Content area
Full Text
Sam & Harry's co-founder Sternberg said the company, in planning its national expansion, "found that in every
market there were one or two strong, local steakhouses" and major chain players like the Palm or Morton's. "We didn't want to be the sixth or seventh upscale steakhouse competitor in the market," he said.
WASHINGTON - As high-end steakhouses struggle with increased competition and an uncertain economy, the locally based owners of Sam & Harry's and the Caucus Room plan to launch a more casual concept in a sprawling retail-and-residential development in nearby Arlington, Va.
The moderately priced, 320-- seat Harry's Tap Room, which owners Michael Sternberg and Larry Work intend to replicate in cities across the country, is scheduled to debut in the 10-acre Market Common early next year. Open for less than a year, the upscale development is located across the river from Washington in the Arlington neighborhood of Clarendon.
Sam & Harry's - which has locations in Washington, D.C., and suburban Tyson's Corner, Va. -- and the Caucus Room both generate average per-person checks of about $65. Harry's Tap Room, however, is expected to post checks averaging $12 at lunch and $25 to $30 at dinner.
"There's just a much larger market for midscale price points," Sternberg said.
The 240,000-square-foot Market Common houses such retail tenants as Barnes & Noble, Crate and Barrel, Williams-- Sonoma, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers and Apple Computer. Once completed, the development community will include 300 luxury apartments and 100,000 square feet of office space.
In addition to Harry's Tap Room, other restaurant tenants include Bertucci's Brick Oven Pizzeria, Big Bowl and Baja Fresh Mexican Grill.
Originally, Timpano Italian Chophouse, the full-service concept owned by Dallas-based Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, was slated to open...