Sizzler's Buena Park restaurant threw open its doors for a grand reopening and ribbon-cutting last Tuesday, unveiling red booths, framed photos of early locations and vintage steak-and-salad-bar advertisements as part of a broader renovation push across the chain's Orange County restaurants. The Orangethorpe Avenue location is among the first in the county to get the makeover, with Fountain Valley's Sizzler next in line for the same treatment.
A Local Franchise With Deep Roots
According to the Los Angeles Times, Sizzler USA is headquartered in Mission Viejo and now operates about 70 locations nationwide, seven of them in Orange County. Sebastian Colon's family has run the Buena Park franchise since 2002, and he told the paper the renovation brightened the space considerably. “The red really brings it to life,” Colon said, adding that the restaurant's regulars are mostly senior citizens and Korean families who keep coming back for the salad bar and what he described as fresh, high-quality items.
The remodeled dining room now features a digital screen that alternates 1990s commercials with newer food photography, alongside the red booths and historical imagery that line the walls.
Heritage Recipes Meet a Modern Menu
Corporate chef Kathleen Luu, who grew up dining at Sizzler with her family in Orange County, said the brand is leaning on its past without ignoring the present. “We are working with our heritage recipes that have been around since the 1950s but also continuing to grow the brand into the modern age,” Luu said, per the same account. She added that Sizzler resonates with diners as a family steakhouse tied to personal memories, not just a meal.
CEO Christopher Perkins has steered the company toward an emphasis on value and quality, particularly around beef, the Times reports. Sizzler says it receives tri-tips, New York strips and rib-eyes whole, with certified butchers inspecting every piece before it reaches the kitchen. The Buena Park location in particular sells a large quantity of tri-tip, according to the report. The chain has also rolled out limited-time items including a cheese toast patty melt, a cheese toast Malibu melt and grilled shrimp skewers.
Cheese Toast Sales Fund Local Causes
Those cheese-toast promotions have done double duty as fundraisers. In September, sandwich sales at the Buena Park restaurant raised $1,166.25 for Pendleton Elementary School, while the Fullerton Sizzler brought in $1,720.80 for the YMCA and the Los Alamitos location raised $2,040.25 for Casa Youth Shelter, according to the same Times report.
The renovations fit into what the paper describes as a yearlong campaign to bring the sizzle back to the fast-casual chain through a brand revamp, restaurant upgrades and an active social media push. Fountain Valley's restaurant is now positioned as the next Orange County site to get the renovation treatment, though no timeline for that work was included in the report.
A Chain That's Weathered Two Bankruptcies
Sizzler's history stretches back to 1958, when it was founded in Culver City by Del and Helen Johnson, according to a company announcement. The brand weathered two bankruptcies, filing for protection in 1996 and again in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the chain to close its salad bars during the latter period. Despite that turbulent run, Sizzler's current push into Orange County suggests the company sees renewed appetite for its red-booth, beef-forward formula — one Buena Park diners can now see for themselves on Orangethorpe Avenue.
