Steak Express hits Odessa

Odessa hasn't exactly been known for its wide variety of restaurants that deliver. But one company that will soon enter the market is looking to change that.

Abilene-based Texas Steak Express is planning to open a store at 121 E. 42nd St. in April, company director of operations Robert Cano said. Along with Abilene, Steak Express has two locations in Lubbock and one in San Angelo.

"We're building our base in the West Texas market," Cano said. "We have a lot of interest from your area. We looked at it and decided it would be a good area to start developing."

Steak Express will not have dine-in seating, instead offering carryout and delivery within the Odessa city limits, Cano said. It will be a new option for people who don't want to wait in line or sit around a restaurant.

"You're not stuck with the same old pizza," he said. "You get some variety."

Cano said he'd put the steak his store offers "side-by-side" with chains like Texas Roadhouse or Logan's.

Its steak prices range from $9.49 for an 8-ounce chopped steak with gravy to $20.99 for a 16-ounce T-bone. Steak Express also offers some $7.49 lunch specials.

Along with the obvious, Steak Express also offers items including sandwiches, hamburgers and salmon.

CMS Properties of Lubbock is responsible for transforming the old Jonah's barbecue restaurant into a Steak Express. In the past, the building has also served as chicken and Mexican food restaurants.

CMS marketing director Tom McSpadden said the company is in the process of enlarging the building's kitchen.

"We're keeping the shell of the building and redoing everything else," he said.

CMS previously built one of Steak Express's Lubbock locations as part of a strip center, as opposed to the freestanding Odessa location. McSpadden said the company offers a nice alternative.

"It's a little different than what your average restaurant is," he said.

Steak Express also offers on-site catering. Juan Hernandez, a partner in the Odessa and San Angelo stores, said he's catered to oilfield sites near San Angelo where workers from the Permian Basin asked him to head to their area.

Hernandez said Steak Express had planned to go to Midland before a real estate deal fell through.

"We were in the Midland phone book already," he said. "That was a blessing in disguise. Originally we wanted Odessa, we just couldn't find anything."

Steak Express plans to eventually open a location in Midland.

Despite an economic recession, Cano feels the store will make it in Odessa.

"It's always in the back of our minds, but we have a different niche in the restaurant business," he said. "We feel we'll do well there."