The Decline of Sizzler...What Happened?

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Episode Description: Sizzler is a once-iconic chain of steakhouse/buffet restaurants that has declined significantly. This video talks about the history of the brand while attempting to explain what happened to it.
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[@companyman114]

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[@RedLeo-pf9yo]

I’m 53 and I always loved the sizzler in San Marcos Texas !!!! that location closed down a long time ago, but there is one a few miles outside of North Austin, Texas. Which is pretty far from me, but I try to go there from time to time.

[@RedLeo-pf9yo]

Yeah, I always wondered how buffets are even possible. It seems like you would lose money on the deal if you’re the owner.

[@dorkdoodle5922]

Hey company man, just wanted to let you know that three year-old girl that passed away due to an E. coli outbreak was my older sister. I was one and a half years old at the time I was a very picky eater so I didn’t eat. The watermelon was contaminated with E. coli because they use the same knives to cut watermelon as they were cutting raw beef. Love your videos keep up the good work.

[@borysfx]

You forgot the better movie quote from Happy Gilmore “Hey Shooter, wanna go to Sizzler and get some grub?

[@dorkdoodle5922]

That 3 year old girl that died from the E Coli outbreak at Sizzler in Milwaukee was my older sister. They used the same knives they used to cut watermelon that they used to cut raw meat. I was 1 and half years old. I was a picky eater so I didn’t eat much watermelon and survived

[@chucky187]

So, sorry for your loss. It's terrible that you had to grow up without your big Sis, especially for such a basic food safety issue.

[@JBrooksNYS]

at Sizzler? Where? Who is they?

[@TheLonelySoulja]

Am so sorry.

[@quanbrooklynkid7776]

Damn

[@dorkdoodle5922]

@@JBrooksNYS yes at sizzler in Milwaukee. They referring to the employees at that location.

[@donaldwycoff4154]

I cooked at the Sizzler in Rancho Cordova in 1985/86, and used the job to pay for my college education. Like anywhere, it had good and bad points. Once I mastered everything cooking-related, it became a job. When my college offered me a position working as a lab TA, I tendered my 2-week notice at Sizzler, and made the mistake of taking on a 'short-timer' attitude which I've regretted ever since. Looking back, Sizzler was an important moment in my life, and it provided me a bridge from the kitchen into a lab setting where I've been working ever since. Here I am at the end of my career, looking back on my Sizzler days, and I wish them the best. Although I already had a culinary background before I worked for them, I learned a lot at Sizzler, including how they make their cheese toast, how to make malibu sauce, how to clean scampi, how to make prime rib, how to make blue cheese dressing from scratch, how not to make barbecue ribs, and so much more.

[@thedude6810]

I am a local in the area. Any secrets to making that cheese toast?

[@donaldwycoff4154]

@@thedude6810 Probably not a secret anymore. But the trick was, you whip butter with parmesan cheese. You wipe this rather thickly on one side of the toast, maybe twice as thick as you'd put peanut butter for a pbj. We'd make big pans of these, at least several dozen, and multiples of the pan, and keep them in the walk in. Preheat a griddle to 375 Fahrenheit. Place the toast butter side down on the griddle, and put a press on the bread. You could probably just use a tea plate The butter should prevent the bread from sticking if the griddle is in shape. You can remove plate and flip the toast after several minutes to see if it is ready. If not, put it back down, put the plate back on it. The toast will be ready when the cheese and butter are a lovely brown. The cheese and butter will have deeply absorbed into the bread, and the toasted cheese will add a magical quality to the bread.

[@edgy8481]

Sorry, never enjoyed Sizzler, especially after I discovered Black Angus.

[@wrench4203]

Rancho Cordova in NorCal?

[@donaldwycoff4154]

@@wrench4203 Yes

[@lucoot]

Sizzler was the height of luxury to me as a 90s kid. This is where we went to celebrate me getting good grades (so it was a rare treat!).

[@mewsyra775]

Same!! My parents would always let me get a chocolate mousse (if I ate all my food, of course) and I felt like a Princess lmao 🤣

[@UncleJoeLITE]

I went once here in AU before they closed shop. Honestly, their AU operation was pretty cr*ppy. Cheers from Canberra.

[@subzero07094]

Same here this video brought back so many good memories as a kid born in the early 80s. I used to be so pumped when my parents would pick Sizzler for our dinner night out. Looking back the food was awful quality but when you tell a fat little kid it's all you can eat chicken wings, meatballs, and ice cream how can you go wrong! Some of my best memories at restaurants were the Sizzler salad bar. I remember the first time my parent's brought me to Charlie Brown's and did their buffet and I was so disappointed that it didn't even compare to Sizzler. Thanks for this video I lost my parents about 4 years ago and this brought back some really fond memories.

[@Vegaman2024]

Same!

[@illiiilli24601]

Still remember going to sizzler before the last one in my city closed

[@rkmugen]

Steak+Lobster+All You Can Eat Shrimp+cheese toast slices+chicken wings (from the salad bar). And they even sold their steak sauce by the bottle. 1990's. Best. Decade. Ever. Sadly, the quality went down, prices went up, and service+cleanliness has become a relic of decades past. Are we in the dark ages again?

[@UncleMilty]

As far as the restaurant biz goes I think we are. And who knows when or if it will ever come back in our lifetimes.

[@LearnAboutFlow]

I don't think food poisoning was a reason people stayed away. After all, Chipotle has had so many outbreaks I literally associate the brand with making people sick. . . yet it continues to thrive.

