Popular high-end sports bar chain Yard House might build a second Orlando restaurant near Magic Kingdom more than a decade after opening its first Central Florida location on I-Drive.
Consultant Brett Mashchak of Nunnco Consulting Inc. filed plans to Orange County this week for a Yard House restaurant at 7903 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy. and requested a pre-app meeting with county staff to discuss the project. The new 10,920-square-foot, 368-seat Yard House restaurant would feature a mix of booths, high-tops, and regular tables and would replace a former Joe’s Crab Shack, which closed down last year. Joe’s Crab Shack parent company Landry’s Inc. still owns the 2.1-acre parcel.
Yard House hasn’t expanded in Central Florida since opening its first Orlando location in Icon Park in 2014. The new restaurant, which would be located just north of Margaritaville, would feature a layout similar to that of the Icon Park location, with a central bar and indoor and outdoor seating.
A representative from Yard House wasn’t immediately available for comment. Kimley-Horn and DP3 Architects are also working on the project.
Yard House claims to offer the world’s largest selection of draft beers, with 140 taps of local, craft, and imported draft beers available in each restaurant’s keg room that can hold as much as 5,000 gallons of beer at a time.
In addition to its beer offerings, Yard House has a menu with craft cocktails and over 100 food items, including salads, tacos, burgers, seafood, steaks, and ribs. The chain originated in Long Beach, California in 1996 and has since grown to 89 locations in 27 states, including 9 in Florida.
Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, which owns more than 2,100 restaurants across ten brands, purchased Yard House in 2012 for $585 million. Other Darden brands include Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Eddie V’s, The Capital Grille, Chuy’s Tex Mex, Seasons 52, and Bahama Breeze.
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