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WILKES-BARRE TWP. – Kyle Drake has been in the restaurant business more than half his life, and recently took his biggest-yet career step when he was named managing partner of the LongHorn Steakhouse location off Mundy Street.

“It’s a lot of walking, a lot of talking, a lot of multi-tasking,” Drake, 31, said of his new job. But one thing is the same in all successful restaurant jobs, he added.

“The business is all about the guest. That’s something that I don’t think ever will change,” no matter an eating place’s size or cuisine, he said.

Drake, who previously was staffing and training manager when the local LongHorn opened in January 2014, began his future career at a small eatery near his childhood home in Wallenpaupack, Wayne County. Like most in the business, he’s worked in many restaurants over the past 16 years, including at the now-closed Lone Star just a few hundred feet from LongHorn.

Drake first worked for LongHorn in 2007, the year publicly-traded Darden Restaurants bought the chain from Rare Hospitality of Atlanta.

Darden, based in Orlando, Florida, operates several “fast casual” brands; besides LongHorn Steakhouse they include: Olive Garden, Capital Grille and Bahama Breeze. Under pressure from investors, Darden sold its Red Lobster restaurants in July 2014.

The company has more than 1,500 locations, more than 450 of them LongHorns, and reported $6.8 billion in sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015.

“I started off as a cook, then became a certified trainer,” Drake said. “I used to travel up and down the East Coast and open new restaurants.

His promotion to the top spot is not unusual within Darden, he said. “Our promote-from-within rate is really high,” and that was one of the factors that attracted him to the chain.

After being promoted to a manager position at the Moosic store, “I would help out other LongHorns around the area,” spending two weeks to a month, then returning to his job in Moosic, he said.

Drake said Darden’s commitment to training helps both those looking to move up or just looking for a job. All positions get quality training, he said. “It’s not very difficult to find people; we’re very competitive.”

Mostly, “they need to have a servant’s heart,” he said.

Drake’s experience and the contacts he’s made over the years also are a plus when hiring; some of his current employees worked with him 10 or 12 years ago, he said, and one of his three managers is a former restaurant owner.

Given the chance, Drake quickly and enthusiastically points out why he thinks LongHorn has a leg up on its competition, which includes nearby Outback Steakhouse and Logan’s Roadhouse as well as a Texas Roadhouse scheduled to open next year in the former Lone Star location.

Those reasons include a varied menu that includes chicken and salmon, “fall-off-the bone ribs,” homemade barbecue sauce and “salad that we chop by hand every day. It takes quite a bit of time.”

Steaks are fresh and cut in-house, and “we have a special oven just for our prime rib” that’s slow roasted for six hours. “We’re not the typical chain,” he said.

There are important factors outside the restaurant, too. “LongHorn, they do so much for the community,” including a “harvest program” to help the hungry. The restaurants donate excess food to local food banks, including the local Salvation Army. “Giving back is a very important part of our business,” he said.

On Tuesday, Veterans Day, the parking lot was jam packed, partly by veterans who were being treated to a free appetizer and soft drink.

While he’s unmarried – “I have a girlfriend,” he said – and there is ample opportunity to transfer within the Darden system, Drake, who lives in Avoca, thinks he’ll stay put for a while.

“I enjoy Northeast Pennsylvania; I don’t see myself leaving any time soon,” he said.

Kyle Drake is a managing partner at the Longhorn Steakhouse in Wilkes-Barre Township.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL113115Kyle-Drake11.jpg.optimal.jpgKyle Drake is a managing partner at the Longhorn Steakhouse in Wilkes-Barre Township. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader
Kyle Drake worked his way up to managing partner

By Ron Bartizek

For Times Leader

About Darden Restaurants

• Headquartered in Orlando, Florida

• Operates more than 1,500 “fast casual” brands; besides LongHorn Steakhouse they include Olive Garden, Capital Grille and Bahama Breeze. Sold its Red Lobster brand in July 2014.

• More than 150,000 employees, many of them part-time.

•Reported $6.8 billion in sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015.

• Learn more at www.darden.com

Reach Ron Bartizek by calling 570-991-6114.