Wait over for Longhorn

Charles Romans, The Daily Independent, Ashland, Ky.
·2 min read

Sep. 27—ASHLAND — The Ashland Alliance conducted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Longhorn Steakhouse on Tuesday, officially welcoming the new restaurant to the City of Ashland.

Longhorn is a casual dining steakhouse chain known for grilled beef and other American dishes in a ranch-style space. Local residents are no doubt familiar with the Longhorn Steakhouse in Barboursville, West Virginia, and many have been quite excited to have one open in their own back yard, so to speak.

Proof of this was the line that had formed well before the 3 p.m. opening to the public.

Ashland Alliance President and CEO Tim Gibbs welcomed everyone to the completely renovated location on Armco Road that formerly housed Ruby Tuesday.

"It is always a good day to welcome another business to the City of Ashland," Gibbs said. "But there are over 100 people now who are working in a new job that weren't here a few weeks before. When you see the investment here, you are going to be really impressed."

Ashland City Commissioner Amanda Clark joined Gibbs in welcoming Longhorn Steakhouse to Ashland.

"I just want to thank you for your investment," Clark said. "And thank you for spending the time and money to bring this beautiful restaurant to Ashland. We really appreciate you."

"I want to echo those comments," said Commissioner Josh Blanton, "and on behalf of the mayor for your investment and for being here. This is a great business, and we are very happy to have you here."

Commissioner Marty Gute agreed with his fellow commissioners and added his gratitude as well.

"People drove past here and saw an empty building with weeds growing around it," Gute said. Now he is grateful that Longhorn Steakhouse has "picked it back up" and made it useful again.

Managing Partner Casey Tea, of Longhorn Steakhouse, thanked everyone for coming out on Tuesday.

"Welcome to the Ashland, Kentucky, Longhorn Steakhouse," Tea said. "We really appreciate you being here, and we hope to be here for a very long time," he said. "We are a partner in this community, and we are happy to be part of this community."

As part of that partnership, Tea mentioned Longhorn Steakhouse's Harvest program, where any surplus food will be donated to the Ashland Community Kitchen "because we want to give back to the community we are part of."

The hours of operation are Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

"We are open for lunch and dinner," Tea said. "So come on in."