[@doom4167]

People standard went down I think.

[@frankblanco9369]

Nowadays people suffer on the john for a quick fast meal.

[@jdspreest]

That’s why I call it Shitpotle

[@conduit242]

Cool story bro

[@shelliupshaw3405]

I grew up in SoCal. One was a few blocks away from my house. We used to celebrate special occasions. I miss them so much. I ❤ Sizzler

[@crazymike8057]

I have to ask, Irvine, Tustin or Lake Forest?

[@shelliupshaw3405]

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley ​@@crazymike8057

[@overcastskyline1747]

theyre still around in socal, imo i like it, i remember going as a kid but i dont remember much about it and wanted to go to see if i can unlock a forgotten memory, the dining vibes are still the same, food choices are not bad, i would go again

[@LilM0ke]

@@overcastskyline1747 yeah one in oceanside same location as in the 90s

[@tando6266]

Australian sizzler fan here. From a working class family it was a fancy night out for the family at an affordable price.

[@Lazarus1095]

How to do you feel these days about Outback Steakhouse? I ask entirely in the spirit of enquiry.

[@fifthrider]

Ironic. An Australian that went to Sizzler, while we Americans went to Outback Steakhouse. Same fare, different labels to make it interesting.

[@Swilla1]

Did you guys call it "Sizzla" there? Lol

[@gkid64]

Man you got up early

[@quanbrooklynkid7776]

I never been but no surprise ​@@fifthrider

[@jossuesandoval7761]

The ice cream machine with the crushed oreos was life changing for me at 6 years old

[@LoveStallion]

Sizzler night was a special night growing up.

[@fishingfan1500]

Agreed, usually with my parents, aunt, uncle and grandparents

[@ailinfergan]

I remember the king crab offerings

[@eldiablov2]

Oh yeah I remember my family going there for dinner, and my classmates doing the same thing, that was the place to be.

[@DarkLouie76]

As a teenager I worked at the local Sizzler from 1984 to 85, after school and back again in 86 for a short time. Brings back some great memories. The location was very nice and well maintained. They actually had a meat cutter on site that would cut the steaks up, they didn't just come cut up. Started out as a dishwasher and was a cook for a while. Friday and Saturday nights there was a line out the door, same thing with Mother's Day and Father's Day. A couple of buddies from the neighborhood worked there with me, and we met a lot of cool people there that we hung out with. I miss the simpler time in my life back then!

[@cloudcity4194]

In the 70's, in CA, Sizzler was thought of as top-tier by the working class. It was a place where your parents would say, "we're doing something special, we're going to Sizzler! Wear your good clothes!" Then, the food quality started to decline. By the time they introduced their buffet, everyone I knew thought Sizzler was done. By the 90's, everyone I knew already had it pegged as a "low-quality, old-fashioned, dangerous place to eat". We'd rather go to Boston Market or Denny's and both of those places were foul. Sizzler didn't die decades ago, it died GENERATIONS ago.

[@NozomuYume]

Definitely. The prices were good, but the cuts of meat were... lacking. Like you ordered a steak but the meat felt like it was more at home in a philly cheesesteak. I realize they did this to keep prices low, and nobody was expecting prime, but eventually it felt like you could get a better, juicier steak just grabbing a choice cut at the supermarket. It got to the point where if you wanted a cheapish steak you could go to Applebees and get a superior product.

[@offroad8055]

100% truth! It was a nice dinner for the working class. When we were kids We knew it was a special day (in Modesto, CA) if we got to go to the mall then to Sizzler for dinner!

[@xp8969]

My boy Sizzler is NOT a communist, it may be a lot of things (a liar, a pig, an idiot, a porn star, a communist) but it is NOT in bankruptcy... anymore!!

[@jhoughjr1]

Hopefully it takes the rest of the boomer world with it

[@virionspiral]

​@@NozomuYumearen't Philly cheese steaks usually made with Rib Eye? I would hope a steak house would feature Rib Eye

[@N1120A]

This was a video we DEFINITELY needed. As a native of Southern California, I grew up with Sizzler. The 80s and early 90s were definitely their heyday.

[@JudeTavonFenwick]

Why was it « needed »?

[@eldiablov2]

Oh yeah when I was a kid that was the place to be for dinner on a Friday night

[@Tornado1994]

@@eldiablov2 I'm Californian Born. We would Eat at the Novato Sizzler once a Month during 1988-1989.

[@Pink_Bellini]

Grew up with them in Norcal😢

[@N1120A]

@@JudeTavonFenwick because it's a subject near and dear to the hearts of millions

[@snoozeflu]

My local Sizzler (1 mile from my house) closed down a few years ago. The building was demolished and a brand new In-n-Out was built on the site.

[@lopoa126]

Upgrades

[@beans00001]

A small price to pay for salvation

[@janette2691]

My local sizzler also a mile from my house, became a gabes bar and grill. That didn't last 3 years and when the gabes grill closed down they tore it down for additional parking for el super grocery store and planet fitness

[@rkmugen]

@snoozeflu Same here. SF Bay Area... Gellert Blvd.

[@mikew1332]

I'm near Chicago - I wish we still had a Sizzler so it could be replaced by In-n-Out Burger.

[@jameshoopes6467]

One thing you didn’t directly address was staffing. When Sizzler was good, they had good wait staff. Always attentive. Always getting you what you need. Then as problems happened, they cut back on staff and you often felt like you were alone in the restaurant. For me, that was a big change I saw. I used to love their Malibu chicken. And their toast was amazing.

