Outback Steakhouse
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This article may contain original research. (April 2012) |
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| Type | Wholly owned subsidiary |
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| Industry | Restaurant |
| Genre | Casual dining, Steakhouse |
| Founded | 1988 Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Founder(s) | Robert D. Basham Chris T. Sullivan Trudy Cooper J. Timothy Gannon |
| Headquarters | 2202 North West Shore Boulevard, Suite 500 Tampa, Florida, U.S. 33607 |
| Number of locations | 966 (2012) |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Elizabeth A. Smith (CEO/Chairman of OSI) Dirk A. Montgomery (CFO/EVP of OSI) Jeffrey S. Smith (President/EVP of Outback Steakhouse) David P. Berg (President of Outback Steakhouse International) |
| Products | American cuisine (steak • chicken • seafood • burgers • salad) |
| Parent | Bloomin' Brands |
| Website | outback.com |
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References: [1] |
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Outback Steakhouse (or simply Outback) is an Australian-themed American casual dining restaurant chain owned and operated by Bloomin' Brands. The brand was formed in February 1988 in Tampa, Florida by Robert D. "Bob" Basham, Chris T. Sullivan, Trudy Cooper and J. Timothy Gannon.
As of December 31, 2011, Bloomin' Brands owned/operated 669 restaurants domestically and 111 internationally. In addition, they have 153 franchised locations across the world and a joint venture comprising 34 international locations.[1]
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History [edit]
The enterprise, originally called Multi-Venture Partners, Inc., was founded in Florida in 1987 by three partners, Tim Gannon, Bob Basham, and Chris Sullivan, all of whom had experience in the restaurant industry.[2] The first Outback Steakhouse opened in 1988 in Tampa, Florida with Australian decor and American food.[2] Within 15 months, five more restaurants had been opened.[2] The chain passed the 100-restaurant mark in March 1993, having expanded into 15 states.[2]
In 1997, Outback entered the South Korean market through a franchise agreement with Aussie Chung Inc. As of 2011, there are 103 Outback Steakhouse locations throughout South Korea.[1]
On April 25, 2006, Outback Steakhouse, Inc. changed its name to OSI Restaurant Partners, Inc.[1]
On June 14, 2007, OSI Restaurant Partners completed a stock repurchase plan, resulting in the company being privately held.[citation needed]
Canadian Outback restaurants opened in 1996. In March 2009, Outback Steakhouse Canada abruptly closed all nine locations in the province of Ontario, citing poor economic conditions. However, two months later, an Outback restaurant reopened in Niagara Falls. Two Outback locations continue to operate in Edmonton, Alberta.[citation needed]
Outback Steakhouse's parent company, Bloomin' Brands, completed its initial public offering under NASDAQ symbol BLMN on August 8, 2012.[citation needed]
Menu [edit]
All of the chain's meats are heavily seasoned; a 17 spice blend is used for the signature dish, steak.[citation needed] Outback fries its food in beef tallow, and uses butter and heavy cream in many dishes. Burgers are ground from beef tenderloin. Although a number of menu items are grilled, steaks are prepared on a griddle using butter as a heat transfer medium. Many Outback Restaurants[vague] now offer the option to have steaks grilled over an open oak wood flame. These steaks are seasoned with a lighter blend, and butter is not used. This provides a healthier option, while maintaining flavor because of the smoke.[citation needed]
Outback's bar selections are highly regionalized. Outback serves Foster's Lager; an Australian brand of beer exported around the world. Other Australian beers often served include: Toohey's New, Boag's, and Coopers Premium Lager, Sparkling Ale, and Pale Ale. Wine selections vary, but often include Australian wineries Yellow Tail, Lindeman's, and Rosemount.[1]
Dietary considerations [edit]
Outback offers a gluten-free menu which includes most of its normal menu items with slight variations.[3] In 2009, Outback added a "light style" option to the menu, with meals under 500 calories prepared without butter and added fats.
Controversies [edit]
Health and Nutrition [edit]
The use of fats in such liberal quantities has brought the chain under scrutiny by Men's Health magazine, which condemned Outback's Aussie Cheese Fries as "The Worst Food in America", with of fat and nearly 3,000 calories per order.[4] The current menu item 'Aussie Cheese Fries' in its largest proportion, however, contains 134g of fat and under 2,000 calories according to Outback's current listed data for their menu items nutritional information.[5] Other menu items that contain such liberal quantities of fat include the Bloomin' Onion which is listed as having 161g of fat and just under 2,000 calories in a full order as well.
Advertising [edit]
The company owns two blimps named after their appetizer, the Bloomin' Onion I and the Bloomin' Onion II.[6]
In their commercials, the song featured is a version of "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games" composed by Kevin Barnes and his band Of Montreal. Barnes has noted he was "tricked" into letting Outback use the song. The jingle in the commercial is slightly different from the original song, with minor altered lyrics and a didgeridoo in the background.[citation needed]
Throughout the first half of 2006, Jemaine Clement appeared in several Outback commercials. The theme in the advertisements was of Australian sentiment to promote the Australian-theme the brand is built upon. He used a feigned Australian accent in the series, as he is originally from New Zealand.[citation needed]
Sponsorship [edit]
Since 1996, Outback Steakhouse has been the title sponsor of the NCAA Outback Bowl. They are also the title sponsor of the Outback Champions Series tennis event held in Naples, Florida.
In late 2011, Outback Steakhouse became the primary sponsor of the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 39 Chevrolet Impala driven by Ryan Newman in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.[7] In their first race as sponsor, Newman finished first in the Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
Charitable contributions [edit]
Outback Steakhouse has a program to support the communities in which their restaurants are located.[8] Every location is allocated a certain amount of funds, numbering in the thousands, to donate to their communities via event sponsoring.[citation needed] On a national level Outback partners with Heineken USA and their Heineken with a Heart program to raise funds for various organizations in these communities.[citation needed]
During September 2011, OSI volunteered food and employees in its Operation Feeding Freedom IX campaign. The mission was to bring the tastes of home to U.S. and coalition troops based overseas.[9] Outback is also a supporter of Operation Homefront and Operation Feed the Troops.[10]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d e OSI Restaurant Partners, LLC (December 31, 2011). "FY 2011 10-K". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Outback Steakhouse, Inc. History Retrieved July 30, 2012.
- ^ "Gluten-free Menu" (PDF). Outback Steakhouse. July 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
- ^ "The 20 Worst Foods in America". Men's Health. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
- ^ "Nutritional Information". Bloomin' Brands Inc. January, 15th, 2013.
- ^ "Outback Steakhouse Bloomin' Onion I Airship". Outback Steakhouse, Inc. Archived from the original on May 3, 2006. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
- ^ "Outback Steakhouse signs sponsorship agreement with Stewart-Haas Racing and Ryan Newman for the 2012 season" (Press release). Outback Steakhouse. November 11, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
- ^ "Outback Gives Back". OSI Restaurant Partners, LLC. 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
- ^ "Operation Feeding Freedom IX". OSI Restaurant Partners, LLC. 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
- ^ "Our Supporters". Operation Homefront. 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
External links [edit]
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