History
The enterprise, originally called Multi-Venture Partners, Inc., was founded in Florida in 1987 by three partners, Tim Gannon, Bob Basham, and Chris Sullivan, all of whom had experience in the restaurant industry. The first Outback Steakhouse opened in 1988 in Tampa, Florida with Australian decor and American food. Within 15 months, five more restaurants had been opened. The chain passed the 100-restaurant mark in March 1993, having expanded into 15 states.
In 1997, Outback entered the South Korean market through a franchise agreement with Aussie Chung Inc. As of 2011, there are 103 Outback Steakhouse locations throughout South Korea.
On April 25, 2006, Outback Steakhouse, Inc. changed its name to OSI Restaurant Partners, Inc.
On June 14, 2007, OSI Restaurant Partners completed a stock repurchase plan, resulting in the company being privately held.
Canadian Outback restaurants opened in 1996. In March 2009, Outback Steakhouse Canada abruptly closed all nine locations in the province of Ontario, citing poor economic conditions. However, two months later, an Outback restaurant reopened in Niagara Falls. Three Outback locations continue to operate in Edmonton, Alberta.
Outback Steakhouse's parent company, Bloomin' Brands, completed its initial public offering under NASDAQ symbol BLMN on August 8, 2012.
Read more about this topic: Outback Steakhouse
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“It’s a very delicate surgical operation—to cut out the heart without killing the patient. The history of our country, however, is a very tough old patient, and we’ll do the best we can.”
—Dudley Nichols, U.S. screenwriter. Jean Renoir. Sorel (Philip Merivale)
“English history is all about men liking their fathers, and American history is all about men hating their fathers and trying to burn down everything they ever did.”
—Malcolm Bradbury (b. 1932)
“False history gets made all day, any day,
the truth of the new is never on the news
False history gets written every day
...
the lesbian archaeologist watches herself
sifting her own life out from the shards she’s piecing,
asking the clay all questions but her own.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)