Industry Restaurant Founded 26 February 1966 Type of business Private | Founder Norman E. Brinker Headquarters Dallas | |
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Fate Filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy; re-opening in late 2017 | ||
Steak and Ale was/is an American chain of casual dining restaurants, owned and operated by Legendary Restaurant Brands, LLC. Steak and Ale was founded as an independent restaurant chain in Dallas, Texas, on February 26, 1966, by Norman E. Brinker. On July 29, 2008, the chain's remaining 58 locations closed as part of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding. In 2014, Bennigan's CEO Paul Mangiamele announced their intended comeback for 2016 but it was later pushed back to early 2017.
Contents
Popular menu items at Steak and Ale included the signature herb roasted prime rib, Kensington club, New York strip, filet mignon, Hawaiian chicken and spicy grilled chicken pasta. The restaurant featured unlimited salad bar or a choice of soup with most of its entrees on the dinner menu. It also featured free drink refills and a honey wheat bread formerly known as squaw bread before a group of Native Americans threatened to protest and sue over the offensive use of the word squaw. Steak and Ale also offered a lunch menu with many items for $6.99. During the mid 90's, in an attempt to revitalize lagging sales the "Early Evening" menu was introduced. In addition to lower prices, all the "Early Evening" fares included a free beverage and free dessert. Some of the complimentary desert selections were strawberry sundown cake, twilight triple fudge cake and spice cake. The restaurant also featured wine samples for only 25 cents.
History
Restaurant pioneer Norman Brinker founded Steak and Ale in 1966 in Dallas. The chain, with its dimly lit dining rooms, billed itself as offering an upscale steak experience at lower prices. It was seen as a model for the casual-dining steakhouse chain, and many executives there went on to run other large chains.
It remained an independent chain until 1976, when Pillsbury purchased it and folded it into its restaurant group with Burger King, Bennigan's and other stores. At the time, the company had 113 locations of Steak and Ale and Jolly Ox (the name Steak and Ale used in markets that didn't allow a reference to liquor in a restaurant name).
In 1982, Pillsbury spun off the company and Bennigan's into the independent S&A Restaurant Corp. Steak and Ale grew as one of the first chain dinner houses to its height in the late 1980s with 280 locations, before competition that the brand helped inspire eroded its market presence. In 1988, Metromedia purchased the company. In 1993, the company was merged with the Metromedia Steak Houses chains Bonanza and Ponderosa, and all three chains were operated under the S&A Restaurant Group brand.
The S&A Restaurant Corp bankruptcy in July 2008 also affected the Bennigan's restaurant chain, also owned by that company; all of the company-owned stores closed the same day as the Steak and Ale restaurants. Franchised Bennigan's locations remained open.
The MetroMedia Company also owns the Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouse chains, which were not affected by the bankruptcy filing; they are operated by a different subsidiary of the company.
Planned revival
In 2013, a Facebook page was created for the comeback of Steak and Ale and Bennigan's CEO Paul Mangiamele announced that the chain will be part of Bennigan's comeback concept.
On February 11, 2015, CEO Paul Mangiamele and his wife, Gwen, closed on a Management Buy Out (MBO) of the company from its parent private equity firm, for an undisclosed price. The new company, Legendary Restaurant Brands, LLC, is now 100 percent owner of the Bennigan's restaurant chain, its fast-casual concept Bennigan's On the Fly, and the Steak and Ale brand.