S.P. Steakhouse Not Quite Ready to Open

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Staking its success on an improving economy, an upscale steakhouse in downtown Southern Pines isn't quite ready to open just yet.

In November, restaurant co-owner Phillip O'Connor said he hoped the economy would rebound enough that the restaurant could open in the spring.

On Tuesday, the fourth day of spring, O'Connor said that he and his co-owners are monitoring the economy, but they are still worried that it is not strong enough to support an upscale restaurant.

"There is no point in opening a white-linen restaurant and lose a lot of money," O'Connor said.

The goal, he said, is for the restaurant to be successful and opening now would hinder that.

"Right now, it'd be a struggle to sell enough juicy steaks to make that happen," O'Connor said.

The plan, O'Connor said, is to wait until April and make some decisions.

Southern Prime is on the site of the former La Terrace restaurant near the corner of South West Broad Street and Massachusetts Avenue.

The design of the 6,500-square-foot building took more than a year to complete. The developers, Cary-based MVOC, removed an 80-year-old Deodara cedar tree, which angered a group of residents who fought in vain to save it.

The inside of the restaurant features a large wine room with a one-of-a-kind cooling system that can hold 3,500 bottles of wine. There is a bar area, a main dining room and a private dining area that can be divided into two more intimate settings. There will also be an outdoor dining area.

One of the many features of the steakhouse is the monstrous kitchen area, which O'Connor said would be the envy of any restaurant.

The menu is what will set the restaurant apart from its competition, O'Connor said. It will feature a variety of meats - mostly steaks - and wine for any budget. Dining costs will be similar to a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse or a Morton's.

In November, the restaurant was completed, except for a few "little things, such as installing the computer system.

O'Connor said the restaurant is still accepting applications. So far, he said, applications have come in from around the country.

"We have received a bunch of applications from very qualified people," he said.

Before it opens, the restaurant will hire 20 to 30 employees - including a sommelier, or wine steward. The restaurant will seat 120 comfortably.

In the meantime, the restaurant will continue to reach out to the community through social media sites such as MySpace, Twitter and Facebook.

The Southern Prime Facebook page is updated daily with information about different types of steaks and other information meant to educate future customers about the fine dining experience. It currently has about 250 fans.

"In the last seven days, we've had just under 600 people visit our Facebook page," O'Connor said. "We are very encouraged."

Contact Tom Embrey at (910) 693-2484 or by e-mail at tembrey@thepilot.com.

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TooHot 3 years, 2 months ago

Build it and they will come, right? Nice business plan. Let me be the first to predict Southern Pines won't support a place with $40 steaks.

runorbike 3 years, 2 months ago

Even if I liked steak, I'll not go there and pay a ridiculous amount of money for a slab of meat I can cook better at home.

SoPines4ever 3 years, 2 months ago

I enjoy the steaks I grill out the best. Quality meat can be purchased at several locations around town that will rival any cut of meat that Southern Prime will serve. A quality salad can be made at home and potatoes purchased and baked for mere pennies compared to what this place will charge. I can get exquisite wines at the Wine Cellar, again at a much more reasonable price than this place will charge. How do restaurants justify 150% to 300% profit on a bottle or glass of wine that they just open and pour?

I enjoy dining out, but prefer to dine on entrees that I can't fix better and less expensive myself. Will over-priced beef be the only offering?

NCgirl 3 years, 2 months ago

Will the price of the steaks really be around $40???

If this is true....I seriously doubt that this restaurant will survive...that is, if they even open.

@SoPines4ever - I agree with you in regards to cooking steaks at home. I love my steak 'Thick & Medium Rare' (err on the rare side). And, it can be difficult to get a true Medium Rare steak at a restaurant. I also, choose dishes, when I eat out, that I wouldn't normally cook at home.

CSmithson 3 years, 1 month ago

@exp As a Southern Pines Councilmember, I appreciate Tom writing this article. "When is the steakhouse going to open" is definitely a question people ask me multiple times a week. It really is info people want to know.

Others include: -When are we getting a Target? -Is John's BBQ really going to be a Red Lobster? -When is the police station going to be fininshed? -Who the heck is that "expatriate" guy on the Pilot blogs?

Of course, I don't have the answer for any of them.

Chris Smithson

bigbrother 3 years, 1 month ago

expatriate is right though you go to any high class resteraunt like mortons they have exemplary service in the kitchen and on the floor and by far all top resteraunts offer valet i seriously doubt this place will offer either and at that they will fail misrabley

NCgirl 3 years, 1 month ago

@CSmithson - John's BBQ to be a Red Lobster?...Really, could it be?!?! I'm still hoping that it will be reopened as a really good southern BBQ/Calabash joint....Oh well, I guess we'll wait and see what happens.

None 3 years, 1 month ago

@NCgirl: Calabash seafood ~ now you're talking. The only place that comes close is Bay Breeze just off US 1 North in Sanford, about a mile on the left on 421 West toward Greensboro. Generous servings, great food, and staff. But it's not quite Calabash though - but real close.

ricksarno 3 years, 1 month ago

Steaks and wine for any budget - Dining costs will be similar to Ruth Chris or Morton's? Whose any budget?

SoPines4ever 3 years, 1 month ago

@Toda I've eaten there, it's pretty good to be this far from the coast. Can you believe that the old Sizzlin Barn and Dockside were torn down to build this High Dollar place? I know you remember the Dockside, you used to manage it, right?

SoPines4ever 3 years, 1 month ago

@expatriate this place can only hope to be as successful as Beefeaters.

theonewithsense 3 years, 1 month ago

Can seat 120 people with parking for 10. Not a good business plan......

Poundman 3 years, 1 month ago

Ruth Chris prices will not make it in this county. They will definitley have to rethink their strategy.

