The Timeless Business of Steakhouses
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- Опубликовано: 11 май 2024
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As restaurants go, there’s Italian, Mexican, Chinese, American, Japanese and so on. But there is only one type of restaurant that is considered to be the most lucrative and makes up over half of the Top 100 highest grossing restaurants in the United States every year. That is the steakhouse.
In America, the steakhouse is as much a cultural rite of passage as it is a fine dining establishment. When people go to a steakhouse, it’s for the experience as much as the food - they dress up, they expect quality service, and the meal serves as a platform for business or celebration. All steakhouses offer standard fare like New York Strip, Porterhouse, Filet Mignon alongside mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, Caesar salad, and chocolate cake. While most restaurants aim to specialize in certain foods or offer unique items for differentiation, steakhouses thrive in conformity. Their goal is to serve tried-and-true classics with good ingredients, good execution, good service, and good ambience.
The focus on ingredients, service, execution along with a high-end target market make steakhouses difficult to scale as there are few ways to automate a business that requires so much human capital. People don’t dine at steakhouses every week which means demand can be met with a handful of establishments in any given area. In this episode, we’ll cover the business of steakhouses and cover the strategies of the 3 biggest chains in the world who each have their own strategy and go after diners at very different price points - Outback Steakhouse, Texas Roadhouse, and Ruth Chris.
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🎧 Audio Editing & Mixing: Sonalf
0:00 Edible Opulence
3:32 High-End Sizzle
15:14 Legendary Price
19:36 Going Outback
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Ruth's Chris defines average guest check as total restaurant sales divided by the number of entrées ordered at all restaurants in a single year. Given that a single entree on per their menu is as small as a 8 ounces or as large as 40 ounce Porterhouse-for-Two, this leaves natural ambiguity as to whether average guest check is reflective of per-table or per-guest, given that not every guest orders their own entree and that certain individual entrees are designed to be shared. Averages are always influenced by outliers.
0:00 Edible Opulence
3:32 High-End Sizzle
15:14 Legendary Price
19:36 Going Outback
Statistics, statistics, and damned statistics!
Can you do the business of electronic stores
ruth chris should not even on the list it's not fast food you dine in higher prices are fine there because people use it for business ,birthdays , mothers day ,ect pretty cheap if you take your mom to mcdonalds for mothers day lol.
20:29
Sadly, the 90s wasn't 2 decades ago. It was 3 decades ago :O
That’s a fairly standard way of calculating check average. I work for a major restaurant conglomerate and we count 1 entree = 1 guest therefore chk avg = sales/entree (guest) count
I used to work at an Outback Steakhouse. The main reason they started going down hill is that that made too many drastic changes to cut costs all while raising prices. Their fries, sides, and sauces used to all be made in house and now they are all shipped prepackaged and microwavable. Even their blooming onion flour was now just shipped to us. They also made their steaks chicken and fish smaller by shaving off just. A few ounces. The role of servers also became more of an expediter with all their ordering being made on a tablet at the table. All this led to lower quality staff and a reputation among those working their that Outback is just a glorified chilis. It embarrassing working there bc we all knew how bad the food was but the owners didn’t care.
@@johndong7524 yeah, don’t ever go back. You will be even more disappointed
That's a shame. I heard for one of the other chains (probably Applebees?), they used to make their mac 'n cheese from scratch, but it's now premade and just heated up. The person who posted that noticed that _immediately._ Never went back there again.
As a former Texas Roadhouse employee I can vouch for this. We were always better and still are 👍
Thank you for sharing. Went to an outback last month and the bloomin onion was BAD😊
That’s exactly what happened to the original Pizza Hut when they had the dine in restaurants.
In my experience as a Non-American I feel like Steakhouses as shown here are such an American experience.
What are steakhouses like elsewhere?
If you ever come to the US, find a good steakhouse. I'd suggest you do NOT go to Ruth Chris. It's overrated. And has gone down hill
@@malaquiasalfaro81
I've heard Australia 🇦🇺 has great steak 🥩
@@boat6float Is it really that bad? My boomer parents are big fans, although they haven't gone in a few years.
@@malaquiasalfaro81 Argentinian or Brazilian
Texas Roadhouse is one of my favorite restaurants, and they really seem to be one of the most successful near where I live, being slammed even during the week. Their prices are a big reason I go as often as I do, with their cheaper meals being the same cost as higher-end fast food. I can go there just because I want their bread instead of feeling like I should save it for something special.
I consider them as an American institute. Same feeling I get from Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Reasonably priced, but value is truly there.
And Texas roadhouse is not trying to be anything, it's not.
Having been to high-end steakhouses. Unless you have eaten lots of steak, you won't appreciate the higher end steakhouses.
@@adamnash1873 long live texas
Bruh and just say it. They have the best ribs in that price range, they are so good. ✌️
It is one of the few places that truly holds its value to me. Good food for a great price! It's one of the only steakhouses a young family can afford. To me, their rise directly correlates to the decline of Outback Steakhouse. We have one right near a Roadhouse and in my mind, it's better food for better prices...no brainer.
17:00 "But noone is going to Texas Roadhouse to eat the best steak in town or expecting to be served like royalty" You'd think that'd be the case but as someone who's worked a couple serving jobs that is definitely not the case.
I worked at TRH for many years and it really is some of the best steak for the price. Outback started cutting costs in the mid 00's and it's dragged the quality down hard. Nothing worthwhile is made in house anymore and they've messed with the steak size and flavir to no end. They're serving Chili's/TGIF quality food that costs 25-30% more than TRH and wondering why they've got a third of the business.