[@moquilla1]

The toast is still good, I went there for the first time in maybe 15 years. I didn’t know what to expect but the wait staff were very nice and the food was great. Maybe it depends on the area you live in, idk. Looking forward to going back again, gonna try the salad bar next time.

[@woodcider]

The best waitress I’ve ever had was at a Sizzler. She was amazing.

[@funnydale]

That’s the entire restaurant industry, especially fast food. It’s why they have ordering kisko’s…so that three people can manage the drive thru in the back.

[@AuntieClimactic]

Cheese toast, guys. Cheese toast.

[@bluelblock]

Oh my goodness I can almost taste it.

[@AuntieClimactic]

@@bluelblock I just looked up locations and there’s one in a city I’m going to next week. I’m afraid it won’t be the same, because rarely is something ever as good as you remember from 30 years ago.

[@nssupremacy_4281]

sorry, but I haven’t their tried cheese toast

[@AuntieClimactic]

@@nssupremacy_4281 Why else would anyone go? You can get steak, seafood or salad anywhere lol

[@PotentialDifference1]

I've been craving the cheese toast too!

[@wyrda2452]

I was in Thailand recently, and Sizzler there is going strong. There was at least one Sizzler in every shopping centre. I've had an amazing experience every time I went there, so I'm surprised to see how much struggle the franchise was going through. From other Australians I've only heard fond memories of Sizzler, there was even a Sizzler pop-up that opened just last week for only one night in Brisbane, Australia, by popular demand.

[@zerwif]

The pork leg is so damn good! So many Westerners don't trust the Sizzler brand anymore and refuse to try it in Thailand.

[@TechTimeWithEric]

Interesting/sad story involving Sizzler. I worked at an AutoZone in Delaware that used to be a Sizzler. During the Sizzler days sadly at one point one of the waitresses was stabbed by a customer. Then it ended up closing because there was a kitchen fire that also killed a waiter and cook. When I worked there the building often times seemed haunted.

[@angrylepercon8396]

The White Men Can't Jump reference was a nice touch. I love that movie. 😂

[@Allencartercomix]

Agreed. They seriously should have used that "We goin' Sizzler" line from the movie (said by Kadeem Hardison from "A Different World") as a new slogan. While it wouldn't have solved all their problems, it would have been worth a shot.

[@TheMasterhomaster]

@@Allencartercomix Dwayne Wayne!!!

[@BMoney77]

I always think of Happy Gilmore

[@carlrood4457]

First thing I thought of when I saw the video title. Can't think of Sizzler without thinking of "White Men Can't Jump"

[@bluetwinkiesaregood]

I’m surprised the family guy gag of sizzler wasn’t in here 😂

[@jamesplotkin4674]

I worked at a Sizzler as a disher-busboy making $3.25/hr in 1978. I lasted 8 months until the great manager, we'll call him Bert was replaced by an ass-hat manager, whom we'll call Greg. To this day, I enjoy a simple steak and bake and the awesome Malibu chicken. Never had a bad food experience. I only have fond memories, especially when leaving the closing shift and walking past this mod-van with some social intercourse going on between a waitress and the cook's hot-side helper ;-) PS edit... It was during the mid-1978 when the salad bar was introduced to my location.

[@KOFilms797]

Growing up poor in the Bay Area sizzler was a special night with the family. Seeing my mom make me nachos from the salad bar area still makes me nostalgic to this day.

[@subzero07094]

Same. Its one of the few restaurants as a kid that I remember pretty clearly about the entire setup of the buffet.

[@OfficialRepublicans]

The one in Fremont?

[@terejosh13]

My dad and mom took me to the one that was at the Fillmore Center

[@Pink_Bellini]

That was the place to go on a celebration night in the bay area

[@chandlee3968]

My town still has a different restaurant called Western Sizzlin and it’s the same buffet and steak concept. It’s pretty much known in town as an “old folks” restaurant and even though it shows a lot of wear and tear, they have great moderately priced food.

[@bosef1]

There was a Western Sizzlin in Bailey's Crossroads; as a child I was confused about the difference between the two restaurants.

[@jljordan1]

I remember going to one in Oklahoma City on our way to Texas.

[@RoachOverlord]

@@bosef1 Same here. I thought Sizzler was just a nickname for Western Sizzlin. Sadly, all of the Western Sizzlin locations in my home state of Virginia have closed at this point.

[@rixxroxxk1620]

There’s one in Hagerstown, MD!

[@ladymacbethofmtensk896]

I was a Marie Calendar's kid. But then, that chain only went into decline after Don Calendar died. Marie was long gone by that point too.

[@ckfinke7625]

Finally! A video on the decline of Sizzler! Can't wait for you to post videos on the decline of Chi-Chi's, Ruby Tuesday and TGI Friday's.

[@Belgand]

Can't do Chi-Chi's without also doing Chevy's.

[@KhanadaRhodes]

i didn't go to chi-chi's much as a kid, but the last two really hurt. i remember going to ruby tuesday all the time as a kid, especially because the closest mall in many of the cities i lived in had one inside. i remember those breadsticks they'd give out and that amazing honey butter. i know at some point they switched to biscuits that were a lot like the ones at red lobster and were also really good. my mom loved salads so she'd always want to go any place with a salad bar. and tgi friday's is another place i have a lot of fond memories of. i lived in memphis for a time and would go to what was the second location ever opened, it was always super packed whenever we went. they eventually opened a location closer to where we lived and we'd still go a lot. i've since moved away and it looks like most of the locations in memphis i'd go to even as recently as less than a decade ago are closed. heck, i moved back to the area where i lived as a really little kid and most of the ones i remember here are gone too. it's a shame because i love that jack daniel's (or whatever they call it now) sauce, it made everything taste amazing.

