The Menu: Broader Strokes at Steak and Ale

Steak and Ale revamps its menu to attract a wider demographic.

By Maya Norris, Managing Editor -- Chain Leader, 10/1/2006

Steak and Ale celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, the 61-unit steakhouse chain doesn’t have the luxury of resting on its laurels. The company is trying to shake off its meat-and-potatoes image with a new upscale menu that features more intense flavor profiles and chicken and seafood dishes to bring in more women and a younger demographic.

“The old menu was very much a meat-and-potatoes menu. Every steak came with a potato and the salad bar. And that’s really the way the concept had been defined for many, many years,” says President Charlie Morrison. “But in today’s age with casual-dining popping up everywhere, you do have to have more variety.

“We had to get back to a focus on food and a focus on the quality, but we also had to bring our menu more current,” he adds.

Launched in March 2005, the new menu is part of Steak and Ale’s brand revitalization plan, which includes a new prototype, its first franchising program and its first TV commercials in 10 years. Founded in 1966 by Norman Brinker, the chain was a pioneer in its category, offering upscale fare at reasonable prices. It eventually grew to 280 units in the late ’80s. But the company couldn’t keep up as the casual-dining segment became more competitive. By 2005, Steak and Ale shrank to 57 units with $100 million in systemwide sales, according to Restaurants & Institutions’ Top 400 ranking of restaurant chains.

On a Lighter Note

To appeal to more women and younger customers, the menu has several new chicken and seafood items that include vegetables as side dishes and creative plate presentations. For example, the popular Cedar Plank Salmon, $16.99, is grilled and served on a cedar plank with lemon beurre blanc and asparagus. “When you walk one of those through the dining room, it does definitely turn heads,” Morrison says. “People ask what that is, and it becomes a curiosity opportunity for their next occasion.”

Other top-selling seafood dishes also illustrate Steak and Ale’s new penchant for plate presentation and more intense flavors. The $15.99 Grilled Sesame Ginger Salmon is brushed with sesame-ginger glaze and served over a bed of spinach. The $13.99 Balsamic Grilled Tilapia is glazed with balsamic vinegar, topped with cherry tomatoes and served on a bed of spinach.

“On all the new items, we’ve really tried to let the colors of the food speak for themselves,” says Director of Culinary Larry Bellah. “Where in the past, we were very traditional with the steak, the side dish, parsley around the plate. That’s what everyone was doing. But now it’s more cool colors by putting things on a bed of spinach or on some cool vegetables and topping it with a great sauce. So you’ve got the color of this bright spinach underneath a nice piece of salmon with a sauce on it or maybe a cool cherry-tomato relish over it. So we’ve really tried to make the plates pop by the food itself.”

The best-selling chicken dish is the Chicken Gratella, $13.99, two chicken breasts topped with sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, blue cheese and balsamic glaze and served over mashed potatoes. “That might be something you would expect to see in an Italian restaurant,” Morrison says. “So if we appealed to the steak occasion in the past, this will help position us against Olive Garden and Red Lobster.”

Steak Holders

While the chicken and seafood dishes are designed to get more women and a younger clientele in the door, Steak and Ale was careful that the new menu still caters to its core customer base of men in their 50s. It improved the preparation and ingredients in most of the existing steak dishes. For example, the $15.99 Garlic Sirloin is now sauteed in butter instead of an oil base and uses more garlic.

And new steak items such as the Filet Medallions, $18.99, two 4-ounce tenderloin medallions in merlot demi-glace with mashed potatoes and asparagus, showcase how the company is using sauces to add more depth and flavor to its steak dishes. “Rather than a simple steak and baked potato, we added some excitement to it,” Morrison says.

Steak and Ale also developed the Create Your Own Surf & Turf section of the menu to give guests more options. Unlike the steak and seafood combination platters in the previous menu, this new section lets customers choose either a 10-ounce cut of prime rib or 7-ounce sirloin with shrimp scampi for $21.99, two shrimp skewers for $21.99 or lobster tail for $23.99.

The new menu items seem to be producing results. According to Steak and Ale, women now make up 52 percent of its customer base, up from 50 percent, and the median age of its customers has shifted from 51 years old to 48 years old. In addition, steaks and prime rib make up 60 percent to 65 percent of sales, down from 80 percent to 85 percent previously. The average check has also gone up by 10 cents to 15 cents; checks run $11 to $13 at lunch and $19 to $20 at dinner.

In the Pipeline

Because Steak and Ale updates its menu about every six months, the company always has new products in test. Bellah is testing salads and sandwiches with Thai, Asian and Italian flavors for the lunch menu. For the concept’s signature salad bar, he is also testing premade salads such as pasta salad and potato salad as well as upscale ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes and edamame. Bellah wants to develop more sauces for steaks as well as indulgent side dishes like creamed spinach, macaroni and cheese, and scalloped potatoes with an upscale twist. The company is also considering adding some fried appetizers to the menu.

“We are always trying to give the guest what they want. And we’ve got to stay ahead of the curve, and instead of follow others with these cool flavors and different food profiles, we have to get ahead of the game and be leaders in that—be the first ones to introduce this stuff,” Bellah says. “Steak and Ale has not been in that category in a long, long time. And now I think we are. We’re starting to move into that.”

“One of the things we will continue to do is stay true to our roots but still add excitement to the business,” Morrison says. “I don’t think you’ll see us depart from what’s been so successful for us for many years, which is our focus on steaks, unlimited salad bar and our wonderful service you expect from Steak and Ale. But you will see more change. I think it’s necessary in this environment.”