LongHorn Steakhouse is part of a huge development that is coming to the Greater San Antonio community. According to a state permit, the steakhouse chain is set to open a location in the new Penitas Crossing shopping center at 2323 Expressway 83.
Construction on the new LongHorn Steakhouse is slated to start at the end of March and be completed by mid-October 2026. According to My San Antonio, construction on the 5,780 square feet Darden Restaurants eatery is expected to wrap at the same time as another Darden restaurant set to open in the same shopping center: Olive Garden. Each construction project will cost the multi-concept restaurant group a whopping $2 million to erect.
What Now San Antonio spoke with Darden construction manager, Jim Powell, about the two openings, who confirmed that both brands would be opening the two new locations in the Penitas Crossing shopping center next fall. What Now San Antonio also reached out to LongHorn Steakhouse president, Laura Williamson, for more details about the opening, but did not hear back by the time of this publication.
This would be the eighth LongHorn Steakhouse restaurant to come to the Greater San Antonio region. The first LongHorn Steaks Restaurant & Saloon opened in 1981 in Atlanta. George McKerrow Jr. founded the brand and opened it that year in a former adult bookstore. It would be an unexpected snowstorm the very next year that would catapult the brand into fame.
“In 1982, a freak snowstorm hit Atlanta, shutting down interstate travel. Guests streamed into LongHorn for a night that got our legend started,” the website reads.
Word-of-mouth about the good steaks spread, and the rest is history. Well, until the owner of Olive Garden and Red Lobster, Darden Restaurants, acquired the brand in 2007, adopting the current ranch-style look just two years later, and expanding the brand across the East and Midwest. Today, there are nearly 600 LongHorn Steakhouse locations throughout the country, Guam, and the Philippines.
While the look and feel of the beloved steakhouse may have evolved, the taste profile that LongHorn Steakhouse has become known for has stayed the same. The bedrock of the brand is the steaks, but LongHorn also offers chicken, burgers, and salads.
Check out the new LongHorn Steakhouse in the new Penitas Crossing shopping center at 2323 Expressway 83 in fall 2026.