[@hellowerewolf]

Chi-chis omg!

[@mae2759]

I thought he did one on Chi-Chi's already?

[@ckfinke7625]

@@mae2759 I don't think so...yet.

[@emilyangel4real]

All I ever think of when I hear Sizzler is in the Scooby Doo movie when Shaggy says "Look Scoob, its like a medieval Sizzler" 😂

[@petdetail]

First time I don't agree with your assessments. The Sizzler near my house is PACKED every day and for us, going there is a weekly visit. Love the place.

[@em84c]

I guess that's why your store is still open. Heaps of locations closed down

[@fastdude2002]

Closed in my town a couple decades ago….

[@user-qy9tv1nk1f]

Sizzler, Red Lobster, Black Angus, Outback - all of them a complete fall from grace. Olive Garden is next.

[@Hellondais]

Sizzler sponsored my hockey team. When our team manager would go to the restaurant to get the sponsorship money. The franchise owner would walk over to the cash take out a wad and give it to him.

[@DawnietotheMax]

3:36 Native Californian here, yes I loved the salad bar. And I'm trying to re-create the cheese toast. It's so good.

[@shawnclark764]

Former Sizzler line cook... easiest at home method is a thick cut white bread, texas toast works. 1/3 cup of the cheapest parmesan you can find and 2 sticks of softened butter. mix it all together and spread it on. Flat top or a non-stick griddle/ pan at medium heat. Hope that helps.

[@DawnietotheMax]

@@shawnclark764 Who-ooh, thank you so much.

[@gdart0710]

We really miss it. We lost our local Sizzler restaurants over the past five years, and it's just sad.

[@TopsideCrisis346]

I grew up with Sizzler during the peak of its popularity. It was one of my Grandma's favorite places, and it was one of the bros and I's favorite places to go with her. We'd always get the salad bar, and we would try to top each other on dessert. 🍨😋🍨 Lately, my wife and I will sometimes go there with an older friend from work. She's always pleasant to hang out with, and she's like a grandma to our daughter. Unfortunately, we often have to travel further out these days, as the location nearest us shut down - before COVID. The one we now go to is hanging tough, but the place is never packed like it was in my youth. Frankly, I am kinda sad to see it go. I always felt it struck the right balance between fancy and affordable - never snooty, but never chintzy, either. I think the few locations that remain can continue on into the foreseeable future, as long as they learn from their past mistakes. But what really needs to happen is a matter of culture. I'm not talking about a total rebrand, but it does need to catch up with the times - and maybe, the times need to adjust to allow it to catch up. Can we make meat great again? Can we convince GenZ to put down the veggie burger and try a nice, juicy steak with an incredible salad bar, for a price we might still be able to afford after Bidenflation? Time will tell. But I seriously hope I can take my grandkids there one day. Maybe by then, I'll have beat my four-plate limit. 🧆🍝😋🥗🎂

[@Coolboy725]

I would've thought that "The Decline of Big Lots... What Happened?" would've been uploaded due to the current list of store closures.

[@ckfinke7625]

Although he did post a "Why They're Successful" video on Big Lots years ago.

[@bostonbugni4347]

Probably because their stores are tired and the merchandise is just kinda like SHEIN quality tbh it’s not rly good stuff anymore esp w Ross, home goods, etc right next door

[@bingofromblueyfan]

@@Coolboy725 the Big Lots near me only gets a lot of people in the early morning and my local big lots might close next because they have a banner saying they’re open is not a good sign

[@ASAPShitPost]

​@@bostonbugni4347 Lol my towns Big Lots is literally right next to Ross

[@LatitudeSky]

Big Lots has been out maneuvered by Ollie's and other chains, all doing very similar things. Except Big Lots is not cheap and hasn't been compelling in years. Their ads are full of furniture. Great but just how many sofas do they sell, versus other items they could promote more? I don't even look at their ads any more because I don't need anything they are pushing.

[@IgoByaGo]

I went to California for the first time in May of 2023. I had Sizzler for the first time in the San Jose area, and it was pretty good. It wasn't Texas Roadhouse by any means, but it was good, especially for being free to me.

[@BraydenBunch58]

The fact that they said that they were still open in an ad💀

[@verdatum]

Maaaaaaybe fire that marketing team.

[@JudeTavonFenwick]

Huh?

[@verdatum]

@@JudeTavonFenwick Would you eat at a place with the slogan "Eat at Joe's: We're not a COMPLETE failure!"? Sizzler done played themselves.

[@JudeTavonFenwick]

@@verdatum wtf are you talking about???

[@verdatum]

@@JudeTavonFenwick You said "huh?" I was attempting to help you understand the comment...that's how these interactions work, y'know...

[@Allencartercomix]

Growing up in Hawaii during the '80s, we had a few Sizzler locations that were operated by a franchisee named Jolly Roger Inc. My parents would take my older sister and I every now and then, and it was the main restaurant we would go out to eat at. One big food item not mentioned in the video was their seafood: So many people (including myself and my mother at the time) would get their fried shrimp, broiled shrimp, and lemon pepper shrimp. I even got their all-you-can eat shrimp a few times. My mother would occasionally get lobster there.

