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."
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| 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?
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