Steak and Ale

Restaurant pioneer Norman Brinker founded Steak and Ale in 1966 in Dallas. The chain, with its dimly lit Tudor-style decorated dining rooms, billed itself as offering an upscale steak experience at lower prices. It was seen as a model for the casual-dining steakhouse chain, and many executives there went on to run other large chains.

It remained an independent chain until 1976, when Pillsbury purchased it and folded it into its restaurant group with Burger King, Bennigan's, Poppin Fresh Pies and other stores. At the time, the company had 113 locations of Steak and Ale and Jolly Ox (the name Steak and Ale used in markets that did not allow a reference to liquor in a restaurant name).

In 1982, Pillsbury spun off the company and Bennigan's into the independent S&A Restaurant Corp. Steak and Ale grew as one of the first chain dinner houses to its height in the late 1980s with 280 locations, before competition that the brand helped inspire eroded its market presence. In 1988, Metromedia purchased the company. In 1993, the company was merged with the Metromedia Steak Houses chains Bonanza and Ponderosa, and all three chains were operated under the S&A Restaurant Group brand.

The S&A Restaurant Corp bankruptcy in July 2008 affected the Bennigan's restaurant chain, also owned by that company; all of the company-owned stores closed the same day as the Steak and Ale restaurants.

This Gildan sweatshirt is sturdy and warm. A pre-shrunk, classic fit sweater that's made with air-jet spun yarn for a soft feel and reduced pilling.

• 50% cotton, 50% polyester
• Pre-shrunk
• Classic fit
• 1x1 athletic rib knit collar with spandex
• Air-jet spun yarn with a soft feel and reduced pilling
• Double-needle stitched collar, shoulders, armholes, cuffs, and hem

Size guide