Steakhouses vie in Aiken

Web posted Tuesday, November 14, 2000

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By Eric Williamson
Staff Writer

A showdown is mounting in Aiken.

Within a short distance of each other, steakhouse restaurants will be vying for the hearts and bellies of diners.

Outback Steakhouse announced this month it will join the fray by building a new restaurant in front of Aiken Mall on Whiskey Road.

``We are coming to Aiken; that is confirmed,'' said Ridge Sink, a venture partner in the project who helped develop Augusta's Outback Steakhouse. He said the new location will open sometime in the spring.

Lee Martin and his wife, Cathy, of Batesville, Miss., enjoy a meal at the Sagebrush steakhouse on Whiskey Road in Aiken. The restaurant will face fresh competition from an Outback Steakhouse opening next door. RON COCKERILLE/STAFF

Outback will go head-to-head with the Sagebrush steakhouse next door and with several other steakhouses across town. But is Aiken a big enough town for all of them?

Mark Landis, regional director for Sagebrush restaurants, says it is.

``The immediate response is we're excited we can compete with a company as great as Outback Steakhouse,'' he said. ``We're sort of a different niche.''

He said Outback is more of a special-occasion restaurant, whereas Sagebrush is more casual and markets more heavily to daily diners.

Although restaurants such as Applebee's and Chili's are as much competition as Outback will be, Sagebrush is taking lengthy steps to remain competitive against its Australian-themed neighbor.

Improvements include menu changes, a greater emphasis on staff and management training, a remodeling and even changes in how steaks are cooked.

A robust economy and a public with an insatiable appetite for meat has made steakhouses one of the fastest-growing restaurant segments. Steakhouse sales increased 19 percent from 1993 to 1998, compared to 14 percent for Italian restaurants and 6 percent for seafood restaurants, according to Chicago-based food service consultant Technomic Inc.

Despite the increased demand for meat, area restaurateurs expect Outback will cut into the market share of the area's other beef-heavy restaurants. Not far up the road from the mall is Golden Corral. A little farther along Whiskey Road is Ryan's Family Steakhouse, which does a bustling business.

Other Aiken competitors include Japanese steakhouses Kobe and Sakura.

``Competition, I think, is a very healthy thing,'' Mr. Sink said. But, he said, ``You definitely see fallout in a market that seems to get pretty congested.''

Reach Eric Williamson at (706) 828-3904.

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