Best meat for the price in usa. Better than that just a good Brazilian churrascaria, but they are a bit more expensive
Places like Texas Roadhouse aren’t high quality by anyone’s standards
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on god bro.
She got a sister? 🥹
Big 📠
It me.
I’m up
As South Korean, I noticed that Outback is still able to generate hype and draws in young customers by creating new menu items here. A spicy version of their dish Toowoomba Pasta sort of created a sub category of pasta that other restaurants are now mimicing. They've also been very adaptive to covid by creating $20~$30 delivery meals that are catered for conferences and corporate events.
I come from T town - it's got NOTHING to do with that Outback dish and never has. "Outback" just stuck a messy finger at a map of Australia to get some names. I dined there, in Denver. Laughed a lot at the menu - complete crap across the board. "Yanks won't know, darl...".
As an American, nobody really cares about new menu items at a place like outback.
@@dabajabaza111what does americans care for then?
@@DaleonM4 Other things...?
@@BlueBeeMCMLXI Says nobody that actually ate at outback. Its affordable and fun.
Steakhouse has the highest margins but as someone that don’t know how to cook well I find it’s easier for me to cook up decent steaks (with good cuts of steak) then other kinds of food.
Agreed! I feel this way too. When I eat out I always try to go to places that have dishes I can't make at home. To each his/her own though.
A simple panfried steak home bought can easily beat even top tier restaurants.
@@shanwen88yeah don't be scare to screw up, cast iron steak is so damm easy to make and learn to master and doesn't require expensive equipment
Took me 5 tries but i feel much better than any time i eat at steak house
And you can change the seasoning, experiment with different flavour other than just salt and pepper
The prep work and cooking process of steak is fairly simple compared to most other 'fancy' foods- a bit of prep work with spices, the cooking process itself, and then letting it rest for a minute. The real taste variable is what cut of steak you're having, the quality of that cut, and how done you cook it to.
Steakhouse💩 can't hold the candle🤳🏼 against Indian🇮🇳 restaurants👍🏻 and they are here to stay💰🤑💰 Steakhouse💩 is an outgoing barbaric diner...🌎💘💰
'No one is going to texas roadhouse expecting the best steak' Unfortunately i know too many people that this IS the best they've had and don't know better exists.
I love how informative this video is, but I'm pretty sure I've never been more distracted by the visuals in one of these videos. I don't think I should have watched this one hungry lol.
i know, right?
why do we torture ourselves like that? lol
Don’t watch his KFC vid. It was torture.
That filet mignon around 2:00 really made me hungry lol
"Boomers are retiring and nearing the end of their lifetime value" is the most dystopian phrase I've heard today, so thanks for that
But it ain't wrong!
Our political scene shows that they're still crying out to be relevant, though.
I am so used to clips making a point, bringing an opinion, criticizing and deriding so it's refreshing that this is just 'plain' comparison of different strategies.
I've been to 8 different Ruth's Chris locations over the past 5 years, but mainly frequent the ones in Indianapolis and Calgary. I have noticed that the clientele IS starting to look younger. I don't have a problem with that, even though I feel like "the old guy" at the bar sometimes. I'm 48, FFS!!! 🤣🤣
If your in Indy, go to St. Elmos.
@@dirkdisco2316 I like St. Elmos a lot!
I believe it! Tbh before this vid I didn't even know Ruth's Chris existed and if those happy hour prices are legit I'm gonna go there this week 😁Will definitely try the main menu when I have more disposable income cause I'm sick of Longhorn and Outback I swear buffets have better steak than those restaurants ☠
My top steak house is the Brazilian styled service. It's the all you can eat buffet menu where the service personnel walk around and ask guests what offering would they like. I have asked for several meats, but the fowl and hidden available options are my favorite. What things I have requested that some restaurants have was skirt steaks, rabbit, alligator, duck, quail, and pigeon. You should ask if they have it available and if they can prepare it, because it may take over 30 minutes for them to bring the items to your table. And my guess is that once other people in the restaurant see what you requested, they will attempt to get some of the order itself, which means you need to take enough of a portion size to not ask for more later on.
here in the netherlands it's mostly argentinian restaurants and brazilian when it comes to specialized meat restaurants
there's some dutch ones too, usually with a wooden barn theme and a bit more rural location but pretty close to some beach/seaside usually to attract tourism too, usually pretty big places because they kind of thrive on parties and weddings and all that stuff, but yeah i don't think they are as easy to find as say dutch pancake houses
and there's also poffertjes at the markets, tourists love those too, our pancakes sell like hot cakes,
and tourists probably want to be on the move and see shit, so the fast food pancake just suits that type of customer better
@@dutchdykefinger Thanks for the response. The local restaurant is called Via Brasil which is less than 10 minutes away. AYCE buffet pricing for rodizio service is almost 60 US dollars.
This is the way. Hit the brunch menu which is the literal same as dinner for $37pp meanwhile a few hours later it becomes $65.
I recommend the local high-end steakhouses when available as well. Some are as good or better than the large chains.
@@robertsteinbach7325 If you go to Texas, I recommend Kirby's Steakhouse.
This video will be super useful the next time I have dinner at a steakhouse with an economist.
Texas Roadhouse is one of the few places that truly holds its value to me. Good food for a great price! It's one of the only steakhouses a young family like mine can afford. To me, their rise directly correlates to the decline of Outback Steakhouse (no proof just a hunch). We have an Outback right near a Roadhouse and only one of them is consistently packed.
