Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar will swing open its doors in downtown Riverside on Nov. 9, bringing a national steakhouse brand to a street corner that has spent nearly a century changing hands from fire station to livery stable to modern dining destination. The restaurant has already begun taking reservations, and interest has been brisk from the start.
Five reservations came in within the first 10 minutes of booking going live, according to Fleming's operating partner Dewayne Glass, as reported by the San Bernardino Sun. The restaurant sits at the northeast corner of Mission Inn Avenue and Market Street inside The Mark, a mixed-use development built on the former site of the Stalder Building, with an address of 3777 Mission Inn Ave., per the same report.
A Big Footprint With Room for Private Events
The Riverside location will span 8,751 square feet, according to the Sun's reporting, with capacity for more than 275 guests per a news release cited in that account. That scale lines up with earlier layout details reported by WhatNow, which described a 107-seat main dining room, dedicated bar seating, three private dining rooms for events and business dinners, and an expansive outdoor patio built specifically for the ground-floor retail space at The Mark.
Glass told the Sun that Fleming's wants to become downtown Riverside's steakhouse, and that the interior design will reflect the surrounding neighborhood. “It's a really exciting market, and the downtown felt like a really good mix for us,” he said. About 30 associates from other Fleming's locations have already begun a roughly three-week stint training the regular staff ahead of opening day, the paper reported.
Joining an Established Fine-Dining Row
Fleming's arrival places it within an existing cluster of upscale dining just a block away on Mission Inn Avenue, including longtime staples Mario's Place and Duane's Prime Steaks & Seafood at the Mission Inn, according to Raincross Square. The Mark also sits directly across from the historic Fox Performing Arts Center, according to a listing from LoopNet, positioning the steakhouse to catch theater crowds.
The Mark itself was completed in 2023 by Regional Properties, Inc. as a seven-story, mixed-use complex offering 165 residential rental units above 20,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, according to Connect CRE. The project preserved the 1926 Mission Revival façade designed by architect G. Stanley Wilson for the original Stalder Building, a site that once housed Riverside's first official fire station in 1896, a 1900 livery stable, and a 1904 garage for Mission Inn guests, according to 1903 Realty. Wilson also designed major portions of the nearby Mission Inn Hotel, per the same account.
Timed for the Holiday Rush
Fleming's ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 10, the day after opening, according to Glass as reported by the Sun. The restaurant will also serve turkey on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, the paper noted.
The timing puts Fleming's debut just ahead of the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa's Festival of Lights, which runs from Nov. 21 through Jan. 3 and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from throughout Southern California, per the Sun's reporting. Last year's switch-on ceremony alone attracted 50,000 people, according to the city. Hoodline previously reported on the light display's 34th-year return, and Tribal Business News has noted the festival features more than 10 million lights and 400 animated figures across its six-week run.
That ownership changed hands this year: in May, the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation completed its $33.2 million acquisition of the 238-room Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, shifting the landmark from private family control to sovereign tribal ownership, as Hoodline reported at the time. The tribe has retained management firm Pyramid Global Hospitality to oversee hotel operations, according to Tribal Business News.
Part of a Broader Downtown Redevelopment Push
The Mark's transformation is part of a broader downtown redevelopment push. Riverside's Repurpose Riverside program offers roughly $300,000 in grant-funded assistance for adaptive reuse.
Fleming's brings national backing to that local transformation. The chain was founded in 1998 in Newport Beach by Paul Fleming, who also co-founded P.F. Chang's China Bistro, and Bill Allen, according to Tasting Table. Fleming's is now part of Bloomin' Brands. Fleming's now has more than 60 locations and specializes in hand-cut, wet-aged prime beef and seafood, per its website, as reported by the Sun. Its corporate parent, Tampa-based Bloomin' Brands, Inc., operates more than 1,440 restaurants worldwide, including Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's Italian Grill, and Bonefish Grill, according to Bloomin' Brands.
