LongHorn Steakhouse Opening Later This Year Near Miller’s Ale House at BJ’s Warehouse Shopping Center

LongHorn Steakhouse is building a 5,780 square-foot restaurant in one of the three businesses opening along State Road 100 in Palm Coast, in the BJ’s Warehouse shopping center opening later this year. The other two are Miller’s Ale House and Chase Bank. Two remaining spots have not been filled. 

Miller’s Ale House may be the first to open as soon as next month, Adam Menel, Flagler County’s growth management director, said today. 




LongHorn Steakhouse, listed as a $725,000 project in its permit application, will have a capacity for 184 diners–26 in the bar area, 158 in the dining area, according to plans submitted to the county. 

LongHorn Steakhouse is part of the $11 billion Florida-based Darden company, which also owns Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Capital Grille and several other restaurant brands. Darden added Ruth’s Chris Steak House to its collection last year. The company ended fiscal 2023 (which ended at the end of May 2023) with 1,914 restaurants that generated 10.5 billion in sales, an 8.9 percent year-over-year increase that included the addition of 47 restaurants.

Darden had 562 LongHorn restaurants nationwide, second-most next to Olive Garden, which has 897 restaurants in the country and eight more in Canada. It has none abroad. The company opened 18 LongHorns last year, closing two. The Palm Coast restaurant is one of between 15 to 18 LongHorn restaurants projected to open this year nationwide. 

The LongHorn brand generated $2.61 billion in sales last year, a 10 percent increase over the $2.37 billion in sales the previous year, with average sales per restaurant of $4.7 million last year, or nearly $13,000 a day. The brand had restaurant and marketing expenses of $2.18 billion, netting a profit of $430.9 million for the year, up from $418 million over the previous year. Darden’s profit for the year was $1.96 billion. 

Each LongHorn is about 5,700 square feet on average, seating 180 people. Its on-side manager is not called a general manager but a “managing partner.” 




At LongHorn Steakhouse, “one of the most important elements of the guest experience is a perfectly grilled steak, and the brand goes to extraordinary lengths to ensure their culinary team is brilliant with the basics when it comes to steaks grilled correctly,” Darden’s 2023 annual report states. “To further drive consistent execution, LongHorn recently completed the sixth Steak Master Series — their annual grilling competition and training program. Over the course of two months, thousands of culinary team members participated in a series of competitions that tested their knowledge at the grill, culminating with one ultimate champion  Kylie Hall from Farragut, Tenn. This highly engaging program drives LongHorn’s culture and reinforces its quality standards across the heart-of-house, resulting in a great steakhouse experience for our guests.”

LongHorn first opened independently in 1981. Darden acquired the brand in 2007. It is primarily found in the eastern United States. Most dinner menu entrée prices, according to the company’s annual report, range from $13.50 to $38, most lunch menu entrée range from $9 to $12. In 2023, the average check per person was approximately $25.50, with alcoholic beverages accounting for 8.9 percent of LongHorn Steakhouse’s sales, the annual report states.