This is my go-to place for the family. Including the kids. We eat there several times a month.
Texas Roadhouse is disgusting. Everything there is marginal in quality and drowned in salt.
@@bucknasty69 to each his own. What is your preference with steakhouses?
@@aaronbuckwalter96 I’m not a big fan of steakhouses in general. I find it more cost effective to buy some nice prime beef and cook at home. If I had to pick a steakhouse, I’d pick The Palm.
@@bucknasty69 I'm the same. Normally I just eat out at places where I can find dishes I can't make at home. Interesting, I'll have to check it out.
Barking dogs and screaming toddlers have the unique ability to turn friendly neighbors into cranky enemies.
Your channel is incredible and I really enjoy watching it. I love the deep dives into industries we might not have understood the true economics and impact of!
The consumer psychology aspect is one of my favorite parts
What are some of the good consumer psychology videos on this channel? That's topic I'm interested in.
I'm leaving my comment here for updates. Don't mind me. Haha
Yeah, also looking for updates, any one know other similar channels?
@@TekamsTheOne Yes. You should check out Thinking Business. They currently have less than 1k subscribers, but deserve much more.
@@dejioni2521 thank you kind sir!
A+ sponsor transition, I didn’t see that coming 😂
11:30 I would’ve liked to see a little more in depth analysis on the price of beef, in my experience farmers are getting 1/3 of what they did 10 years ago for beef but the processors are making higher than ever profits which I always felt to be the driver of prices more than natural occurrences
then make your own doco instead of being a princess
@@luxlior Why should they have to do that? Do you even have a good reason? Of course you don't. It's just Reddit-tier nonsense people type when they're mad at someone for making a good point, and are too stupid to refute it LOL.
The processors are running a monopoly and it’s a dying shame. Farmers are taking the losses.
The in depth insight in the all of these different types of businesses is very well put together and very interesting. Keep it up.
The top tier steakhouses have the great advantage of that corporate AMEX customer. People in town on business or meeting clients, in either case not having to worry about the high cost of the meals as its a business expense. Some of the top tier sushi restaurants live in this same universe, but yeah if you're not getting the corporate AMEX business owning or investing in a restaurant is a tough way to make money.
That's how these high end restaurants thrive, same goes for first class plane tickets. If it's not on the company's dime, I doubt many people are wasting their money at a high end steakhouse outside of a special occasion. It's why there's a big push to go back into the office and not work from home.
@@maxpowr90 this is 100% true especially for the airlines. They know the firm is gonna pay up anyway lol hence why the price looks crazy to the average person
Its not that hard. Americans just suck at it. Immigrants come over and kill it all day.
You are only paying for experience, most people can make It home or get it cheaper from a cheaper place. So In conclusion, is It worth it ?
Thanks for the great video as always. I like how you make the topics easy to understand for someone with no economics background yet explore them deeply
You forgot to mention Ruth Chris also makes money with government handouts. In 2020 they applied for and received 20 Million in PPP money as a "small" business. It wasn't until they were outed publicly for taking money meant for small restaurants that they eventually returned the money in an attempt to save face of their brand.
they had to get through the pandemic too.... what makes them different ? Esp the franchisees ?
@@pennyduke4618 Because small business that are affected the most by a pandemic,a big business isnt solely dependent on just one local but many wich are making varied amounts of money so they have way more resources to sustain themselves.
Big business also have acess to cheaper credit,so yeah taking money intended for small business is very wrong in their case
The mismanagement of those loans is staggering. Truly revolting the amount of corruption that sucked up those dollars!
@@pennyduke4618 Each Franchisee (Generally Professional Restaurateurs) could apply on their own to help their individual business. Most of these professional restaurateurs own several different concepts or franchises many in the same commercial development areas. These professionals more than likely applied for each concept. They know what there doing.
so it sounds to me like they didn't make money on the government handout and likely took a huge PR hit in the process.
Hearing you say "Ruth Chris Steakhouse" when knowing the history of Ruth's Steakhouse and Chris' Steakhouse amuses me. Ruth SPECIFICALLY made the name "Ruth's Chris Steakhouse" when he sued, and won against Chris' Steakhouse, but instead of just letting that be that, he SPECIFICALLY renamed his Steakhouses to show who owned it, and that is Ruth, because these are now RUTH'S Chris Steakhouse.
So the history on Wikipedia is a flat out lie then? I think you pulled what you just said out of your ass, considering you don't know that Ruth Fertel was a woman.
lol crazy
"Ruth" was a woman-Ruth Fertel.
@@matukonyc Apologies. I hear the name and the first association I have is Babe Ruth, despite that being a last name, hah.
I've worked about 4 years at Ecolab fixing commercial dish machines, and selling cleaning chemicals, before that I worked for Diamond Sharp, California's largest professional knife sharpening company for over 8 years going to over 50 restaurants a day from Atascadero to Studio city California, so I have been to 1,000's of restaurant kitchens, and I can tell you that more than 95% of the kitchens I've been in are absolutely disgusting, especially Outback, I'm talking about mold and rat's and rat shit🤮. But Ruth's Chris Steakhouse is definitely one of the cleanest kitchens I've been to, and constantly always clean, I would go once a week for over 8 years and always perfect, and the kitchen staff are extremely professional, a bit snooty, but on top of their game. So basically for about every 1,000 kitchens I've been to, less than 50 I would consider as clean as Ruth's Chris.
