Outback Steakhouse is in full turnaround mode, with plans to invest $75 million over the next three years to improve its dine-in experience, increase brand relevancy, reinvigorate culture, and update its restaurant fleet.
“We faced several critical challenges, including overly complex menus, unclear brand positioning, inconsistent guest experiences, a gap in steak quality and diminishing value perception,” Bloomin’ Brands CEO Mike Spanos told analysts during the company’s Q3 earnings call. “We had drifted away from making decisions centered on the guest experience. Solving these challenges, especially at Outback, are necessary to turn around the company.”
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The strategy features multiple parts.
As part of the dine-in experience, Outback wants to upgrade its steaks lineup. The company has already piloted enhancements delivering an average 10-point improvement in guest satisfaction, taste, value, intent to reorder, and quality perception. The plan is to expand these changes nationally later in November.
Service style is crucial too. Each Outback server will cover four tables instead of six during peak hours. In testing, this shift resulted in better scores around intent to return, attentiveness, and likelihood to recommend. The new model will be rolled out systemwide starting in the second quarter.
The changes to steak quality and the labor model will be combined with a greater focus on consistent execution.
“Our leaders are in our restaurants during peak hours to focus on operational excellence and accountability to standards,” Spanos said. “We are leveraging technology to help our restaurant leaders more easily check for outliers and guest metric scores.”
In terms of increasing relevancy, Outback wants to return to its “fun, casual, and adventuresome Australian spirit,” according to Spanos. This includes leaning into the chain’s steak equity. Along with a menu redesign that emphasizes the product, the brand will add refreshed creative and new food photography to better highlight the protein.
Additionally, Outback will switch how it reaches customers. The brand will move advertising from 70 percent TV and 30 percent digital to 40 percent TV and 60 percent digital. To back this effort, marketing spend will increase $10 million in 2026; another $10 million each will be added in 2027 and 2028.
“Guests will see our revamped high-quality steak lineup front and center, highlighting the thickness, freshness, and craftsmanship of every cut, along with our signature Outback seasoning that sets us apart,” Spanos said. “The steak-centric focus will also strengthen our value equation by offering menu variety and affordability across multiple price points, enhancing what guests get for what they pay for.”
Next up is culture, which Outback will elevate via investments across leadership development, engagement, training, field compensation, and recognition. The chain’s objective is to properly compensate and incentivize managing partners to drive the right operational priorities.
Then there’s the restaurant asset refresh, which will focus on guest-facing areas inside and outside stores. Outback will begin in Q1 next year, and spend about $400,000 per location. The company wants to finish the entire process by the end of 2028.
Outback will spend $50 million on the turnaround plan in 2026, mostly between Q2 and Q4. The rest of the $25 million will come in 2027 and 2028.
However, the brand will offset the total investment with $80 million worth of savings through negotiated costs with suppliers, optimized product selections, the elimination of spending on some vendors, streamlined processes inside restaurants, and simplification around labor and the back of house.
“We know that when we invest in the guest, give Outbackers the tools to succeed and provide a quality dining experience, Outback can and does win,” Spanos said.
While the bulk of the comeback plan will begin next year, Outback has already pulled several levers to get sales back on track.
A big portion of that has been simplifying the business. The company refranchised its Brazilian restaurants, laid off staff to streamline its corporate structure, and reduced its menu SKUs and LTOs. At the table, Outback installed Ziosk technology across the footprint; over 85 percent of customers use it to pay for their meal, improving table turns by five to seven minutes.
Outback also added value to appeal to cash-strapped customers with its Aussie 3-Course, which has tiers of $14.99, $17.99, and $20.99. Two-thirds of guests trade up into the higher options.
Q3 results show the progress. Outback’s comps increased 0.4 percent, with flat traffic. This marked the first quarter of positive same-store sales since Q2 2023. Brand trust grew six points year-over-year, and there are higher guest scores in food, service, value, and atmosphere.
It’s not just Outback either. All of Bloomin’s concepts—Outback, Carrabba’s, Bonefish Grill, and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar—reached positive comps for the first time since Q1 2023.
Carrabba’s same-store sales grew 4.1 percent, backed by positive traffic. The comps were fueled by a two for $45 Dinner and Dolce platform, wine dinners, the lunch daypart, and off-premises orders. Bonefish Grill’s comps increased 0.8 percent—the first quarter of growth since Q2 2023—thanks to its $5 Martini Margarita Mondays, $7 Bang Wednesdays, and prix fixe lunch offerings starting at $14.90. Fleming’s same-store sales rose 1.2 percent in the quarter thanks to events, catering, and improved service.
“We are excited with our momentum, but we know we need to continue to improve our results to grow market share,” Spanos said. “We know in-restaurant dining is our biggest opportunity. We know it will take time to reverse our market share trends, and we remain focused on improving our execution every day.”
Another part of the journey is cleaning up the footprint. Recently, Bloomin’ shuttered 21 underperforming restaurants across Outback, Bonefish, and Carrabba’s. The company will also not renew the lease for another 22 stores.
Bloomin’ finished Q3 with 678 U.S. Outbacks, 208 Carrabba’s, 166 Bonefish Grills, and 66 Fleming’s.
