A parcel at Trailwinds Village that was vacant less than eight weeks ago now has the shell of a new Outback Steakhouse, which will be the company’s second restaurant serving The Villages.
The 5,000-square-foot building that will house the new Outback has already been erected at the site, less than two months after crews first began working on the restaurant.
The site plan was approved by Wildwood commissioners less than a year ago.
The 187-seat, full-service restaurant shares a 2.36-acre parcel with a 5,670-square-foot retail building.
Construction on that building, which will be home to the first Crumbl Cookies in The Villages, was largely complete before construction of the Outback began.
In addition to Outback, Crumbl, and Mattress Warehouse, 100 parking spaces and access roads will also be constructed at the site.
Outback was founded in Tampa, Florida in 1988 by Chris Sullivan, Robert Basham, Tim Gannon and Trudy Cooper, and is owned by Bloomin’ Brands of Tampa. That company also owns Bonefish Grill, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, and Aussie Grill.
Currently, there are over 1,000 Outback Steakhouse locations around the world. Nearly 100 of those restaurants are located in the state of Florida.
In the tri-county (Sumter, Lake, Marion) area, Outback currently operates restaurants in Lady Lake (710 U.S. Hwy 441), Leesburg (9600 U.S. Hwy 441), and Ocala (3215 SW College Rd; 4899 E Silver Springs Blvd).