[@SquidzitAce]

We ate at Sizzler while driving home from our honeymoon back in '95. It was so bad we never went back.

[@alexv3372]

Congrats on the marriage !! I hope you feel better

[@jackielinde7568]

I don't know about the food poisoning angle. After all, it's possible to come back from it. Look at Jack in the Box and Chipotle. Both had massive health scares and (at least in Chipotle's case) shut down restaurants to clean them. Also, I don't think those outbreaks got a lot of attention, since I only learned about them now and they're decades old. Now, I haven't had much incentive to go back, except for nostalgia. There's a location in Glendale, AZ that my family used to go to on occasion in the late 1980's. Then I moved across town and spent a decade in Tempe, AZ for a decade before returning back to the area I grew up in. I only went back to Sizzler about five or six years ago with my daughter, and that was mostly out of curiosity. Even then, food was overpriced for what we ordered. The salad bar wasn't exciting. The decor was a mix of the 1980s and patches where the restaurant was clearly remodeled for the salad bar (and then had the salad bar downsized.) The overall experience was "meh" at best. And that's something they need to overcome. Is it possible? Maybe. They're still technically alive, and that location I told you about apparently is still operating and has a four-star reputation online. Maybe culling their stores to a manageable list and starting over is what they need.

[@JonEffinZoidberg]

I remember going to sizzler in 2005 or so in 29 Palms outside the Marine base. We used to go there or Applebees cause they would serve us underage Marines without issue... But the salad bar and steak at sizzler plus their drinks were insanely good especially for us young people. Was affordable and good enough food. I grew up on a cattle ranch with high quality beef and theirs was always decent enough.

[@zmarko]

"Let me guess, all-you-can-eat barbecue rib night at rhe sizzler." That quote is always the first thing I think about when I hear the name Sizzler. Lol

[@nickelouscage]

It’s how I was introduced to sizzler. Never saw an actual restaurant, but that throwaway line has always made me want to try it

[@bosef1]

Boys, boys- you're scaring the straights.

[@bingofromblueyfan]

@@zmarko what’s funny is when I think about the sizzler Is the south part episode called it’s a Jersey thing where they’re making fun of the Jersey Shore

[@Belgand]

For me it was always Saved by the Bell when Lisa's dad suggests going to Sizzler to cheer her up after she's upset for running up huge credit card debt on her parents' cards. Which always struck me as odd. While everyone on the show was comfortably middle to upper-middle class, Lisa was specifically the "rich girl". Sizzler always seemed pretty down-market for them. It gave me a degree of insight into how the chain was viewed in SoCal.

[@jedshaffer5956]

I lived in Oregon during the E. Coli outbreak. Even before it happened, going back to the 80’s, Sizzler’s reputation was the place for cheap, low-quality food, like the McDonald’s of steak. After that E. Coli incident, nobody would touch it. Not surprised to see that reputation wasn’t just local.

[@Beeezledrop]

When ever I think of Sizzler I think of Happy Gilmore when the "Jackass guy" heckler asks Shooter if he wants to go to the Sizzler.

[@joewalsh7273]

correct!!!,,,

[@ronin7997]

Sizzler, Red Lobster, and Fuddruckers were all fond restaurants in my childhood for birthdays and special occasions. Your recent videos have been a major nostalgia trip, as sadly all 3 have closed down in my area.

[@UncleJoeLITE]

Our Company Man comes through for us again. I'm liking the new direction! _Yep, Sizzler was a fizzer here in AU. At least they did better than Sbarro etc._ _AU is where many US chains go to die - I'm looking at you too, Starbucks!_

[@chrismcdaniel6706]

I was born and raised in San Diego, and the Sizzler in La Mesa was my family's fancy dinner location. Eating at Sizzler felt like a high class meal. That Sizzler was the first time I'd ever eaten Golden Fried Shrimp, as they had an All You Can Eat Shrimp deal for like 8 bucks. I ate a TON of shrimp that night, and I still love shrimp to this day. Sizzler shaped my pallet, and that night is actually a fond childhood memory.

[@richardjones9282]

We used to go to the one off I-15 and Aero Drive until the prices went up and the quality went down.

[@Pink_Bellini]

Yet

[@michaelkelleypoetry]

As a 90s kid from the Memphis area, I don't really remember Sizzler, but when we'd visit our grandmother in Arkansas we would go to a Western Sizzlin' in Stuttgart.

[@Alicious_Al]

Aww, but I love Sizzler. My parents took me there for my H.S. graduation dinner. 😢

[@legoscoobydoo]

I’m a little bit on the younger side (only in my 20s) growing up, I didn’t really know about sizzlers. There was another buffet/steakhouse restaurant called Izzy’s and a few locations near where I lived in Oregon at the time. A while back, they closed down and most of those restaurant locations were reopened as sizzlers as their layout was pretty much exactly what sizzlers needed.

[@qty1315]

Sizzler: The Worst Version Of Your Favourite Meal.

[@Jimmyjimjimjim]

That’s blasphemy 😂

[@erics.czernecki7333]

No, that's just a Family Guy reference. You have a problem, take it to Fuzzy Door.

[@cjcabreraoutdoors5828]

😂😂

[@josephgarcia6256]

The city I grew up in for 23 years had a Sizzler, one of the fav place of Family and friends growing up. When I was taking the Foods class in high school the GM who managed it forever came and gave a talk about service, food costs etc. it was quite opening.

