Upscale-casual restaurants add fixed-price menus

Polished-casual restaurants are adding more fixed-price, three-course menus to their offerings.

Sullivan’s Steakhouse, a 19-unit division of Southlake, Texas-based Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group, on Monday introduced a new “Every Day Pre-Fixe Three-Course Menu” for $39 per person.

“This new addition to the dinner menu will provide incredible value and a chance to sample a variety of Sullivan's much-loved classics,” the company said in a statement. The menu includes a starter, soup or salad, and an entrée.

Guests can choose from three appetizers, several soups or salads, and four entrées, such as filet medallions with scampi-style shrimp and garlic mashed potatoes.

Thomas Dritsas, executive chef of Del Frisco's Restaurant Group, said in prepared remarks that Sullivan’s menu, “offers guests a generous array of some of our most beloved dishes for an incredible value. It's a great way to enjoy a big night out any day of the week."

Sullivan’s promotion follows on the heels of several others in the upper end of the casual-dining segment.

Roy’s, the 31-unit Hawaiian-fusion division of Tampa, Fla.-based Bloomin’ Brands Inc., is offering “My Prix Fixe Mondays” at many locations. The offer features a number of menu items in an appetizer-entrée-dessert special for $36.95.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House, the 130-unit concept from Winter Park, Fla.-based Ruth’s Hospitality Group Inc., continues its three-course “Classics” menu, ranging from $42.95 to $52.95 depending on entrée selection. The menu features a choice of a starter, an entrée, a side dish and dessert.

The offer drove traffic at Ruth's Chris in 2012, chief executive Mike O’Donnell said during an earnings call with analysts in February. “These prix-fixe selections now comprise approximately 20 percent of sales,” O’Donnell said, adding that customers tended to exhibit a preference for higher-priced offerings.

Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].
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