Moore_County_Patriot 3 years, 1 month ago

Wanna know which restaurant's grand opening that I'm waiting anxiously for????

Taco Bell...where $40 will buy me enough bean burritos and cinnamon twists to feed a small band of iraqi insurgents for at least a week...

peterprints 3 years, 1 month ago

I have eaten at many Ruth's Chris Steak Houses (great steaks and martinis) and at Morton's in Chicago when there was just one and there wasn't even a sign on the door confirming you were there. I can remember turning back toward the cab driver and he confidently motioned me to open the door. I've eaten steak and sampled the incredible wine list at Bern's Steak House in Tampa. I have also eaten many times at the original Bonefish Grill on Fourth St in St Petersburg long before the Tampa based Outback Corporation bought them. (And I am thrilled that the same quality of food, attention to detail in the cooking, and service has survived the merger and come to the area.) However, every time I ate at one of those great restaurants, I was in a great city that could support it. I'm sure that there are a lot of people in this area that can still afford a $40 steak (to this point no one's even mentioned the cost of the potato and the haricot vert), but in this economy there just aren't enough of those people. I came here in 2001 (No comments, I got here as soon as I could) and was thrilled to find some really good restaurants with (compared to NYC or Chicago) reasonable prices for very innovative and haute cuisine. Good luck to Southern Prime but, with apologies to one of my favorite politicians: "Sir, I've eaten at Ruth's Chris Steak House, Ruth Fertel was a friend of mine...Sir, You're no Ruth's Chris Steak House".

wannabeserver 3 years, 1 month ago

wow, hope i can wash dishes there!!!!

WizardOfOz 3 years, 1 month ago

@steveital

Now we are talking! Hooters is what we need! I was actually surprised when I moved here in 2008 (again, as someone already said, I came as quickly as I could...) to find out we did not have a Hooters in the area...

Is there anything better than have a cold mug of beer and some good chicken wings after a hard day at work OR a good round of golf?

Where_r_my_keys 3 years, 1 month ago

I agree the last thing we need is another restaurant. Our locally owned and operated restaurants are struggling to keep the doors open in this economy. And the fact that they are getting applications form across the country upsets me. When I think of dining in Southern Pines I think of walking into Beefeaters and knowing that Grace the owner is going to greet me and take the time to ask me how my day was and after a couple of visits the waitress will become acquainted with my self and my family and inquire how everyone is doing, also a place where it feels like and extension of my home. Not a place where the server knows nothing of the area or the people who live here. I have eaten at Ruth Chris several times and enjoyed it but it was always in a large city where the volume of tourist can sustain a restaurant of that caliber. I whole heartedly believe that Southern Pines sacrificed a 80 year old tree for nothing! But who knows I could be wrong.

runorbike 3 years, 1 month ago

Oh Lord, please not a Red Lobster. That's about the sorriest excuse for a seafood restaraunt as it can get. Now I am anxiously awaiting the opening of the Taco Bell though. I never wanted it until it was gone...

Poundman 3 years, 1 month ago

ditch the expensive steak place and open a K &W and I'm there!

None 3 years, 1 month ago

@SoPines4ever ~ I did manage Dockside for Johnny B and Tootsie for several years during the Disco era. MY-MY what fond memories of that place....My hair wasn't as "lighten" then.

@ALL ~ give Bay Breeze in Sanford a try...worth the ride.

dogboy 3 years, 1 month ago

...a Hooters would have to have a senior section, YIKES !!!

CSmithson 3 years, 1 month ago

Re: The Tree

"Southern Pines" did not cut down the tree or even actively "permit" its removal. It was a tree on private property and there are no ordinances currently on the books which would have given the Town any say in the tree's fate.

It was a nice tree and it is too bad it is gone. It was replaced by a pretty nice building which added several million dollars to the town's tax base. This has helped keep the property tax burden lower for those of us who live here. A slow and steady growth rate over time has kept the average SP homeowner's town property tax burden pretty much flat for at least the last ten years.

runorbike 3 years, 1 month ago

ExPat- Speaking of Capt. D's , I'd rather eat there than at a Red Lobster any day! :)

scb 3 years, 1 month ago

ExPat; no pun intended.i"m going back to my gardening.mabey up to capt D"s.

GoldenDreams 3 years, 1 month ago

To CSmithson: where exactly was this tree removed from? Cary?

poolstore 3 years, 1 month ago

I would like to see The Pilot do a story on the new local business that are already open. Instead of some high dollar steak that hasn't decided if they will open. We opened last July and the only people from The Pilot that come around have their hands out wanting money for ads that cost double than most large newspapers.

theonewithsense 3 years, 1 month ago

to GoldenDreams: The tree was removed from private property. The person that owned the tree cut it down. Have you ever cut a tree down in your yard? The solution is very simple. If you want to save a tree or if you want to keep your neighbor from building something on his land. Buy the land, pay the taxes and keep the tree.

Weedhopper 3 years, 1 month ago

High-end restaurants like this one survive primarily by expense account patrons. Few are willing to part with $40 for a steak unless someone else is picking up the tab. Clearly someone expects golfers visiting Pinehurst to get bored enough with the nearby offerings to drive over to Southern Pines for a dining experience they can charge to their company budget.

I don't see sufficient traffic for that model to survive. Sure hope they have a plan B.

tneal14 3 years, 1 month ago

We need a Target here. Wally World claims to be rolling back prices-NOT! I saw the same item a week later with a "Roll Back" sticker on it which is comical because the price was HIGHER than before the magical "Roll Back". People shop there enough to notice things like that!!! HAHAHA

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S.P. Steakhouse Not Quite Ready to Open

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