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The medium end steakhouse chains are a bit crowded. In this area we have two Longhorns, an Outbacks, and an Oh Bryans -- not counting Logan's. Plus, Stanfields and Legends, local place.  Ruby Tuesdays serves a pretty good steak.  In general, people are eating a bit less red meat.  Too many places chasing too few customers.  I was surprised when Sperry's closed,  I dined there the Saturday before it announced closure.  Didn't see the usual telltale signs.    

I don't know about Muscle Shoals but the Florence location, as was noted above, seems always crowded.  I would hope that neither of the Shoals area Logan's would be closed and if they contribute enough income to the company maybe they won't.  Could be that company over built in too many new locations or just bad management or the new company overestimated what they would be getting from the acquisition of the company from Cracker Barrel but I would hate to see either of the local Logan's locations close.

As for the others I have always had great steaks and quality food at Longhorn and I'd put them at the top of the chains followed by Outback and Ruby Tuesday's' next as Ruby Tuesday's actually has a very good steak and offers great coupons that makes dining there much more family friendly.  I also have found that their regular sirloins are actually better tasting than the ribeye or better cuts but maybe that's just me and you can't beat their salad bar, if you like salad bars.    Locally owned Oh Bryans, in Tuscumbia also has great steaks and I actually prefer them to Stanfields but they two are fairly close in quality.   

We all have different views on things. My view on Logan's is that the Florence location started downhill when they expanded to Muscle Shoals. Beginning with that the food quality and level of service took a steep drop. Before that move, my family would eat at Logan's as much as 3 time a week, now we may go once a year and the service is worst each time. As I drive by Logan's twice a day I believe the parking lot has fewer and fewer cars. A server friend that left Rosie's for the Muscle Shoals Logan said that his move was a big mistake. He said the new location never reached the number of customers wanted by Logan's. I told Logan's at the time that a location in Muscle Shoals would not work and they would do better by building a smaller Logan's out by the new Wal-Mart. The above is just my view. Stopped by the Golden Corral today and the workers said they are still on schedule to finish remodeling before the end of August. They have a sign outside saying "Now Hiring" thru the internet.

Red Lobster has improved since their new ownership.  New items on the menu and more changes with the seasons.  I've never liked Olive Garden because of the large amounts of carbs and a menu that's not particularly Italian.  Now, owned by the same company as Red Lobster.  I checked out their new menu online -- more Italian items, not as many carbs.  Will try the place soon.  Now, if they just have Campari.

Olive Garden and Red Lobster were owned by the same company(Darden), but Red Lobster was sold to the company that owns California Pizza Kitchen.

As for Logan's, if anything they should keep the Florence location open and close Muscle Shoals. I for one like Logan's food and would be sad to see them close. Hopefully neither Shoals location is closed, empty buildings and job losses are not good things. As for JMMGJ5's point, likely a business will lose business if they open a second location in the same area. But at least in my opinion, Cracker Barrel and Logan's are the most popular dinner restaurants in the Shoals, so even if the Florence Logan's lost business when the Muscle Shoals Logan's opened(which they probably did), I don't think it would have been a huge loss.

If it was between a Cloverdale Road location and a Muscle Shoals location, I think Logan's made the right call. I think Logan's would have got less business on Cloverdale Road then they have got in Muscle Shoals, but that is just my guess. 

jmmgj5 posted:

We all have different views on things. My view on Logan's is that the Florence location started downhill when they expanded to Muscle Shoals. Beginning with that the food quality and level of service took a steep drop. Before that move, my family would eat at Logan's as much as 3 time a week, now we may go once a year and the service is worst each time. As I drive by Logan's twice a day I believe the parking lot has fewer and fewer cars. A server friend that left Rosie's for the Muscle Shoals Logan said that his move was a big mistake. He said the new location never reached the number of customers wanted by Logan's. I told Logan's at the time that a location in Muscle Shoals would not work and they would do better by building a smaller Logan's out by the new Wal-Mart. The above is just my view. Stopped by the Golden Corral today and the workers said they are still on schedule to finish remodeling before the end of August. They have a sign outside saying "Now Hiring" thru the internet.

As with most restaurants good, if not great, management is essential and, my opinion mind you, Logans, in Florence, let one of the best managers get away.  I don't know the circumstances or if he quit or was let go, by Logans, but Pete works at Applebees now as manager and since he left I have always thought the Florence Logan's started going downhill.   One thing he used to do was to serve fried pickles long before they ever was on the Logan's menu and it was always super popular with the customers.  His philosophy was to keep the customer's happy at all cost and to keep in touch with the customers to insure they were taken care of.  No better example of what bad management can do is the Florence IHOP restaurant which tanked within months of opening account it took forever to get waited on and even longer than forever to just get pancakes.   

While I've heard many complaints about the Muscle Shoals, Logan's, location it looks as if both Shoals locations have escaped the closure list, at least for this time.  The Muscle Shoals store was built using a new concept for their stores but the problems that I've heard expressed about the location have more to do with the quality of the food served and the service than anything else.   I've heard more complaints about how they just don't serve as good of food as the Florence location. 

I used to eat at Logans far more than I do now and of the restaurants like Logans I think Logans suffers from lower quality steaks and food offerings.

Strictly my own opinion, mind you, I think that the best Steakhouse restaurants are Longhorn and Outback, hands down.  Texas Roadhouse is good but I don't think it's in the same category as Longhorn and Outback and of the two I usually choose Outback because I like their seafood selections better.    As far as Longhorn goes I really like their "Outlaw Ribeye" which is a bone in Ribeye and usually is always great.  I also like the Chicken dishes at Longhorn better than the Alice Spring Chicken selections at Outback.  When it comes to Prime Rib I like both equally well and usually find that the leaner selection comes from Longhorn. 

If dining on a budget comes into play Outback, for the seniors, offers a Senior/AARP discount that Longhorn or the others don't offer and Ruby Tuesday's'  although not one of the Steakhouses does have a great Salad Bar that the others don't have and also routinely offers, usually, several good coupons such as $8.00 off 2 entrees, $5 off $15 bill, and Buy one get one 50% off.  They also, at special times, offer a Buy one Get one Free coupon offer.  Concerning Ruby Tuesdays I have found that their regular sirloin taste better than the better cuts such as the ribeye steaks.  The Smokey Mountain Chicken, at Ruby Tuesday's is also a very tasty dish.  AS for Shrimp though I would recommend Outback Steakhouse or Georges, which is in another category all together,  because of all the steakhouses Outback seems to do a better job with their seafood selections, such as shrimp, Lobster, and crab legs.

One last comment, while I'm talking about Steak houses.  I very much think that one of the best Steaks and meals can be found at Oh Bryans over in Tuscumbia where the old Pilot House restaurant used to be.  Oh Bryans offers great Steak Selections, many on a budget price, and also has a decent salad bar.  I also like the baked skillet cookie for dessert .  Although like Georges, in that it's not in the same category as the Steakhouses like Logans, Outback, Texas Roadhouse and Longhorn I really do like, and often prefer, Oh Bryans and given that it's locally owned, like Georges, it's good knowing that you are helping a local family get rewarded for their efforts and investiment. 

bon appetit to all

Last edited by gbrk

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