No more shrimps on the barbie in Pittsburgh’s North Hills.
Outback Steakhouse, the Australian-themed restaurant chain, closed its McKnight Road location in McCandless this past weekend. The move was part of a nationwide consolidation of older restaurants.
The chain is owned by Tampa-based Bloomin’ Brands and is well-known for steaks and a deep-fried onion appetizer known as the Bloomin’ Onion.
The McCandless restaurant, at 9395 McKnight Road, officially closed Saturday, said a representative from Bloomin’ Brands. Its last day of business was Friday.
That North Hills location had been open for 27 years.
“Closing a restaurant is never easy,” said Bloomin’ Brands spokesperson Elizabeth Daly. “This was a business decision that is not a reflection of the management or staff.”
Last week, the company announced it was closing 41 restaurants. The majority of those closures were older locations that were first opened in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Daly said some of the McCandless’ location employees will have the opportunity to transfer to the area’s two other locations in Monroeville or Moon. Others will receive a severance package, Daly said.
An exact number of employees affected was not provided.
Outback opened its first location in Tampa in 1988. The chain has over 1,000 restaurants located throughout 23 countries in Asia, Australia and North and South America.