[@aceofspadez131]

I really miss sizzler. Growing up, it was almost as exciting to hear my parents say, "Let's go to sizzler," as it was to hear, " Let's go to blockbuster." Even now, more recently, when discussing with my wife where to take the family for dinner, we sometimes say "damn I wish there was a sizzler around. " Then we would go into reminiscing about good times we had there as kids. It's a shame it went so far downhill.

[@Markimark151]

I miss Sizzler, I used to go to them a lot when I was a kid. I remember when they closed our location in 2001 which was near a McDonald’s and Whole Foods, which Sizzler was stuck in the 1980s, it had the green neon layout before it was demolished and now it’s an office complex shared with Whole Foods!

[@mjrodriguez8670]

I remember eating at a Sizzler in the Midwest back when I was a boy growing up in the Reagan Eighties. The meals were delicious! The salad bar had fresh vegetables. It was a family-friendly place for dinner on weekends!

[@ViremasterOfUSA]

hearing "Sizzler" always made me think of Weird Al's "Albuquerque", where he said got a part time job, put out a grease fire with his face and dismembered a co-worker after taking a sarcastic request at face value. ...Was there ever a Sizzler at Albuquerque?

[@munkeefinkelbeen5395]

Pretty sure there was. Heck, Flagstaff is a much smaller city and used to have 2. So Albuquerque must have had a Sizzler

[@TakeWalker]

I literally only know the Sizzler from "Albuquerque". I was, in fact, shocked when I later found out it was a real place, I thought he'd made it up!

[@JL-sm6cg]

​​@@munkeefinkelbeen5395 doesn't necessarily mean they have one. As you might have seen from some previous videos here, a lot of companies skipped over New Mexico, including 99 Cents Only stores, who could've thrived in that state.

[@JL-sm6cg]

I was thinking of that song as well.

[@lPHOENIXZEROl]

Makes me think of the Bloodhound Gang song Three Point One Four. Though to be fair I haven't sat down and listened to Albuquerque in a long time. I think there was a Sizzler where I lived in Arizona. Kingman, much smaller than Albuquerque or Flagstaff but that was a long time ago and I never went in the two years I lived there.

[@ecmproductions11]

Growing up we went to slizzler at minimum once a month as it was the only place my dad enjoyed going. Since it was a laid back and quailty dinner. We had like 5 or 6 locations within a 10 mile radius. Last I heard there was only one way off by the mall. So sad.

[@Woozlewuzzleable]

I loved going here as kid for the salad bar(ice cream bar).

[@reapthegirlwind]

Born in the late eighties and growing up in the southern US, I never saw one, the most exposure I ever got to it was the name drop in Weird Al's "Albuquerque" and it was such a fake-sounding restaurant name to teenage me that I thought it was a place he made up 'til I was in late high school.

[@JBrooksNYS]

Im a 40 year old American and Ive heard references to Sizzler many many times, especially on TV when I was a kid.... but I have never actually seen one.

[@AllThingsInfamous1]

I wouldn’t either if we didn’t have one when I was a kid

[@gernblanston2652]

I'm 43 year old American and the only time that I've ever seen a Sizzler was in a mall in Beijing. I ate there. It wasn't terrible.

[@nozoto]

I will always associate Sizzler to Junior taunting Billy Hoyle while trying to win the hoop contest wager in "White Men Can't Jump" "We goin' Sizzler, we goin' Sizzler 🎵"

[@alexpremrealty]

I'm 44 & from California. I grew up next to two Sizzlers located in Daly City that were probably less than a mile apart as referenced in the video. The Sizzlers in Bangkok is also great. I'll admit it, I ❤ Sizzlers & their cheese toast which I now make at home 😋

[@JBrooksNYS]

@@alexpremrealty Im going to Bangkok next month... maybe I will finally get to see one lol

[@Sutherlinite]

Before I watch this, I gottta say that two weeks ago Sizzler came up in conversation and I thought "We need a Company Man episode to cover this," and voila here we are!

[@TeagueChrystie]

Company Man intro music hits so much harder at 1.5x.

[@PWPeteW1]

Went back to rewatch the video at 1.5x speed. That intro does hit harder, 1980s retro-like rap.

[@bassage13]

It's generic copyright free music that anyone can use. I've heard it on several other KZbin channels.

[@tomreece1058]

In the 1980s Sizzler had a magnificent All-you-can-eat beef ribs promo from time to time that a buddy and me used to, ah, exploit to the point that the manager and staff would groan when we walked into the place. They would try to reduce our ribs consumption with offerings of extra cheese toast and even fries. The two of us would compete in who could eat the most of them, and we would stack the finished bones at our table as a badge of honor for other diners to marvel at. Not surprisingly that promo soon disappeared.

[@christopheryoung2874]

Great story!

[@mageyeah7763]

In the late 2010s, they did this big quality upgrade, in particular, they added a bunch of "artisan" stuff to the salad bar. And it was actually pretty good, going from "yes, that is salad" to being a better salad bar than souplantation. More interesting items, premium stuff like grilled chicken and sliced avocados. But all of that went away with covid and never came back. Post covid, they cut back on even their outdated classic items. Seems to be coming back now, but the disappointment of my first post covid sizzler trip is sticking with me.