P.S. I know Chinese buffet's are tasty, but I will never eat at one ever again, the stories I could tell would make most people sick just listening about it, and have been the only clients of mine that I have had to call the health inspector on, not to be a snitch, but because I felt responsible knowing what was going on could seriously make someone sick, or even die if someone had a serious shellfish allergies, or allergic to eating a cockroach every now and then. I would rather eat sushi from 7/11 than a Chinese buffet.
Good luck and be safe❤🙏
What does this have to do with a business school case study to receive an MBA?
I think the chemicals you were selling affected your brain.
I worked for a Chinese restaurant for a few months I realized the same. I didn't eat it anywhere again for at least a year. There's only one place I trust. The bigger the menu, the worse it is and although a small subset, shows like Gordon Ramsey showed me, it's more so the norm to be on the worst side. The cleaner one I worked at was a Japanese restaurant. We all worked very hard after each shift to clean.
Thank you 👍
Wow, thank you for the information. I always thought that dining from home was the best way to eat. Amazing that even the high-end places fail. Good news on Ruth's Chris, someone needs to be good!
WOW! I was always interested in a restaurant a franchise! Read many articles and books as well as the materials supplied by the corporate entities. This was much more informative than 90% of the materials I used in researching which franchise to invest in! The presentation was understandable, kept my interest and is proof that there is a great resource of information available easily as on fb. Thanks!
My observations is that higher end steak houses, such as The Keg where I am from, love to host company dinners. Plenty of people from a single party, drinks all around, and all on company’s dime.
Great video, I'd say one of your best so far. Had some Franchise City, Company Man, and even Meet Kevin vibes, but still uniquely your own. High praise in my book!
I live in Korea. And the prices at outback here are absurd! The avg steak was around $30-80 same exp with the Outback in Tokyo as well
I want to visit the ROK sometime in my life. I'd want to try the local BBQ. Korean BBQ/steak (or at least the American kind, here) is really good. Why would people in Korea waste their time and money on Outback when there are so many other, better options?
Outback used to be a bit more costly in the early 2000s. I remember going in 2004-05 and back then it was still a somewhat pricier special occasion sort of restaurant ($25+ for a nicer cut,) but then I went back after the Great Recession and I was surprised to see they gravitated towards the cheap end ($15-$20.) Unfortunately the quality also suffered and I got somewhat sick when I ordered a rare steak there. It’s a shame seeing as it used to be pretty high quality.
@@boat6float it’s the American infatuation here. Same in all of asia mostly. A lot of Asians have a distorted view of U.S.A. so anything we bring over here is instantly a hit. They see it as a status thing I suppose. I personally don’t like living here as the culture imo is not very good compared to Japan. But Japan is guilty of the USA curse too. It’s funny though I talk to Koreans and Japanese a lot who visit the USA and they are always disappointed after they visit New York and Los Angeles.
@@brandon8214 you do realize the only reason it was cheaper was because they most likely had low quality meat. its hard already to own a restaurant when the economy is normal and in a recession its even more diffitcult so they are forced to do some cutbacks to keep their business
@@ernestogastelum9123 that's the point I was trying to make. The price and quality took a step down after the recession and I think a lot of people forget that Outback used to not be a low-end steak house.
I find it so interesting how in Brazil, my home country, Outback will have wait times of 2+ hours on Fridays and weekends, whereas in the US, where I currently live, it's almost always borderline empty. Brazilian Outback Steakhouses are also always coming up with new promotions and menu items, something I have never seen in an American branch. Watching this video, it now makes sense to me.
When I think Outback I think old, outdated, dingy, overpriced, microwave food. Haven't been to one in years.
Brazilians love the brand more than the quality of the product. As long it is trendy, outback will keep growing in brazil
@3:09
"...people don't dine at steakhouses every week..."
Nope! When I was living rent-free in the barracks in the Marines, I would eat at a steakhouse every weekend, when we weren't on deployment or in the field. I must have eaten at every steakhouse in Honolulu and Las Vegas during that glorious time in my life. On leave I'd meet up with my buddy and find the "best" steakhouse in NYC 🗽 Bottom line: No rent = f'it money for steakhousees (and nice suits).
My fellow Marines and I would put on a Hawaiian shirt or suit, find a girl and run up a huge tab that would make Tony Soprano himself proud!
I made sure to tell the guys to leave a 25% tip. That way we would never have to wait for a table. Once, when one place was packed with a long wait time, we were given the private dining room without an additional charge. They knew our drink preferences and what we wanted to eat. A couple of times this place gave us oysters and crabcakes-probably out of guilt because of how much money we were spending.
Sounds fun, hopefully you guys saved up at least a little cash for life after service.
@aiGeis no...they're marines...they're literally 100 IQ normies
Oh, not out of Guilt, but in the hopes you'd come back. Everybody loves a good client with lined pockets.
So spending like a drunken sailor is a real thing.🤣
Ah yes, the good ol days!
I've eaten at Ruth's Chris dozens of times as well as most other major steakhouses (Fleming's, Maestro's, Mortons), and Texas Roadhouse is still my favorite! I think it's because it's such a great value and I love eating a steak dinner. I always walk out of there happy, and it doesn't break the bank.
Ive never had an issue with the quality either
meh
@@kaleb5926 Because you don't know quality steak. Even in this video he stated they use "Choice" Grade meat. But if you want to pay Prime Prices for subpar food and think it tastes good, you do you. 🤷♂ Thousands of others have also been fooled, so you're not alone.
Texas Roadhouse don't hold a candle to top tier prime steakhouses. I'd rather cook my own prime at home than pay for a bland steak. Outback has better bread, and better steak seasoning. If I'm paying for choice, Outback wins.
