ORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- LongHorn Steakhouse, part of the Darden family of restaurants, today announced the opening of its first location in Southeast Connecticut. The restaurant, best known for its atmosphere and flavor of the American West, will be located at 850 Hartford Turnpike in Waterford. As part of its pre-opening training period, the restaurant recently hosted a Friends and Family night which helped raise more than $1,000 for The Muscular Dystrophy Association of America.

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The 5,570-square foot restaurant will employ up to 80 team members and seat more than 200 guests. Jennifer St. Clair-Gunter, a restaurant industry veteran of 24 years, will serve as managing partner.

"LongHorn Steakhouse has been looking to bring its tradition of Western hospitality to Southeastern Connecticut for some time and we are excited about the warm welcome we have received from the Waterford community," said St. Clair-Gunter. "We look forward to helping our guests relax and unwind in an inviting atmosphere while savoring a great steakhouse meal served with genuine western hospitality. We're also pleased we could help support the Muscular Dystrophy Association of America and look forward to making more contributions to the local community for many years to come."

LongHorn opened its first restaurant in Atlanta 28 years ago and has grown steadily - becoming known for its passion for grilling fresh, tender, juicy steaks served in a relaxed, comfortable steakhouse atmosphere. But that first restaurant almost didn't survive its initial year in business until good fortune fell from the sky in the form of a freak snowstorm in Atlanta. After stranded motorists (including a local restaurant critic) sought refuge inside, word quickly spread about the delicious steaks and genuine western hospitality.

LongHorn, which was named America's Favorite Steakhouse in 2008 by Restaurants & Institutions annual Consumers' Choice in Chains study, is known for more than its signature hand-seasoned Flo's Filet and the bone-in Outlaw Ribeye. LongHorn grill masters love to grill fresh, never frozen, fish and chicken in addition to steak. Items such as LongHorn Salmon, a fresh, hand-cut salmon fillet seasoned with a bourbon marinade; fall-off-the-bone tender Baby Back Ribs; and Sierra Chicken, two grilled chicken breasts topped with fresh, tomato-basil salsa, are just some of the other specialties guests will find on the menu.

The restaurant opens daily at 11 a.m. for lunch. It's open until 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

ABOUT LONGHORN STEAKHOUSE

More than 25 years after opening its first restaurant in Atlanta, today LongHorn Steakhouse operates more than 300 restaurants in 30 states. LongHorn is a division of Darden Restaurants, Inc. , the world's largest full-service restaurant operating company. For more information about LongHorn, please visit www.longhornsteakhouse.com.

SOURCE LongHorn Steakhouse