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Outback expands into pricy seafood

The Tampa company isn't saying much as it builds a restaurant that appears to be a rich twist on Bonefish Grill.

By SCOTT BARANCIK
Published July 26, 2005

On the still-warm grave of a Hard Rock Cafe in southern California, Outback Steakhouse of Tampa is quietly building the prototype of what could become its newest chain.

Company officials aren't prepared to dish.

"We don't have any thing that we're ready to reveal about the brand just yet," spokeswoman Stephanie Amberg said in an e-mail Monday.

But this much is known: Blue Coral Seafood and Wine has a lease at the Fashion Island mall in tony Newport Beach. And it will be sandwiched between two stars in the Outback galaxy: Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, and the Hawaiian-themed Roy's.

"My guess is it's going to be the equivalent of a Fleming's, with a seafood angle," said Ron Paul, president of Technomic Inc., a restaurant consulting firm in Chicago. "I expect it's going to be priced very much like Fleming's, and again, with an emphasis on merchandising wine."

The similarities between Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and the forthcoming Blue Coral Seafood restaurant are no coincidence.

Both are the co-creations of Arizona entrepreneur Paul Fleming. Outback purchased its first stake in Fleming's Prime Steakhouse in 1999 and currently owns 90 percent.

Blue Coral will likely sell a wide array of quality wines by the glass, a strategy that has worked well for Fleming's. Alcoholic drinks there accounted for 32 percent of overall sales last year. Liquor sales at Outback's seven other chains averaged 15 percent.

And like Fleming's, a white-tablecloth restaurant that is the younger, richer sibling of Outback Steakhouse, Blue Coral will be the pricier cousin of an existing Outback chain: fast-growing Bonefish Grill.

Last year, the average Fleming's patron spent $55 to $65 per visit, or triple what the average Outback Steakhouse chain customer spent. The average Bonefish customer spent $23 to $26.

Outback can only hope Blue Coral is as successful as Fleming's. The chain has 32 locations across 20 states. Same-store sales rose 13.2 percent in the quarter ended June 30, well ahead of Outback's other concepts.

Paul Fleming began his restaurant career as a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse franchisee. Among other chain concepts, he co-founded Fleming's Prime Steakhouse with Bill Allen, who later joined Outback and was named its CEO in March.

Fleming also is the founder and namesake of P.F. (Paul Fleming) Chang's China Bistro and Paul Lee's Chinese Kitchen; Outback entered into a joint venture to develop Paul Lee's in 2003.

Bill Rams, a spokesman for mall owner Irvine Co., said it's not unusual for restaurateurs to test their new, upscale concepts at Fashion Island. The outdoor mall is located near office buildings, pricey residential neighborhoods and the Pacific Ocean.

In fact, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse was launched there in late 1998.

"We like to think of ourselves as being on the cutting edge," Rams said.

Rams would not say when Blue Coral Reef is scheduled to open its doors, however, and publicly available information is murky on that point.

Though Outback formed a Delaware company, Blue Coral Seafood and Wine LLC, in March, and reserved the Web domain www.bluecoralseafood.com this month, it has yet to seek trademark protection for its name, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's search engine.

--Scott Barancik can be reached at barancik@sptimes.com or 727 893-8751.

[Last modified July 26, 2005, 01:15:21]