[@Bahamut_Mega]

Me and my wife aren't steak people. But we are so very sad about the loss of our local Sizzler. They had THE BEST salad bar I've ever seen. You could get a salad with anything on it, even make a taco salad with seasoned beef. Along with lots of other awesome side items for $12 a person in 2022. Add the free cheese bread, all you can eat popcorn shrimp, and unique drink options. It was the greatest. And we miss it a lot. 😢

[@lucoot]

There were TWO sizzlers at the same off-ramp in Daly City/Colma CA.

[@AtagoJRPG]

I remember seeing those 2, they were near Serramonte Shopping Mall in Daly City

[@puffpuffin1]

@@AtagoJRPG The catch here though is that the one in Serra Center was a Rustler. I remember my dad taking the family there for dinner sometimes. The one in Alta Serramonte was always a Sizzler. As noted in the video, Sizzler bought the Rustler chain (though I don't know where he got the idea that Rustler's was only on the east coast). I guess there was enough business at both to keep them both open for a while.

[@Oldbmwr100rs]

My dad lived in Daly City and he took me to the Serramonte one a few times. There was a "Pizza and pipes" around there too. When he'd come pick me up for weekends, if were were heading to his place at night he liked driving me through Colma, past all the cemeteries because "Night of the living dead" scared the hell out of me when i was little. Thanks for the memories, dad..

[@ronjr831]

Those incredible prices for beef steaks are gone forever. Like how the old ads listed air conditioning.

[@RandomWalks1]

Used to work here it was my first full time job. Back when the minimum was 5.25 per hour lol. Hated this place with a passion always wonder how it went out of business.

[@psizx29]

I recall going to Sizzler a few times when I was younger and it was an enjoyable experience (in the 80s). Went once as an adult years later and never went back again. Also, I couldn't stop laughing at "That can't be good if you have to remind everyone that you're still open" and just the fact that Sizzler included "still open" in their commercial.

[@mOOOp42]

I have never been to a Sizzler in my entire life. I remember seeing them being referenced in a few movies. Sadly, the only location I knew of was in the small town of Flagstaff but their letter "R" was out on their building for years and years, so I always called the restaurant "Sizzle".

[@maxsmodels]

I lived off of the Sizzler salad bar from 79-83 when I was in the army.

[@angryshoebox]

I go back far enough that I ate at Sizzler as a kid in the '70s. They were like a step or two below the typical surf-n-turf restaurants of the time, like The Velvet Turtle. Count me as someone who didn't know Sizzler was still around.

[@martinjordan3994]

Its funny you say that. Im pretty sure there was a velvet turtle across the street from a sizzler in Fullerton California back in the 80s/ 90s. Never went to the VT since it was expensive when i was a kid so sizzler it was :)

[@otakujoe600]

When I was a kid my dad and I got food poisoning from a Sizzler in Pennsylvania. That location closed not long after.

[@alexv3372]

How did that happened??

[@otakujoe600]

@@alexv3372 We think it was something from the buffet.

[@chaotic.content]

I miss Sizzler. growing up in Southern California in the 90s, we went there a lot

[@JforJessica]

I’ve recently came across your videos & I wanted sometime to play in the background as I do some stuff around the house I went to your playlist & OMG so organized I hit subscribe right after seeing that alone haha

[@mwhitehead2759]

I used to hate going to Sizzler My Grandma used to make us go every Sunday after church!😂

[@hgc7000]

My step-dad LOVED Sizzler, and I destroyed many a crouton and ice berg lettuce leaf from that salad bar, many rolls from the buffet, and some mid ranged steaks as well. Wasn't a bad spot for the family to hit up every month.

[@xVxT0RM3NT3DxVx]

Used to love eating here as a kid!

[@georged5420]

Same here It was one of my favorite places.

[@omarkhan9888]

I just went to Sizzler last week. I hadn’t been since I was a kid in the early 90s. The salad bar was excellent. Clean and everything was fresh. They revamped the place as well. I forgot how great this place was.

[@ScareFestTTV]

One of my fav channels! Cheers from New Brunswick Canada 🇨🇦

[@jordans4827]

I remember Sizzler Restaurants being a go-to joke in pop culture TV shows and late night talk show openings.

[@jazzarito]

Loved going here when I was younger. The Malibu Chicken is so good! I went about a month ago for the first time in about 10 years and could not believe that getting the salad bar alone was $20!

[@Boogiesince]

I used to love the Sizzler. We used to have a hack where we'd all order an entree and maybe 3 out of 5 of us would get the salad bar and we'd eat that only and take our entrees to go. Memories...

[@245bryce]

Ugh, right in the childhood 😢

[@mimisler]

there was a sizzlers about a mile and a half from the house i grew up in. we loved it! it was my brothers favorite restaurant, my dad would get the salad bar/buffet and bring us appetizers, and me and my brother loved the soft serve. it was good, affordable food, and reasonably healthy for the price, and everyone could get something they liked. i don't remember when that one closed, but i went to a different one about 4 or 5 years ago and it was underwhelming. we went on a sunday afternoon and it was full of families coming from church. i don't know if the quality of the food had gone down or if i remember it as being better because i was a kid. i don't know if i'd go back now, i want it to be as good as i remember when i was a kid, but i don't know if it was ever actually that good.

[@Pstaars]

Interesting, it's still popular in Thailand and there is a Sizzler-restaurant in every mall I'd say. Their salad-bar is still there and is one of the reasons I go there sometimes.

