Are bookstores done? New steakhouse moves to American Fork, displacing Seagull Book
A steakhouse will replace the Seagull bookstore this summer, according to documents filed with the city, the latest example of the growing competition in the restaurant industry in American Fork, where over 110 food establishments call their home.
The American Fork City Council is expected to vote Tuesday on a construction plan filed by Salt Lake City-based Woodbury Corp., a lessor of commercial buildings at Timp Plaza.
Longhorn Steakhouse, a 30-year-old chain with 370 locations in 35 states, said it plans to open a restaurant in the shopping center located at 200 North and U.S. 89 in American Fork, its first in Utah County and its fourth in the state. The chain is run by Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, which owns Red Lobster and Olive Garden among other chains.
According to the plans filed with the city, the Seagull Book building is proposed to be demolished, and the new, one-story structure will consist of approximately 6,480 square feet. The southern third of the shopping center’s parking lot will be redesigned and landscaped to meet the city’s landscaping requirements.
Longhorn Steakhouse says it specializes in serving steaks, chicken and fish that are “always fresh, never frozen,” including its signature hand-seasoned Flo’s Filet and the bone-in 18 oz. Outlaw Ribeye, a $21.99 dish that includes a choice of side, salad and unlimited Honey Wheat bread.
Longhorn is the latest restaurant to put pressure on Texas Roadhouse and Rodizio Grill, in a market of high-end restaurants largely unfilled in American Fork, as steak consumption tends to rise in expanding economies.
Seagull Book, which is owned by Deseret Book, said it won’t leave American Fork. But rather, it plans to move to another space in the same retail center in May.
The American Fork Citizen reported in December that local bookstores like Seagull Book are increasingly dedicating space to DVDs, clothes and home decoration in an attempt to stem a loss in revenue from books, as it faces pressure from the surge in popularity of ebooks on one hand and the growth of online retailers with razor-thin margins on the other.
Daniel Crivello can be reached at crivello@citizen.af, via phone at 801-477-6397 or on Twitter.