Outback owner grows Aussie Grill concept with Brandon location

BRANDON — Bloomin’ Brands is continuing to grow its Outback Steakhouse offshoot, Aussie Grill, with another local standalone location.

This will be the fourth Aussie Grill the Tampa-based company tests in the region. Both International Plaza and the Westfiled Brandon mall have Aussie Grill locations in their food courts. The only other free-standing location with a drive-thru is in Lutz.

The Brandon location will be at 1426 W Brandon Blvd. and is scheduled to open this spring, according to a company spokeswoman. The new chain has burgers and other sandwiches, as a fast-casual version of Outback.

CEO David Deno told investors in October the company was going to continue to invest in what it calls off-premise dining, that includes its own ghost kitchen concept, Tender Shack. Tender Shack operates out of select Carrabba’s Italian Grill kitchens through food delivery app DoorDash.

Even with reopen dining rooms in Florida, Deno said takeout orders will still be about double what they were prior to the pandemic.