An All American Steakhouse is coming to Aberdeen and Dominic Rose, who will be the operating partner and general manager, couldn’t be more excited.
Rose, who has 35 or so years in restaurant management, and a silent partner, are bringing the business in the form of an 11,500-square-foot building just off Route 22 and Long Drive, near Ripken Stadium.
In addition to the 5,700-square-foot steakhouse, the building, which will be identical to two others on the site, will also feature a 1,200-square-foot space housing three large golf simulators and a 3,200-square-foot space for an indoor turfed area for any types of sports training.
“The full name is The All American Steakhouse and Sports Theater. Theater meaning more the huge screens that are all throughout the bar. These simulators are also like home theaters,” Rose said.
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The restaurant
The quality of the meat is one of the biggest things that set the restaurant apart from other steakhouses, Rose said.
All the steaks come in 45-day, dry and wet aged, before they even hit the restaurant,” Rose said. “We have an in-house butcher who cuts all the meat to our specs. From that, all the trimmings, like, if you were to come in and get a 6-ounce steak salad, that salad is six ounces of ribeye or filet. It’s actually a filet, so you’re getting six ounces of filet.”
“So, it’s 45 days when it comes in and then we sell it within five days after its cut and that gets it to max and the closer you get to that fifth day, the more juicy and the more quality you get from that meat,” he said.
Sound delicious?
“It’s really a high-end steak, the highest quality you can get, for the best price possible. We do that because we are able to take a full ribeye and cut it down and instead of losing 40 percent of it to fat, or to trimmings, we’re actually, probably using 75 percent of that loin that you are paying for,” Rose said. “So, the quality is the biggest thing.”
The restaurant will have a bar, but it will be a restaurant first.
“The atmosphere, trying to create an atmosphere where there is a bar, but it’s a complimentary bar. It’s not where you’re going to have people standing 10-deep at the bar,” Rose said. “We seat guests in the bar to eat their full meals.”
Televisions will be on in the bar, but not the sound. Rose explained that certain sporting events may require for sound to be up, but when such event is over, sound goes back down and house music takes over.
“We keep the restaurant atmosphere to where guests are comfortable,” Rose said.
The restaurant will also have a space for outdoor dining.
The simulators
“Through the bar, we’ll have three full size golf simulators. That room will also have its own exterior entrance as well,” Rose said. “To get time in there, it will be very similar to getting a tee time at Wetlands or some area golf course. It will all be virtual, you’ll go online and see a schedule. You’ll book and when you get there, you’ll check in with somebody and pay and then you’ll do your thing.”
The simulators are also able to do baseball, soccer and hockey and all at reasonable pricing. Golfers can play courses from all around the world and Rose says the plan is to have golf leagues in the winter.
“We felt a more adult-oriented simulator, like this, have become very popular and they offer something to do in the winter months,” Rose said.
The turf
The Morning Sun
The indoor turf area will be available for use for any groups looking to train, especially when outdoor facilities aren’t available. The space could be used for soccer, baseball, lacrosse, softball, etc.
The turf idea shouldn’t come as a surprise to people who know Rose. In the fall, he’ll be starting his 26th season as head coach of the Bel Air High School boys soccer program.
Rose and fellow coach, Brian Tully of C. Milton Wright, coordinated and ran the boys high school soccer league last fall, when high school school sports were canceled for Maryland public schools.
The future
The Aberdeen restaurant is not the first in Maryland. Currently, there are All American Steakhouse Restaurants in Perry Hall, Odenton, Edgewater and Waldorf. There are also three in Virginia.
Rose said, “There is one to open in Ellicott City in June, one in Arkansas in July and were targeting late July or sometime in August.”
“The brand is going to grow. What we are doing here, I think is a local model that offers a couple different things that the community needs,” Rose said. “Besides a nice place to eat, that’s comfortable and reasonable for the family, we’re also building an entertainment venue that’s not necessarily for kids, not that we want to discount kids, but those little games like Chuck E. Cheese and Dave & Busters are kind of going to go away with all this COVID.”
Rose believes that the model that he is offering, is one he can replicate in Bel Air and in other areas. Combining at least two, if not all three, of the things in the Aberdeen location.