[@sor3999]

My family would go there regularly when I was a kid. One of the few places in our rotation.The location that we used to go to closed down and a random Mexican restaurant took over the building, but now the whole building has been demolished for a Popeyes so I felt nostalgic and looked up one of the remaining locations and started to go there again. My family and I simply stopped going because we just went to other places, never had a problem with the place. It's just the nature of the restaurant business, it's fickle. Many millennials want to try out the coolest, newest, overhyped restaurant on Instagram. I still enjoy the steak there, it's cheap because of the smaller portion size which is just right for me, but all the new trendy places like Cheesecake Factory have massive menus and steak too (and bigger too). And Sizzler does feel like an old out of date brand. Also the ice cream was incredibly watered down, it's very icy instead of creamy, and chicken wings are really low quality vs when I went as a kid.

[@Dan-cm9ow]

Wait, this is actually a place? I just thought it was a throwaway joke where Weird Al got a job in Albuquerque.

[@realkarfixer8208]

8:30 My father brought home one of the fiberglass mascots when they were getting rid of them. It was still there when we were cleaning up the house to sell after his passing. My mom never liked it, but she loved dad to put up with it over all those years. The local Sizzler has been gone for many years, it was replaced by other steakhouses, I think it's been torn down, Quick check, nope there's a steakhouse called Sutter's Mill there now.

[@CheckeredOmega]

You should make a video on the Decline of Rax Roast Beef. Big chain 500+ restaurants in the 80s but now down to 6 company owned stores. Also talking about one of my favorite mascots, Mr. Delicious.

[@donluce4883]

I loved going to Sizzler since about 1973 in Portland Oregon. When I was a kid, before the salad bar era, I would order my steak medium, eat my fries and cheese bread, then tell the waitress my steak was too raw, they would cook it some more, then add new fries and cheese bread. Those were the days! They closed our last Portland Sizzler about 2016. I miss it so much, it was in my soul!😢

[@DwightPatel]

I remember there was a Sizzler in College Park, MD always busy

[@verdatum]

I was one restaurant East, in Bowie :)

[@TEEDUBS]

8:20 I think the "still open" thing is a dig at closed chains such as Ryan's, Luby's, etc.

[@jediknightjairinaiki560]

With regard to Sizzler going to buffet, I'll quote George Carlin, "Too much choice, America, it's not healthy".

[@ExcelsiorElectric]

I LOVE Sizzler, always have. Their cheese toast, crab salad, tuna macaroni salad, and they offer beets. And for some reason their blue cheese taste the best.

[@psfilmsbob]

It's the Happy Gilmore Sizzler reference for me. I've never even seen one in real life.

[@ectoplasmicentity]

Sizzler was the only restaurant we went to when i was a teen and younger in the 90's. Those saturday nights were so special because i felt like we were a normal family eating out instead of eating at home most of the time. My sister worked at the one close to us in the late 80's and she told us that after closing they were held up at gunpoint by robbers and all the employees had to squeeze into the walk in refrigerator. I met my wife in 2005 and we ate there many times over the years. That same sizzler closed down during the pandemic and is now a Japanese restaurant. You know what, We will find a Sizzler and dine there this weekend! Love those cheese breads!

[@passholder_trav]

My grandpa thought Sizzler hung the moon! Great memories as a child going there with my grandparents. We would go out every Thursday, and more often than not, Sizzler was the spot

[@kevinmach730]

I worked as a vendor to the hospitality/food service industry for close to 30 years, and one of the trickiest things successful restaurants will face is changing tastes and appealing to thenext generation. What worked even just 10-20 years ago is almost guaranteed to stop working unless you adapt and try to figure out a strategy to adjust to the new emerging market. It's much easier to understand the problem than it is to identify what needs to be done to correct it.

[@littlecsommercorn]

You forgot to mention that the E. Coli outbreak in Washington was domestic terrorism. Sizzler was the distribution method for E. Coli due to how vulnerable the salad bar is to purposeful contamination. You could have used that to strengthen multiple points.

[@Paramount531]

That ad you showed made me do a double take! I was about 8 years old when the Pacific Beach (San Diego) Sizzler opened up and was in there many times. Order at the register, wait for your number to be called. As a kid, I always got a burger, Sizzler had the first condiment bar I can remember and I loved unlimited access to those delicious cheap pickles. I think my most recent visit to a Sizzler was on a business trip to Hayward, CA around 1990.

[@CMCNestT]

Los Angeles 52 year old here, my family used to go to Sizzler every other weekend in the 90s. Haven't been to Sizzler in over 20 years. There is one 3 miles from my house.

[@tmapes1989]

53 here, one less than 15 minutes from me, here in SACTOWN!!! Haven't been to it since 2007!!!

[@michaelcarson8375]

@cMCNestT and @tmapes1989 You guys should go there and tell us the food quality in your 20/hr state. 🤣

[@noytelinu]

@@michaelcarson8375 In N Out pays more than that and is cheap and good, so, maybe shut up, conservative

[@michaelcarson8375]

@@noytelinu YET stupid in and out is not in most states. Going to a Recallifornia for that would not be worth it. You might want to go home your homeless clean up all the poop.

[@johnallenbailey1103]

​@@michaelcarson8375better yet, they should go to where you live, since no one else does.

[@user-nn3ww5mr3b]

no way i’m this early

[@maxcool123456789]

Mee too!!@

[@DontDelete-fp8oy]

Why are kids so obsessed with 'early'?

[@dallassagin]

​@DontDelete-fp8oy you're pressed over this?

[@DontDelete-fp8oy]

@@dallassagin grow up

[@dallassagin]

​@@DontDelete-fp8oy My original statement stands. Don't get so pressed over early.