LongHorn Steakhouse Gets OK To Build Across From Duck Pond

TEMECULA, CA — A LongHorn Steakhouse will come to Temecula following unanimous approval this week by the city's Planning Commission.

The new restaurant will be built at the site of the old Marie Callender's location, 29363 Rancho California Road, at the southwest corner of Ynez Road, near the Embassy Suites hotel. In addition to a menu of beef and other dishes, the 5,708-square-foot casual-dining eatery will offer beer, wine and cocktails.

Project applicant Nina Raey told the Planning Commission during its regularly scheduled Nov. 17 meeting that the 5,708-square-foot LongHorn Steakhouse will be about 3,000 square feet smaller than the old Marie Callender's Restaurant & Bakery that once stood at the spot but permanently shuttered in April 2019. The empty building was eventually torn down, and the 1.51-acre lot is now vacant.

The new restaurant will feature an outdoor patio and will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week.

Across the street from the planned LongHorn Steakhouse is a Black Angus Steakhouse at 27737 Ynez Road. City staff told the commissioners that the city has no control over the type of food a permitted restaurant serves.

During Wednesday's meeting, one Temecula resident told the commissioners that she supported the new restaurant but was concerned about traffic in the area, especially in light of the Rancho Highlands development that calls for 270 housing units, including 55 affordable units, near the LongHorn Steakhouse site.

Road-widening on Ynez is a condition of the new housing project. Additionally, new fiber optics are being installed that will make traffic signals on Rancho California Road more efficient and help alleviate daily traffic bottlenecking on the busy thoroughfare, according to city staff.

There is no access to the restaurant off of Rancho California Road. Instead, patrons who visit by vehicle will have to use a side street off Ynez Road.

LongHorn Steakhouse is a chain owned and operated by Florida-based Darden Restaurants Inc. The company owns Olive Garden and Yard House, among many others. There are approximately 500 LongHorn Steakhouse locations across the nation, but only one is currently open in California (Rancho Cucamonga), according to the company.