Who Wants to Buy a Steakhouse?

By the close of business today, the original Bob’s Steak and Chop House may have a new owner.

Once the center of the steakhouse universe in Dallas, the original Bob’s Lemmon Avenue location has been in the throws of Federal bankruptcy proceedings. According to EscapeHatchDallas’ steak-loving, restaurant-going sources close to the situation, only two bidders qualified by Monday’s deadline to seek ownership of the steakhouse run by restaurateur and owner Bob Sambol. Bidders in today’s auction include Bill Lenox, who controls or franchises the Bob’s Steak and Chop House locations other than the original Lemmon Avenue store, and Dallas-based Lone Star Funds, which owns Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse and Texas Land and Cattle restaurants.

No other Bob’s Steak and Chop House locations are involved in the bankruptcy proceedings or sale and continue to operate independent of Sambol and the troubled Lemmon Avenue store.

In what would be the oddest twist of fate, if Lone Star Funds wins the bidding, the original Bob’s will likely be converted back into a Del Frisco’s. Del Frisco’s originated in the Bob’s space before relocating to Addison; that move allowed Sambol to create Bob’s Steak and Chop House with financing from a group of investors that included Lenox.