Copyright Mechanicsburg Patriot News
There was a time in America when a big night out for a good steak dinner mean hitting up Sizzler. But that time seems long ago now, and the once-popular chain has seen its numbers dwindle in recent years. Founded in 1958, Sizzler once had more than 700 locations across the country. It now has just 74. And the road from 770-plus to 74 has not been pretty. Two bankruptcies — the first in 1996 and the second in 2000 — have taken place on that journey, but Sizzler has somehow survived. And now there is a plan for a comeback. QSR Magazine’s Danny Klein recently spoke with Sizzler’s Chief Growth Officer Robert Clark about the chain’s plan for a rebirth. Clark has been with Sizzler 41 years and has seen previous plans to revitalize the chain fail. “Our current leadership is much more focused on hey, let’s take the best of Sizzler and let’s make it even better,” Clark told QSR. So, what’s the plan to make Sizzler a big-time player in the steak game again? Well, per the QSR story, the chain focused on remodeling its stores and has seen positive results from that. That includes sales increases of around 47% in the remodeled locations. The chain is looking to continue making the updates. “We feel like we have a really great brand here,” Clark told QSR. “And our results have been very solid. We constantly pup up in pop culture. I think what we’re trying to do with the remodel is really stay relevant and have facilities and assets that meet our reputation. We understand that remodeling is probably the single biggest driver of guests in the restaurant. It’s the most important thing I think we could do aside from a lot of other operational things we’re doing as well.” And, while the remodeling is key, getting back to its roots is also a major part of the plan. “Everything we did was trying to dig into what made Sizzler so great in the first place,” Sizzler VP of Marketing Sasha Shennikov told QSR. “Why we have some restaurants that have stood the test of time through different rebirths; why people keep coming back.”