Flemings get the exact same product as outback, its a shill
Steakhouses and pizzerias are the most profitable restaurants
Straightforward and simple menus I guess
Cheers from San Diego California
There is a reason Gordon used to cut down the menu size in nearly every kitchen nightmare episode. Smaller menu = less waste = higher margins. Also less random dishes you have to know how to prepare.
Great stuff. An episode discussing how various real estate brokerages differentiate themselves to clients, their profit margins, and value propositions would be interesting.
All of your videos are superbly well done, but I especially appreciate these shorter (compared to the twitter video for example) videos about slightly niche but still quite interesting topics. If you're ever in need of more topics to explore, it might be interesting to analyze the performance of American professional sports (like the big 5 leagues) to compare and contrast further with both the adidas and soccer episodes. I also think it would be interesting to look into construction and the impacts bureaucracy can have on creating massive budgets for relatively small infrastructure projects. Regardless of what projects you choose to make, keep up the great work!
Well done, not rare or medium well.
I love this video & love this channel. Keep up the great work! Fascinating stuff
interestingly enough, while high end steakhouses do exist here in France, they are not the default for a upper middle class fancy meal, here that would be restaurants serving tasting menus.
I believe it comes down to the fact that many great tasting menus restaurants are in the same range of pricing as a high end steakhouse in the US (100-150$ for a meal) but in the US most tasting menus restaurants are even fancier, true upper class luxury at 200-400$ per person
At our French bistro style independent restaurant in North America after having few takers for our fancy New Year’s Eve menu (against our regular menu), for Valentine’s Day we decided to just offer a basic steak 😄
honestly as an american when i want to spend some money on a good meal its almost always a steak its like higher end comfort food to me
@@TWEAKLET I guess we do that often too but at a lower price point, there are many restaurants in France which serve high quality meat (ingredients in general) but with a more basic service than a high end steakhouses so you can get a high quality cut of steak for around 40$ with sides and a glass of wine (usually for lunch)
Its not that often that we would spend 150$ at a steakhouse (though these are getting more popular) because at this price point we usually go to a "restaurant gastronomique" with a tasting menu
The pricing is definitely a good point. I would be surprised if I could find a good tasting menu around $150 and I live in a large American city. I also do think we value larger, heartier meals here. It’s easy to say that a large chunk of meat is worth a lot of money while a tasting menu with more focus on technique instead of ingredients is harder to value.
@@Rei-xq3zm its kind of a myth that you get less food with a tasting menu, I'm a big eater yet I always come out satisfied, a tasting menu can have over 10 dishes, the more the smaller they are individually so that you can enjoy the entire meal.
People would post the picture of an amuse bouche (small treat you might get inbetween dishes) that is actually part of a 12 courses meal and rant about the portion size, it's always people who have never eaten at such a restaurant.
Now I'm sure there are exceptions, but usually you aren't leaving hungry
Most legit channel. One of my main goals this year was to get smarter on anything money, finance, business. This channel is crazy good source of info.
Crazy good. Maybe work on your vocabulary. And grammar.
No
I have been to Ruth Chris 3 times and 2 locations in my life. The service was always above and beyond.
to bring peace within a household, i feel this brings up lecture notes at ease of the listener.
I thought it was odd that I had never heard of a Ruth Chris before, and then I remembered I live in Texas, where pretty much every town with a population over 10,000 has its own steakhouse.
9 times out of 10 its called "The Longhorn" and if its not that then its a one word name, like "Niko's"
No one in Texas goes to Texas Roadhouse for steak. That's like saying you go to Red Lobster for the lobster. Its a lie.
Everyone knows you go for the bread.
I agree with the analysis of the Outback brand 100%. I have two of their restaurants near me and the quality and experience is nowhere near where it used to be. I have stopped eating in any of their restaurants due to quality and service issues. Too bad to see a once-great brand fall to such an undesirable place to eat.
It is baffling what they have done to their restaurants. You can get a better steak at Golden Corral these days.
In the 1990’s, Outback was one of my favorite casual restaurants. Then, in the early 2000’s their quality tanked while the prices kept going up.
You went from getting a consistently good steak to consistently getting a plate full of strings and gristle. Even the quality of the sides dropped, as well.
I don’t think I’ve been to one in 18 years.
YEs I call them BACK OUT restaurants. We used to order the Victoria Filet , but now it is $34.00 and not that good!
The only reason Outback Steakhouse is growing in South Korea is because it's actually one of the only places in Korea to get a decent steak that isn't grossly overcooked, most places don't even bother to properly age the meat and they'll look at you like you're crazy if you ask for a rare steak.
I live in Alberta and I tell the Koreans who come here "if you order a steak order it medium rare or medium". They are amazed at the flavour, even though they tend to be grossed out by the juices.
Outback's steaks are mediocre at best, but in a nation where the standard of cooking steak is "questionably edible" even a mediocre steak tastes like a godsend, even their high end steaks are "ok" at best.
I don't know if you'll agree but as a Canadian I think that The Keg is better than Outback or Texas Roadhouse. It sits somewhere between high end and fast casual, and they don't soak you to death on liquor or sides as nothing is al'a carte. Their only weakness is that they don't dry age the meat, it is aged 28 days. At least that's what they used to advertise, I don't see it on the website anymore so maybe they started cheaping out on that. An ounce of Lagavulin 12 for $11 is a great deal. Every meal comes with a side and free bread.
It's about 80 percent the experience of a Ruth's Chris at nearly a 50 percent discount. Plus petro points and airmiles can be converted into keg gift cards.
