photo by: Chad Lawhorn

The Longhorn Steakhouse near 31st and Iowa streets closed on Sunday, July 22, 2018.

I guess “don’t mess with Texas” is a truism — at least more so than “mess with the bull, get the horns.” What am I doing, other than perhaps confusing you into thinking you should poke a bull? I’m trying to tell you that in the battle between the steakhouse chains Texas Roadhouse and Longhorn Steakhouse, it appears Texas Roadhouse has won in Lawrence.

On Sunday, Longhorn Steakhouse put up signs saying that its location at 3050 Iowa St. is permanently closed. In fact, they really want you to understand that, as the photo above shows, there are three very big signs on the front entrance alone.

As for why the restaurant, which is in the same shopping center as Home Depot and Best Buy, has closed, the signs don’t say, and I haven’t heard anything from the restaurant chain. There hasn’t been any national news of the chain — owned by the mega restaurant corporation Darden Inc. — reducing its restaurant numbers.

While I don’t know the reasons behind the closure, it may be best to not overthink this. Within the last year, Texas Roadhouse opened its steakhouse just a few block north of Longhorn on Iowa Street. There may be only so many ways you can slice a steak in Lawrence, which doesn’t have a great history of supporting chain steakhouses. (Remember, Kansas City’s Hereford House did not survive out at Sixth and Wakarusa years ago.)

As for other information about the closing, I don’t have much. I can tell you that Longhorn doesn’t own the restaurant building. A group led by Chicago-based First National Development owns that restaurant building along with the one next door that houses the On the Border Mexican restaurant. So maybe it is a lease thing. First Development officials also are involved in the ownership of the Home Depot and Best Buy buildings that serve as anchors for the shopping center at 31st and Iowa.

I’ve checked in with a local representative for First Development, but have got nothing back about plans for the empty restaurant building. We’ll see how long it takes to get a new restaurant into the location. I can testify that the location has high visibility. I received more than a dozen emails from readers on Sunday who had seen the closing signs. (Thanks for the tips, by the way.)

South Iowa Street has seen some pretty good commercial activity recently, including some restaurant development. Think HuHot Mongolian Grill, Pie Five Pizza Co., Popeyes chicken and Buffalo Wild Wings, for example. One notable exception, is the former location of Steak ‘N Shake, which isn’t on Iowa street, but is about a block west of 31st and Iowa. It has been vacant for quite awhile now.

Again, I have no idea what may go into the former Longhorn location, but it seems like the type of spot that would attract a chain restaurant. With that in mind, I did an exercise I do occasionally: Look at how many of the top sit-down chain restaurants aren’t in Lawrence.

The list is a long one. In fact, by one list, Lawrence has only four of the top 25 casual dining chains in the country. The trade journal Restaurant Business Online ranked the top casual dining chains by U.S. sales. Granted, the list is for 2016, but it still has some relevance. Applebee’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chili’s and Texas Roadhouse were the only top 25 casual dining chains that had a Lawrence presence.

Restaurants that have a big footprint across the country but not in Lawrence include:

• Olive Garden: It is owned by Darden, the same company that owns Longhorn. I’m not sure if that is a positive or a negative in this case.

• Outback Steakhouse: Maybe Lawrence steak-eaters prefer an Aussie accent instead of a Texas twang.

• Red Lobster: Cheddar biscuits, and maybe they serve seafood too.

• TGI Friday’s: The chain has been struggling according to media reports. Its sales slid in 2017.

• Ruby Tuesday: It also has struggled. Reports say sales at Ruby Tuesday actually declined more than at TGI Friday’s. Maybe time for a new concept featuring Wednesdays or Thursdays?

• Hooters: We could replace the steak battle with a chicken wing battle between Hooters and Buffalo Wild Wings, which is just up the street.

• Famous Dave’s: We used to have one at Sixth and Wakarusa.

• Carrabba’s Italian Grill or, alternatively, Maggiano’s Little Italy. Throw in Olive Garden, and there are three Italian restaurants in the top 25, and we don’t have any of them.

Of course, it may be a bad assumption to think that it will be a chain restaurant that goes into the space. They normally are able to pay the higher rents that come along Iowa Street. But sometimes chains are reluctant to go into a building that was designed for a different restaurant. The building housing El Potro near 33rd and Iowa streets is an example of a building that was constructed for a chain — Pizzeria Uno, if I remember right — that ended up housing a locally owned restaurant.

We’ll just have to wait and see, although I’ll throw a dark horse candidate into the mix. Pizza Ranch. It has shown up in several Kansas towns, and it seemingly combines two of Lawrence’s dominant food trends. It serves all you-can-eat pizza and fried chicken, with the fixings. That’s right — pizza and a side of mashed potatoes and gravy. Fortunately, Home Depot would be right next door because I would need to do something to reinforce my floor joists.