The Sirloin Stockade restaurant in Rolla, Missouri, recently reopened after a fire severely damaged it in February.
Fire officials described the restaurant along Route 66 on the city’s west side as a total loss after the blaze.
As KY3 television in Springfield, Missouri, reported, the small regional restaurant chain decided to use the opportunity to try something new:
“It was almost a 100% tear down,” said Kevin Bramlett, the General Manager of the Rolla franchise.
Bramlett has worked at the restaurant for 31 years. He says the menu is revamped, and they’re trying to re-brand after the fire.
“We’re trying to get back to being known as a steakhouse,” Bramlett said. “We love our buffet. It’s as big and as fresh as it’s always been, but we’re really focusing on trying to get people in here, sit down, and have a nice steak meal or other entree brought to them.”
Aside from the revamped menu, the entire interior design has been modernized and is the first location with this specific style.
“We took the opportunity to take this building and make it into our new prototype,” said Rick Pastorek, Chief Operations Officer with Stockade Companies. “It’s our new, prototypical design, so we’re going to offer this prototype to our qualified franchisees in the Route 66 and I-44 Corridor.”
Here’s the video from the station:
The best part about Rolla’s Sirloin Steakhouse being rebuilt is it retained 30 of 36 employees who worked there before the fire.
The fact Sirloin Stockade reopened fairly quickly after the fire is encouraging. Restaurants frequently don’t reopen at all after such a devastating setback.
The Sirloin Stockade chain contains about 80 locations. It was founded in 1966 in Oklahoma City. Many of the restaurants — including Rolla’s — feature a large fiberglass steer on the premises.
The Rolla restaurant was the only Sirloin Stockade on Route 66 and was frequented by international travelers. A Sirloin Stockade exists in the Route 66 town of Carthage, Missouri, but it sits a few blocks west of the Mother Road.
(Screen-capture image from KY3 video of Sirloin Stockade in Rolla, Missouri)