I have worked and dined in many steak houses. this was fascinating. thank you.
I’m currently at a Ruth’s Chris steakhouse right now. Everything here, from the steak (an 11 oz. fillet), mashed potatoes, and shrimp are the best I have EVER had of each item. Especially the mashed potatoes. They must be growing them on the moon because they are out of this world.
Try eating it then. If it was worth eating you wouldn't be yacking.
@@JohnDoryPsh I had to take a break in between bites to make it last.
I think there is a slight mistake at 5:38 :
The graph is titled "Number of steakhouses opened per year" when i think it is indicating the number of open resturants, not opened ones.
I brought my husband to a steak house for his birthday. Everything came out to about $500 with tip. Was amazing and very filling food and great service and experience.
That was perfect, clear insight on the financials and meaningful interpretation of the root causes. Also, I think I need a steak for dinner.
This is an insightful video. Keep up the good work.
I’m amazed at how Chipotle’s model is continuing to work with most of their stores getting a 1 star Yelp rating.
Most people don't look at yelp
@@stevenjm12 it’s not so much about who uses yelp, it’s a measure of how many unhappy customers there are.
@@Omikoshi78 it's only a very small sample of customers though
@@stevenjm12 it’s a sample of customers with both positive and negative experience. When 99% of reviews are negative I think there’s an important message there.
@@hoppingrabbit9849 taco time usually has 3-4 stars so there is def a trend with chipotle.
Always a great video with content well presented. Thank you.
I’ve never even heard of a Ruth Chris until watching this video. But my are is chock full of other steakhouses. Texas Roadhouse, Longhorn’s, Texas Steakhouse, Logan’s, and Outback are all represented with multiple locations within 2 hours of my house, including one-off steakhouses. They all perform exceptionally well, often times having lines backed up out the door on Friday and Saturday evening. Even Texas Steakhouse, which often seems to compare more to Outback in quality and ratings than it does the others.
just started the video, but I'm hoping that he finds a way to go to an expensive steakhouse as a tax write off
It did not happen this video ==> Unsubscribed, disliked, ratio PLUS my day is ruined beyond repair
Ask Gordon Gekko!
Two times I've eaten @ Texas Roadhouse and both times I got a steak that was 50% gristle. Honestly I'd rather pick out and cook a nice steak at home than go anywhere with a $20 steak dinner. You get what you pay for, and $20 doesn't get you quality at a restaurant anymore.
nothing like a meal at Ruth's Chris to celebrate an accomplishment..
Ruth Chris is mid at best
Nothing else like it because everyone else can actually rest a steak.
The Brazilian themed steakhouse you talked about is just like their Espeto Corridos. All you can eat... expect your beverage spending to double the food's
I went to Ruth’s Chris in Boise last October, and it was absolutely amazing. Everything I had there, from the steak, mashed potatoes, lemon drop, and hard cider were the best I’ve ever had. In fact the mashed potatoes were so good that adding anything to them, even salt or pepper, would have ruined them.
When me and my wife go we wind up running up a $200 bill or more
My wife and I went on a steakhouse run where over a year we went to about 5 different places. Ruth's was the least expensive. Ruth's was also the best of the lot. Yet I still hear very annoying pretentious people knock it because "it's a chain". People are extremely superficial and stupid.
@@suserman7775Ruth’s is mid, quality doesn’t compare to real high end steakhouses IMO
@ryanb6614 I've had steaks costing double what RC's cost and they weren't as good. Dry aging usually.
Update. I took my wife to a place called Porch and Parlor in Memphis. We had Wagyu and wound up spending $700 that night lmao
Those Texas Roadhouse rolls and butter are the best.
Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.
No Texas Roadhouse near me, but I've heard good things from friends. I love Ruth's Chris, it's always been my favorite, but since I retired I have no opportunity to expense the check. I don't miss sales, but I do miss sales dinners/lunches. I won't spend my own money for a meal that's going to cost $100 per person. My wife and I like Outback, where we can get out for under $50 for 2, even with me ordering a more expensive steak option. The steaks are not the best, but they a decent job of consistently hitting the medium-rare degree of doneness that I order. I'd say they get it right 90% of the time, which is about on par with a high-end steakhouse. I do regret that Outback's steaks have gotten smaller while the price has gone up. Used to get a 16 oz. NY strip steak for $16, but those days are long gone (even supermarket prices for the best cuts are now at least $16/pound). The steaks got thinner, and the price got higher. At this point, I'm better off buying a nice steak at a good supermarket (one with a butcher counter) and cooking it myself. It's not that hard.
Too true about KFC. For $20 I felt like someone was pranking me. I dont think I will trust KFC ever. Its not even the money its the time wasted hoping it'll be passable. Been nearly half decade at this point and I dont see a reason to ever try.
gdi you can't keep interrupting my productivity like this. I would love a video on all the 'how the hell does this business stay open' businesses- mattress shops, vacuum stores, battery stores.... I've never understood how such small niche businesses survive post amazon
Who would buy a mattress without trying it out? Has amazon really stole that market?
Battery stores especially baffle me. Between Walmart and auto parts stores, what else would most people really need? Even if we take specialized industrial equipment into consideration, I'd expect the same equipment retailer who sold it to you to also sell the batteries...
Excellent video essay! You are awesome, looking forward to more videos! Subscribed
I stopped going to steakhouses when Gordon Ramsay taught me the reverse sear method.
None of the steak house use it. Takes too long to cook. It is by far the best way to cook a steak.
