New LongHorn Steakhouse opens at Danbury Fair mall
DANBURY — There’s a new steak house in town, and it’s taken up residence at the Danbury Fair mall.
LongHorn Steakhouse recently opened on the south side of the mall near the main entrance, bringing with it fresh bone-in ribeyes and more than 60 new jobs to the Danbury area, according to the company.
The restaurant’s parent company, Darden Restaurants, which also owns Olive Garden and The Capital Grille, has reported a successful opening and “amazing” community response in the Hat City thus far.
Mario Roberts, communications manager for LongHorn Steakhouse, called Danbury a “great community with great people,” and said hiring is going well, so far.
“We’ve hired exceptional people from the Danbury community to serve the community. The team we have here is really enthusiastic and embodies the culture that LongHorn is known for,” he said. “We are fully staffed and have a great team full of pride and passion for LongHorn.”
LongHorn joins a growing collection of steak houses in the city, including Chuck’s Steak House, Texas Roadhouse and Barbarie’s Black Angus Grill.
However, Roberts explained that the company feels it stands out because of its focus on quality— from the food to the service to the atmosphere.
P.J. Prunty, president and CEO of the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce, has a soft spot for steak houses. As a 16-year-old, one of his first jobs was working as a bus boy at Chuck’s.
“They’re still going strong as one of the many steak houses in our area,” he said. “That speaks to the opportunity that is here in Danbury and Western Connecticut.”
Prunty has noticed a solid demand for this type of cuisine in the city.
A 2021 Ipsos poll found that nine in 10 Americans eat meat regularly and three in five agree that red meat is “part of the American way of life.” During the pandemic, beef sales increased the most of nearly any food in some supermarkets, hitting a 23.7 percent increase overall from the year before with sales at $30.3 billion, Insider reported.
Still, LongHorn also provides fish and chicken options along with their beef, ribs, and chops.
Like many restaurant chains, the pandemic proved difficult for business — even those serving Americans’ beloved red meat. In early 2020, Darden Restaurants’ stock took a hit before rebounding in the fall of the same year, according to the New York Times.
The demand for a steak house is matched by strong demand “to get back to those types of social experiences” like dining out, Prunty said. Maura Ruby, general manager for the mall, also noted this same observation.
There are more than 530 LongHorn restaurants across the nation in 2022, serving roughly 80 million guests each year, according to the company’s website.
“We are seeing a strong demand for in-person experiences from our shoppers, and Danbury Fair has a great selection of dining options for people to come and gather together again,” Ruby stated in a press release.
Since 2021, the mall has welcomed a new golf and dining experience called Golf Lounge 18, and a Shake Shack, which has taken up residence next to the LongHorn Steakhouse. Barbarie’s grill opened last year, where it took over a 500-person dining space after Brio Tuscan Grill declared bankruptcy in 2019.
Ruby said the mall’s latest additions make it a great spot for date nights, dinners with friends and family outings.
Since the pandemic pushed even more customers online, malls have worked hard to provide an “experience” in addition to traditional retail offerings.
The mall has also opened its proverbial doors to serve as everything from a mass vaccination site to a food and blood donation site, and continues to seek ways to draw the community in. Fresh steak can be added to that list in 2022.
Prunty is happy to see restaurants setting up shop in Danbury two years into the pandemic, pointing to the resiliency and creativity that goes into an in-person dining experience in the age of COVID.
“It’s a great sign, showing that the restaurant and hospitality industry is continuing to make investments in our community. Obviously, it’s been a significant challenge for them through COVID,” he said.
Indeed, putting down roots in Danbury isn’t just about the brick-andmortar restaurant itself.
Roberts noted that giving back to the community is an important element to the restaurant’s mission. As such, they plan to start a program called the LongHorn Steakhouse Harvest program, where the restaurant will “harvest” surplus food each week to donate to its Danbury partner, Hillside Food Outreach. Donations will include everything from fresh meat to baked potatoes, soups and vegetables, Roberts said.
“Danbury has welcomed us with open arms and we couldn’t be more grateful,” he said. “This is an exciting time for LongHorn and we are just proud to be part of the Danbury community.”