 Current Outback logo used since 2006 | |
 An Outback restaurant inOnalaska, Wisconsin, November 2023 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Casual dining |
| Founded | March 15, 1988; 37 years ago (1988-03-15) |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | , United States |
Number of locations | 1,319 (October 2021)[1] |
Area served | Argentina Australia Brazil Canada Chile Costa Rica Ecuador Hong Kong Japan Macau Mexico New Zealand Philippines Saudi Arabia South Korea Qatar United Kingdom United States |
| Products | Australian themed American cuisine |
| Revenue | US$ 3.888 billion (2017) |
| Parent | Bloomin' Brands |
| Website | www |
Outback Steakhouse is an American chain ofAustralian-themedcasual diningrestaurants, serving American cuisine, based inTampa, Florida. The chain has over 1,000 locations in 23 countries throughout North America, South America, Asia, and Australia. It was founded on March 15, 1988, with its first location in Tampa by Bob Basham,Chris T. Sullivan, Trudy Cooper, andTim Gannon.[2] It was owned and operated in the United States byOSI Restaurant Partners until it was acquired byBloomin' Brands, and by other franchise and venture agreements internationally.
The first Outback Steakhouse location was opened on March 15, 1988, in Tampa, Florida.
Canadian Outback Steakhouse restaurants began in 1996. In March 2009, Outback Steakhouse Canada abruptly closed all nine locations in the province ofOntario, citing poor economic conditions, but in June 2009, Outback Steakhouse opened a location inNiagara Falls, Ontario, with a second location later opening in the same city. As of 2024[update] these are the only Outback Steakhouse locations operating in Canada.
Outback locations in Hawaii began to open in the mid 1990s, as part of a massive expansion across the country. On February 17, 2024, Outback’s parent company,Bloomin’ Brands, announced the permanent closure of all remaining Hawaii locations, as part of financial restructuring, citing a significant decrease in profits. This was part of a larger, mass closure of over 41 locations. All three locations in Hawaii were permanently closed by February 18, 2024.[3]
Outback Steakhouse opened in the UK with locations in Birmingham, Basildon, Enfield, Romford, Stevenage, Wandsworth in London and Staines. By September 2011, only its Basildon and Romford stores remained and they closed down on September 13, ending Outback's foray into the UK market.
In 2006, a new Outback logo was introduced, dropping the old kangaroo logo for a more simplistic and modern Outback mountain range logo. With this new logo, Outback then went on an aggressive remodeling campaign, starting in 2008, renovating most of their locations, along with opening brand new ones, for a fresher, more modern look to their business model. This included the removal of their iconic neon signs for more energy efficient LEDs, and the switch from a dark, rustic feel to a brighter, more vibrant look. Today, few original-style Outback locations remain, with most of them either abandoned for newer locations, or renovated.
On June 14, 2007, OSI Restaurant Partners completed astock repurchase plan, and the company became privately held. In April 2012, Bloomin' Brands, the current owner of Outback Steakhouse, filed with the SEC to raise up to $300 million in an initial public offering.[4]Bloomin' Brands, Inc. became a publicly traded company on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "BLMN."[5]
Most Outback locations are corporately owned by Bloomin Brands, however locations in California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico are separately owned by a corporate franchisee,Out West Restaurant Group.[6]
Outback Steakhouse currently operates over 1,000 locations worldwide, with 670 in the United States.
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The Bloomin' Onion is a signature Outback item, though it is not an Australian item and is not typically sold in Australia apart from at this chain.[7] It is a 1 pound (500 g) onion cut to 'bloom' open, breaded, deep-fried and served with mayonnaise-horseradish sauce. Other restaurants offer items similar to the Bloomin' Onion, as inChili's Awesome Blossom (discontinued),Texas Roadhouse's Cactus Blossom, andLone Star Steakhouse & Saloon's Texas Rose. Many of the Bloomin' Onions have come under fire for high-calorie counts, sometimes going over 1,500calories.[8]
Outback Steakhouse has a program to support the communities in which its restaurants are located.[9] They have also joined GroupRaise, a platform where non-profits can book restaurant fundraisers in their locations.[10] 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.
 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2022) |
The company and its founders are major contributors, via the Outback SteakhousePAC, to theRepublican Party, contributing $303,015 and $334,197 for the 2000 and 2004 election cycles, respectively.[11][12] The Outback Steakhouse PAC itself is one of the largest donors in the food and beverage sector, second only to theNational Restaurant Association, which itself represents 300,000 restaurants.[13]
In 2022, Outback Steakhouse's parent company,Bloomin' Brands, announced their commitment to source 100% cage-free eggs across all of their locations by 2030. In 2024, they reported that they had reached this goal in their United States locations.[14]
Outback Steakhouse was the title sponsor of theOutback Champions Seriestennis events and NCAA football'sOutback Bowl. The sponsorship lasted through 2020.[17]
Outback is also a partner of the Tampa Bay Lightning and has a concession stand inAmalie Arena.
In 2012, Outback Steakhouse became a sponsor ofRyan Newman and the No. 39Chevrolet forStewart–Haas Racing in theNASCARSprint Cup Series. In their first race as sponsor, Newman won the2012 Goody's Fast Relief 500 atMartinsville Speedway.[18] One of the promotions the company had with Newman was a free Bloomin' Onion on the Monday after a race in which Newman would finish in the top ten.[19]Kevin Harvick took over Outback's sponsorship and promotion in2014 for two races in their No. 4 after Newman left the team.[20] The company was on Harvick's car from 2014 until 2018, including his championship in 2014, and in 2019 and until theCOVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the steakhouse was a personal sponsor which kept the Blooming Monday promotion around still. It ended after 2020. The company also sponsored future four-time Cup Series championJeff Gordon's No. 67 for theAC-Delco 200 in theBusch Series during the1990 season.[21][22]
In September 2023, Outback Steakhouse sponsoredStephen Mallozzi, who had previously worked as a server at the restaurant, for aNASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race atBristol Motor Speedway.[23]
![Interior, February 2024. The original interior still remains, as of February 2025[update].](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aFoothill_ranch_interior.jpg)
