{"id":1542,"date":"2026-01-01T16:59:55","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T16:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=1542"},"modified":"2026-01-01T16:59:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T16:59:55","slug":"heres-why-the-chain-thinks-it-can-win-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/?p=1542","title":{"rendered":"Here&#8217;s Why The Chain Thinks It Can Win Again"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-journey-body=\"standard-article\">\n<ul data-node-id=\"0\" class=\"css-kw9lqy emevuu60\">\n<li data-node-id=\"0.0\">Sizzler once had over 700 restaurants, but now has just 74 remaining in the U.S.<\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"0.1\">The chain is undergoing major remodels, with revamped stores seeing up to a 47% increase in sales.<\/li>\n<li data-node-id=\"0.2\">Leadership says the brand\u2019s comeback will focus on what made Sizzler popular.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr data-node-id=\"1\" class=\"css-18pb4rg emevuu60\"\/>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"2\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">If your idea of a big night out once involved a steak, baked potato, and unlimited salad bar, there\u2019s good news: Sizzler wants back in.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">The chain\u2014founded in 1958 and once home to over 700 locations nationwide\u2014is planning a major comeback after decades of decline. Today, only 74 Sizzlers remain in the U.S., following two bankruptcies (in 1996 and 2000) and a long stretch of &#8220;remember that place?&#8221; status. But according to Chief Growth Officer Robert Clark, this latest reboot is different.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"4\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">Clark, who&#8217;s been with the company for over 40 years, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.qsrmagazine.com\/story\/sizzlers-latest-rebirth-is-about-getting-back-to-its-roots-not-reinventing-them\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.qsrmagazine.com\/story\/sizzlers-latest-rebirth-is-about-getting-back-to-its-roots-not-reinventing-them\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"told QSR Magazine\" data-node-id=\"4.1\" class=\"body-link css-1i7jlb0 emevuu60\">told <em data-node-id=\"4.1.1\">QSR Magazine<\/em><\/a> that the brand&#8217;s new goal is simple: stop pretending to be something it&#8217;s not. &#8220;We&#8217;re taking the best of Sizzler and making it better,&#8221; he said, pointing to remodels and a renewed focus on the classics\u2014steak, salad, and that all-you-can-eat charm.<\/p>\n<section data-embed=\"watch-next\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-15\" data-node-id=\"5\" class=\"embed\"\/>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"6\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">So far, the upgrades seem to be working. Newly remodeled Sizzler locations are reportedly seeing sales increases of nearly 50 percent, suggesting diners are ready to revisit their buffet-era roots. &#8220;Remodeling is probably the single biggest driver of guests in the restaurant,\u201d Clark explained. Because, yes, a little fresh paint and some long-standing cravings can go a long way.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"7\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">The chain&#8217;s also taking a look at why some Sizzler locations never died off in the first place. As VP of Marketing Sasha Shennikov <a href=\"https:\/\/www.qsrmagazine.com\/story\/sizzlers-latest-rebirth-is-about-getting-back-to-its-roots-not-reinventing-them\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.qsrmagazine.com\/story\/sizzlers-latest-rebirth-is-about-getting-back-to-its-roots-not-reinventing-them\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"told QSR\" data-node-id=\"7.1\" class=\"body-link css-1i7jlb0 emevuu60\">told <em data-node-id=\"7.1.1\">QSR<\/em><\/a>, &#8220;Everything we did was trying to dig into what made Sizzler so great in the first place.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"8\" class=\"css-6wxqfj emevuu60\">So yes, we can say that Sizzler <em data-node-id=\"8.1\">is<\/em> back. Or at least, it&#8217;s trying to be. And if the new look lands, we might be talking about steak-and-salad night again like it\u2019s 1988.<\/p>\n<section data-embed=\"editorial-link\" data-lazy-id=\"P0-16\" data-node-id=\"9\" class=\"embed\">\n<aside class=\"css-fcvumo e94w1mj1\"\/><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sizzler once had over 700 restaurants, but now has just 74 remaining in the U.S. The chain is undergoing major remodels, with revamped stores seeing up to a 47% increase in sales. Leadership says the brand\u2019s comeback will focus on what made Sizzler popular. If your idea of a big [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupcake.website\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}