The chain was founded in 1958.
It had 700 locations at its peak.
The brand is famous for its all-you-can-eat salad bar, which offers much more than salad.
In college, my roommate and I looked for value when it came to our off-campus dining choices. Chains like Oliver Garden, which offered unlimited soup and breadsticks, were on our radar, as were various local bars with all-you-can-eat wings promotions.
Every now and again, we went to breakfast at Ponderosa, a chain that offered all-you-can-eat weekend breakfast and brunch for a reasonable price. The food wasn’t all that good, but there was bacon, sausage, and a waffle bar, which were good enough for our needs back in the early 1990s.
For dinner, however, one brand was sort of the holy grail of value and decadence. If we went to Sizzler, we could get a passable steak, along with access to its all-you-can-eat salad bar, where the biggest attraction was the impossibly thick New England clam chowder.
Sizzler was founded way back in 1958 with a simple motto.
Why does a nice juicy steak have to break the bank?
That remains a valid question, but the chain has struggled for decades, dropping from a high of over 700 locations to under 80 now. The brand, however, or at least its management, believes a comeback is possible.
QSR Magazine’s Danny Klein interviewed Sizzler Chief Growth Officer Robert Clark about the chain’s latest rebirth efforts. Clark has been with Sizzler since 1984 working in a variety of positions before joining the C-Suite.
In his 41 years with the company, Clark has seen a lot of attempts to change or revitalize the chain. Most, he noted, were ill-advised and focused on changing the brand.
“Our current leadership is much more focused on hey, let’s take the best of Sizzler and let’s make it even better,” he told QSR.
Sizzler has survived, despite filing for bankruptcy in both 1996 and 2000.
CEO Chris Perkins, who has held that job since 2019, acknowledged that the chain’s struggles can’t be blamed solely on Covid.
“Many of the company-owned restaurant locations were struggling pre-pandemic,” Perkins said Restaurant Business reported.
He blamed a lot of factors, including higher labor costs and local taxes that made it difficult to maintain profitability.
The chain has focused on remodeling stores. That has worked, according to QSR magazine:
The brand saw a sales increase of roughly 47% in updated restaurants.
A location that finished an update a few months ago hiked sales 100 percent.
Sizzler has completed nine updates in the last two years and has a plan for franchisees to follow suit.
Robert Clark, Sizzler locations, restaurant locations, salad bar, Chris Perkins
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