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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:
Staking out a new territory
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| Mel Reyes, proprietor of the new Outback Steakhouse in the Glendale Marketplace, sits on the veranda of the restaurant's outdoor dining area. (Tammy Abbott/News-Press) |
Outback Steakhouse proprietor considers restaurant’s spot near the Americana a prime location.
By Ryan Vaillancourt
DOWNTOWN — Perched on the top floor of the Glendale Marketplace, the new Outback Steakhouse in Glendale resembles most of the Australian-themed chain restaurants across the country, except for a sign above the entrance.
Tacked to the face of an awning above the door, the sign reads: “Proprietor: Mel Reyes.”
Customers’ immediate introduction to the man who runs the Glendale restaurant speaks to the company’s unique franchise business model, which requires proprietors to invest in the location they run and commit to the position for at least five years, Reyes said.
Unlike the scores of national chain stores and restaurants that manage individual locations from the top down, hiring general managers to run turn-key operations,
Outback prefers its surrogates to be personally invested in the business and in their local communities. And Reyes has bought into the concept.
The Long Beach-area resident opened the Glendale Outback last week with a charity night that donated 50% of proceeds to the Verdugo Hills Hospital Foundation, and Reyes plans to participate in the Taste of Downtown Glendale on May 14 and joined the Glendale Sunrise Rotary Club, he said.
“And that’s Mel’s decision,” said Harry Hall, president of the Downtown Glendale Merchants Assn. “With corporations you usually got to go through 10 layers of approval to get that stuff done, so Mel’s exactly the kind of guy and business we want on the boulevard.”
But Outback Steakhouse, which gutted the former Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern and replaced it with all new furniture and materials, will have plenty of competition when it opens.
The restaurant’s second-story terrace overlooks the Americana at Brand, which will have at least seven sit-down restaurants when it opens Friday, including the Cheesecake Factory and Granville Cafe. Not a block away is BJ’s Bar & Grille, which opened in October. And the Outback Steakhouse location in Burbank is 6.5 miles away.
But Reyes is optimistic that the Americana, coupled with the Glendale Galleria and other downtown retailers, will bring enough customers to go around.
“I think it’s a draw,” Reyes said about the Americana. “Customers will come to us. I don’t really think of them as competition. . . . We wouldn’t be so close to the one in Burbank if we thought there weren’t enough customers.”
The restaurant, where steaks run from $13.99 for a 7-ounce sirloin to $25.99 for a 20-ounce porterhouse, is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 4 to 11 p.m. Fridays, noon to 11 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 9:30 p.m. Sundays. It’s located at 146 S. Brand Blvd.
For more information, call (818) 244-1136.
Tacked to the face of an awning above the door, the sign reads: “Proprietor: Mel Reyes.”
Customers’ immediate introduction to the man who runs the Glendale restaurant speaks to the company’s unique franchise business model, which requires proprietors to invest in the location they run and commit to the position for at least five years, Reyes said.
Unlike the scores of national chain stores and restaurants that manage individual locations from the top down, hiring general managers to run turn-key operations,
Outback prefers its surrogates to be personally invested in the business and in their local communities. And Reyes has bought into the concept.
The Long Beach-area resident opened the Glendale Outback last week with a charity night that donated 50% of proceeds to the Verdugo Hills Hospital Foundation, and Reyes plans to participate in the Taste of Downtown Glendale on May 14 and joined the Glendale Sunrise Rotary Club, he said.
“And that’s Mel’s decision,” said Harry Hall, president of the Downtown Glendale Merchants Assn. “With corporations you usually got to go through 10 layers of approval to get that stuff done, so Mel’s exactly the kind of guy and business we want on the boulevard.”
But Outback Steakhouse, which gutted the former Bennigan’s Grill & Tavern and replaced it with all new furniture and materials, will have plenty of competition when it opens.
The restaurant’s second-story terrace overlooks the Americana at Brand, which will have at least seven sit-down restaurants when it opens Friday, including the Cheesecake Factory and Granville Cafe. Not a block away is BJ’s Bar & Grille, which opened in October. And the Outback Steakhouse location in Burbank is 6.5 miles away.
But Reyes is optimistic that the Americana, coupled with the Glendale Galleria and other downtown retailers, will bring enough customers to go around.
“I think it’s a draw,” Reyes said about the Americana. “Customers will come to us. I don’t really think of them as competition. . . . We wouldn’t be so close to the one in Burbank if we thought there weren’t enough customers.”
The restaurant, where steaks run from $13.99 for a 7-ounce sirloin to $25.99 for a 20-ounce porterhouse, is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 4 to 11 p.m. Fridays, noon to 11 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 9:30 p.m. Sundays. It’s located at 146 S. Brand Blvd.
For more information, call (818) 244-1136.
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