A stormy Tuesday morning couldn’t dampen the long-awaited opening of the Australian-themed Outback Steakhouse at Town Madison this week.

Located off Zierdt Road at 100 Stadium Way on the east side of Town Madison, blocks from Toyota Field, the new Outback brought something unique to the sprawling development, the first of the company’s new design for their restaurants called the “Joey”.

Delayed slightly because of, but not in response to COVID, Outback was already taking the company in a new direction when the pandemic hit, moving away from the idea of Outback as an occasion-based dining experience, and more towards a “stop by anytime spot”.

“This location is the first milestone we have had for Outback in a very, very long time,” said owner Tyjuana Watson Lewis. “The Joey concept gives us a smaller footprint and a design of openness with more modern textures, more modern equipment, with lots of windows across the front creating a welcoming environment for the whole family.

“Everyone on this side of the world has been waiting a long time for us to open here and now that we are within walking distance of many, many doors here at Town Madison, we want it to be the kind of place where families want to stop by after a soccer game. We want to become a day-to-day meeting spot for people on their way home from work, or an easy drop in place for people who live nearby.”

Madison Mayor Paul Finley agreed there are a lot of people excited to have an Outback on the east side of town.

“I want to thank you, Tyjuana for being here and for your investment in our community, and you are so right! Town Madison continues to grow into everything we expected it to be with business after business coming in. Having Outback here continues to enhance our quality of life.”

Before leaving, Mayor Finley christened the new restaurant by reserving space for the Mayor’s Office Christmas Party next week.

Several proprietary items on the Outback menu have become customer favorites nationwide like Shrimp on the Barbie, Kookaburra Wings, Baby Back Ribs and their Steak ‘n Mate Combos.

They also offer a full-service bar with hand-crafted signature cocktails, beer pairings, and Aussie holiday favorites like gingerbread cookie martinis and smoked cinnamon pecan old fashions.

The Town Madison store offers curbside pick-up and a third-party delivery service.