Miller's Ale House has opened the first of three new restaurants it is adding in Tennessee this year as the Jupiter, Florida-based restaurant chain expands its footprint to 13 states.
The new sports-theme restaurant opened Monday in the former Logan's Steakhouse at 2119 Gunbarrel Road in East Brainerd.
"We see Tennessee as a great market for us and we're excited to be open in Chattanooga," said Ray Holden, president and chief operating officer for Miller's Ale House. "Although we continue to add more restaurants, we like for each restaurant to have a very local feel and decor and we pride ourselves on our friendly staff and great food."
Miller's Ale House bills itself as a neighborhood restaurant and sports bar. The menu features more than 90 items, including its signature boneless chicken zingers and sauces, steaks, pasta, salads, sandwiches, desserts and appetizers. The full-service bar features specialty cocktails, wine and 48 beers on tap.
Typical lunch entree at Miller's Ale House is about $10 and dinner entrees are usually priced at $10 to $15, Holden said.
The 371-seat restaurant in Chattanooga is the 93rd unit for Miller's Ale House, which began in Jupiter, Florida in 1988.
Logan's Steakhouse built the 7,823-square-foot restaurant in 1995, but Logan's closed the business in April as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. Miller's Ale House completely renovated the space, creating both an interior bar and restaurant area as well as outdoor patio seating.
The Chattanooga Logan's restaurant is one of three shuttered units Miller's Ale House bought. A similar renovated Logan's Steakhouse will open in Franklin, Tennessee outside of Nashville in a couple of weeks. The company also converted a former Logan's Steakhouse into one of its new units in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania and is in the process of renovating a former TGI Friday's restaurant to open as another new Miller's Ale House in Murfreesboro by October.
In 2018, Miller' Ale House added nine new restaurants and Holden expects a similar number to be added in successive years, including additional units in Chattanooga, Nashville and Atlanta.
"We want to take our time, establish ourselves and our reputation and then see if there is a market for another restaurant here (in Chattanooga)," Holden said.
Although each restaurant in the chain features an identical food menu, the newest eatery on Gunbarrel Road has a distinctive Tennessee flair with Reggie White's jersey on the wall and plenty of Vols, Titans, Predators and Peyton Manning decorations spread among more than 65 television screens around the restaurant and bar.
T.J. Goodman, the new general manager for the Gunbarrel Road store who moved to Chattanooga from Florida to run the restaurant, said he is working with local school and civic groups to promote local charities and teams.
"We just want this to be a comfortable place for you to come and enjoy yourself with friends and family," Goodman said.
Goodman is among several managers Miller's Ale House trained or relocated for the new restaurant, which has a total staff of about 100 full- and part-time workers.
Jack & Claire Miller opened the first Miller's Ale House in 1988, in Jupiter, Florida, as a local place to be enjoyed by all walks of life.
The new restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day.
"We try to be the place where people can come for any occasion - lunch, dinner or late night," Holden said.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340