder (American English), mincer or mincing machine (British English). It is used in many recipes including hamburgers, bolognese sauce, meatloaf, ...

)

Doneness preference

According to research conducted between May 2016 - May 2017, 37.5 percent of diners preferred their steak done

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

, 25.8 percent medium-well, 22.5 percent medium-rare, 11.7 percent

well done Doneness is a gauge of how thoroughly cooked a cut of meat is based on its color, juiciness, and internal temperature. The gradations are most often used in reference to beef (especially steaks and roasts) but are also applicable to other type ...

, and only 2.5 percent preferred their steak to be rare.

References

External links

*
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (Parent Company)
{{Darden Companies based in Orlando, Florida Restaurants established in 1981 Western-themed restaurants Darden Restaurants brands Restaurant chains in the United States Steakhouses in the United States 1981 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 2007 mergers and acquisitions

History

Theme

Menu

Doneness preference

References

External links