Reverse sear is only necessary when doing large cuts of meat like tenderloin or prime rib roasts. For a single cut of steak you can just sear it without getting excess graying in the middle, because it cooks fast enough.
I love getting paid to hold an asset, especially while it grows in value. One of my favorite ways to do that is by holding dividend paying stocks.... Nothing like a dividend etf to give you diversification AND income! Gotta love it... $192,000 of passive income made in 2022....
I recently received nearly $6,000 in dividends from my "boring" index ETFs. I don't have to sell any of my shares in order to spend this money.... But, I currently have it set to reinvest so that I can purchase even more index funds....
Scammers putting a lot more effort in nowadays!
Would love to see a video on consumer goods companies. Procter/Gamble, Johns & Johnson, Uniliver, and Colgate/Palmolive dominate most brands in Americans cupboards and shelves at home without them knowing it. Could also touch on how new companies are disrupting this market.
Recently went to Hawksmore in Shoreditch London and the steak was amazing.
Berns steakhouse in Tampa is the best steakhouse experience I've had.
Ruth's Chris defines average guest check as total restaurant sales divided by the number of entrées ordered at all restaurants in a single year. Given that a single entree on per their menu is as small as a 8 ounces or as large as 40 ounce Porterhouse-for-Two, this leaves natural ambiguity as to whether average guest check is reflective of per-table or per-guest, given that not every guest orders their own entree and that certain individual entrees are designed to be shared. Averages are always influenced by outliers.
Actually by definition averages are supposed to not weight in outliers. You could take the mean but with an N of hundreds of thousands of entrees.
@@Samsonight33 go read why the median is better than the mean, is like standard stats
Yeah anytime I go with my wife we run up a $200 bill
A tale of three steakhouse chains.
4:02 Ruth Chris is blessed by Paula Dean herself.
16:57 Go to Texas Roadhouse for USDA Select beef.
22:22 Outback Steakhouse: the KFC of steak restaurants.
Just discovered this channel! I love it!
Props. Glad I discovered this channel.
This isn’t necessarily related to this video, but when you mentioned turning the marketing focus from boomers to millennials, it made me think of how no one seems to mention Generation X. It’s like they’ve been forgotten
I think they tend to be lumped in with boomers now; not academically but colloquially.
Outback and Texas Roadhouse are not high end steakhouses. Morton's is the best "chain" steakhouse, in my opinion, but sadly even it has declined. Smith & Wollensky is incredible, but it too is running on an outdated reputation.
The best steakhouses are in places like Honolulu, Las Vegas, NYC 🗽, Washington DC, and a few skattered places in high (and expensive) tourist places.
The best steakhouses are not "chains" but the places that cannot be replicated more than three times. The steak is the attraction. The clientele is also part of the experience.
If you're ever in Tampa, Florida go to Bern's Steakhouse. One of the best in the world. I've been there twice. Amazing experience.
I don't think I could ever drop 150 for a meal
I 100% do not believe that the average per-table check at Ruth's Chris in 2021 was $90. That's my family of three's average check at Applebees.
Yep, it's much, much higher whenever I went. And I am not a big wine guy or drinker in general so it's not the alcohol.
That's probably due to covid and if you went by yourself. And you bought the bare minimum priced food they offer.
Maybe per person?
Do you have any plans on making a video about lobbying? It gets frequently brought in your videos but I'm a bit sceptical that it's as powerful as it's made out to be
Not sure which is more impressive: the in-depth analysis of this video, or the 25 minutes of steakhouse-related b-roll footage they compiled
Longhorn is the best value steakhouse chain IMO.
I moved out of Texas 2 years ago, so Texas Roadhouse feels like home to me. But here in the Midwest TRH is consistently the best restaurant around, always good service and food. Only issue is they are always packed, again due to being consistent and good quality.
My wife is from down around Corpus and prefers we go to Texas Roadhouse over Outback here in MN
Have you ever bothered to try anything local? Anything that isn't a junk chain?
I totally enjoyed this video. Texas Roadhouse was among the best steakhouses I've visited. It reminded me of a steak centric sports bar. It wasn't Ruth Christ and you knew they weren't trying for posh hi end trade. I used to love Outback but their quality has gone down the toilet about 7 years ago and stayed there. I got a nasty steak there once and gave them up. I mean a so called steak out that can't serve a decent steak well why are they in business. Although they had the best strawberry shortcake ala Mode I've ever tasted!
the "you had one job" meme is apt here, if you can't serve a proper steak at a steakhouse, what the hell are you even doing? :D
@@dutchdykefinger That's true I can't argue your point with any hope of winning 😄
The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.
If you go to Korea, Outback is positioned high end.
TGIFs used to the be the same way in the past (not so sure anymore).
Watching this from the UK, and the fancy steak house doesn't sound particularly appealing, I'd rather go to a myriad other restaurants for an expensive meal - I get a tasting menu when I want that. But the texas roadhouse actually sounds really great, I think they could do good business in this country. The good old American steakhouse is classic piece of American culture which us brits certainly find appealing - although not so much in the high end bracket, where European (particularly French) restaurants are king.
Also, the 'pick your own steak' thing I saw in the visuals is just a fantastic gimmick. Is that a universal thing in their restaurants?
Yes it is universal across their restaurants. I’ve found Texas Road House to be one of the most consistent chain steakhouses across the USA. Excellent value in my opinion.
Comparing UK to US is a little difficult, population density plays a huge role. A hypothetical Pret A Manger during the busiest part of the day in San Francisco would look like a ghost town compared to the slowest in London.
