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Posted on 11/19/2025 10:56:14 AM PST by Red Badger
The Sizzler restaurant chain once had 700 locations. Now it has only 74, but it’s launching a resurgence.
Key Points
* Sizzler peaked in the 1990s with 700 locations; now only 74 remain in the U.S.
* The chain struggled after changing its identity, filed bankruptcy during the 2020 pandemic.
* Leadership is refocusing on classic features and remodeling to boost sales and relevance.
Sizzler was a popular restaurant chain in the 1980s and 1990s, although it officially launched in 1958.
When it started, Sizzler’s goal was to make a steakhouse that was affordable, as a fast-food craze swept the U.S. QSR Magazine argues it helped invent the fast-casual category of dining. Many people who grew up with Sizzler remember the chain’s all-you-can-eat salad bar.
However, like other restaurants, Sizzler started to experience a downturn that almost put it out of business.
As of June 2025, there were 74 Sizzler restaurants located in the U.S., mostly in California. According to MLive, the chain once had 700 restaurants throughout the U.S. The brand’s highest number of restaurants was in the 1990s. The chain had 109 restaurants in 2020, when the pandemic prompted it to file for bankruptcy, according to Restaurant Business. Now, according to QSR Magazine, Sizzler is aiming for a “rebirth.”
Sizzler’s Chief Growth Officer Says the Chain Made a Mistake by Trying to Change Too Much Robert Clark, the chief growth officer for Sizzler, told QSR Magazine that the brand made a mistake trying to change what it was known for (fast-casual dining), and is now going to double down on the staples.
Of the strategy of trying to change with the times, “it just never worked,” Clark told the magazine. “Our current leadership is much more focused on hey, let’s take the best of Sizzler and let’s make it even better.”
Clark told QSR that the brand has been updating restaurants and is seeing an uptick in sales in those restaurants. The chain launched into a major brand “excavation,” revisiting everything from the logo to how it interacts with customers, the magazine reported.
“We feel like we have a really great brand here,” Clark told QSR Magazine. “And our results have been very solid. We constantly pop up in pop culture. I think what we’re trying to do with the remodel is really stay relevant and have facilities and assets that meet our reputation. We understand that remodeling is probably the single biggest driver of guests in the restaurant. It’s the most important thing I think we could do aside from a lot of other operational things we’re doing as well.”
Sizzler USA Filed for Bankruptcy During the Pandemic
Sizzler struck bottom during the pandemic when the company filed for bankruptcy in 2020, according to Restaurant Business.
The chain “had been in decline before it sought debt protection,” but the pandemic “pushed the company over the edge,” that site reported. The company faced pressures, including “higher labor costs and local taxes,” according to Restaurant Business.
According to Restaurant Business, the Sizzler chain, which took off in the 1980s, was popular enough that it ended up in movies, notably 1992’s White Men Can’t Jump.
The chain first filed for debt protection in 1996, Restaurant Business reported, adding that Sizzler is not the only chain struggling in its space. Competitor chains like Ponderosa and Luby’s have had struggles as well, according to Restaurant Business.
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I loved eating at Sizzler, unfortunately there are none closer than 300 miles.
My sister worked at a Sizzler around 1969
There are some Black Anguses left in California (though perhaps only 1/3 or fewer of their peak-number of location). I loved the place back in the day, especially their Texas-toast-style garlic-parmesan bread that they called “Ranch Bread.” They replaced that at some point with a brown 9-grain loaf that was pretty tasty too.
Out of nostalgia, I ate at one of the remaining Black Anguses a couple years ago... and frankly I was disappointed. The brown bread was the same, and the sides were okay, but the prime rib was sub-par. I don’t whether my disappointment was due to lower beef quality or higher expectations than I had as a kid, but I suspect it was probably both those things.
We had a Bonanza that morphed into a Ponderosa in Nashville.
From what I read before they declined, they lowered the quality of the food and hoped people would not notice...they did, including you.
There were a lot of them around where I was as a kid and had those iconic TV and radio commercials with the sound of the sizzle and the woman saying “sizz-ler” in a whispered voice...but I don’t recall ever eating there.
I remember Sizzler. Also Mr. Steak, and Ponderosa. I never did figure out where people got/get the money. When us kids were growing up, my parents were by no means poor, but going out to eat to a restaurant was kind of a rarity. It was sort of a special occasion. It was nice, but it was tempered by the fact we had to take bath (probably) and put on our “good clothes” and were expected to behave and the rest of it.
We sort of liked McDonald’s better, because Relaxed Grooming Standards, we could just hop in the car with dear old Dad. But even Kentucky Fried Chicken or McDonald’s was not a weekly or even monthly event. It just wasn’t.
By the 1990s maybe there was just an explosion (I think) of fast food restaurants without a commensurate increase in population to say nothing of income level. Never made any sense to me.
One thing I read somewhere, during the “great” Depression, only the really high end restaurants survived. The theory is, since money was unbelievably tight, if someone was going to take their wife out to eat, they weren’t going to mess around.
Older than that, it didn’t dawn on me until recently, the “red meat is bad” coincided almost perfectly with the high monetary inflation that hit Americans in the early 70s. Margarine replaced dairy butter, powdered non-fat Milk, “Eggs are bad” (cholesterol), meat, dairy & cheese, everything did a moon shot and price.
That was a huge political issue, Americans can’t afford to buy food. So it was very convenient shall we say, that “official” guidance was that ersatz substitutes are healthier, and besides, you can’t afford it anyway.
Them Bones, Them Bones, Them Rib Bones !
I was a cook there when I was 17 and mysteriously a Ribeye and two Malibu Chickens were always cooked by mistake just before my break came around !
Last time I went to a Sizzler they didn’t even have the classic Malibu chicken meal anymore. Last time I ever went and no plans on ever going again.
Capitol Grill is big time. Lobbyists treating politicians, Sales guys trying to land (or keep) big customers, lawyers schmoozing corporate clients. Private rooms. Appetizers $19 to $125. Steaks $59-$77. Other entrees along the same line. Shared sides $11 - $24. Desserts aren’t bad $11 or $12 or so.
Seasons 52 runs a little lower. I’ve paid for my own meal there.
Longhorn is actually pretty good. Steaks are generally good (sometimes over-seasoned) and good, fresh salads. Love their brussell sprouts. I have only eaten at a Ruth Chris once, was a company-paid meal - and it was no better than Longhorn and twice the price.
In the early 1990s I would frequent one in the mission hills area of San Diego. In the mid 1990s I would visit one in Albuquerque. I left the southwest in 1995 so haven’t been in a while.
I used to work at a seafood restaurant on the chesapeake bay. Apparently sometimes too many scallops were deep fried.
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