If you make it over to the states and can only go to one, definitely make your way into a Texas Roadhouse! Truly unique to the US.
@@aaronbuckwalter96 I've been to the US but didn't go to a steakhouse. I definitely will if I go again
I think part of what makes the concept work in the USA is that normal consumers historically didn’t have access to the best (USDA Prime) beef. Cooking a good steak at home is not hard - but if you need to go to a restaurant for the best quality ingredients you have little choice. I think this is part of the reason why here in Europe where we don’t have that kind of differentiation, the appeal isn’t as big.
I can buy prime beef at 5 or 6 places near me (Phoenix metro). It's not supply, it's cost. Prime rib steak runs about $28 per lb. It's still cheaper than a steakhouse, but I prefer to have mine cooked perfectly for me. I go to a very high end steakhouse about twice a year. I do cook steaks at home, but not prime beef.
Most higher end steakhouses use Prime graded meat instead of Choice graded meat, the most common grade in supermarkets. In addition top steakhouses often dry age the meat, which removes water from the meat and intensifies the flavor. Plus, many steakhouses use specialty butchers to supply their kitchens, and the quality of those meats is higher than what the grade alone specifies. Most high end restaurants buy the meats in "primal cuts"-an entire loin or to portion, the butcher the primal cuts themselves into steaks of the size and shape they want. You can find Prime graded meat in some markets, and even dry aged meat, but it is expensive.
@@fightsports66 not sure what your gradings are, but I can order a whole ribeye/rump etc sliced at any grade/marbling and grain/grass fed at US $8-$25/lb. And this is in Australia where meat is expensive. I don't appreciate aged steak - an acquired taste. On average you will have better steak at home Vs the best restaurants by simply grilling good meat at home even on charcoal (Vs wood ideally) using spice and butter. The expense should really be for the venue and not the food.
@@hannesRSA I am in the U.S., never been to Australia. I've heard you have pretty good steak down there and coffee too.
@@hannesRSAruh it is actually quite cheap and have great quality, maybe it is because im coming from place without much good beef
Always go to Tasmanian Butcher for cheap steak, go home and slap them on a Webber, maybe some sauce and steak related stuff if im feeling fancy
20-50$ everytime i wanted one, always satisfied
When i go to the steak house, always have money guilt
Oh and for smoking, i have bad experience with it lol
Try to smoke a brisket, end up with dry jerky like meat lol
Try charcoal grill....i use the coal that use for smoking....i can taste the ashes lmao
My sister worked at a Sullivan’s for about 7 years. As some of the other comments above, the standard of food, the cutting costs, and complete corporate overhaul to lower costs and make service generalized caused her and many of her longtime employees to leave. Back in the day the local football and basketball teams (college, and professional) used to go there on a regular basis but once they changed in the name of more profit; the crowd went with it. As a server now, it’s sad to see chains and even smaller businesses essentially putting in cookie cutter standards with little to no room to serve with your own style and the service industry is severely suffering, me included.
This is such a good video. I love this kind of content.
What impresses me most about this channel is your reserve of stock videos for every upload!
the failture really depends on location. In New York City the failture rate is high because of high rent, high government regulation, many customers have to take public transit/walk to get their and the high competition. In the suburbs where I live the failture rate is much lower (and the restaurants that do fail,it is because they lack fundamentals or just really poor quality taste/service). One the area that has a high failure rate is outdoor shopping centers (with the exception of fast food places that have drive through, some of those places do really well).
I think its just more due to competition. You have to drive to go to a competing restaurant in a suburb, but you can just walk to a competing restaurant in a dense city.
failture rate?? You are a failure at spelling.
@@poochyenarulez yeah, but $35,000/month rents aren't really helpful for staying in business.
Outback Steakhouse was pretty amazing in Japan when I went.
Texas Roadhouse is my favorite steakhouse. A halfway decent steak, really good appetizers, at a good price.
My wife and I prefer Longhorn nowadays to any of the other fast casual steak places. Their Outlaw ribeye, cooked medium to medium-rare, fresh off the grill with butter is delicious. I stopped using any sort of steak sauce in my early 20s when I realized good steak cooked right is all the flavor you need. To me, that is splurging to go out and spend $30 for a single steak. I'd say we do that once a month, maybe twice (very rarely). A second entree and a few drinks for the two of us, and you're at like $70 or so.
I took my wife to a Longhorn outside Denver CO a couple years back for her birthday on vacation. I prefer the pumpernickel bread of Outback over the Longhorn wheat bread but we had amazing steak and lobster as well as drinks. I wish our own city had one. We just have an Outback and Roadhouse
I'm in Philadelphia and Longhorn is the best in the lower- mid tier for sure
One hundred percent. Outlaw ribeye kills the competition.
@@DestoRestagreed Longhorn has the better value out of 3 and their outlaw ribeye is great
You’ll be dropping it with the sickest thumbnails
Incredibly well made video! Unfortunate editing error in the outback portion though
I think I’d either have gone with a buffet type steakhouse like American Steakhouse for the lower level or capital grille as the high end. Outback and Texas Roadhouse feel pretty direct competitors to me and Ruth is higher end but not as high end as really high end chains.
National Restaurant Association or…NRA.
It puts fat into children instead of lead!
Yeah, that’s how acronyms work
Nobody else bothered by him saying Ruth Chris and Chili instead of Ruth’s Chris and Chilis?
Lol opened comments to find this
Texas Roadhouse can't be considered cheap where I live, but you gotta be sure it's the best service and food you can get and it's always full with a 30-60mins wait list