The 1970s BBQ Chain That's Also A Steakhouse (Yes, It Still Exists)

In the early 1970s, a small North Miami joint decided to take ribs a little more seriously than anyone expected. When Tony Roma's first opened, it served the usual mix of steaks and cocktails — but the baby back ribs quickly became the star attraction. Word spread fast that this wasn't your average bar-and-grill special. People started driving across the state just to get their hands messy with what became the restaurant's signature dish.

That buzz soon caught the attention of Clint Murchison Jr., the Dallas Cowboys owner, who saw enough promise (and sauce) to buy most of the U.S. franchise rights by 1976. Under his watch, Tony Roma's transformed from a neighborhood favorite into a full-blown chain, racking up national rib competition wins and earning a reputation as "Best Ribs in America" along the way. Even Hollywood wasn't immune to the charm – Marisa Tomei worked there, joining the club of celebrities who used to wait tables before she found her own spotlight.

By the 1990s, Tony Roma's was no longer just a rib joint; it had gone global, with locations popping up across Asia, South America, and Malaysia. The menu expanded to include steaks, seafood, and cocktails like the Romarita, marking its shift from barbecue to a broader steakhouse identity. But as its empire grew, so did the challenge of keeping that original spark alive — success, it turned out, could be more difficult to maintain than a perfectly glazed rack of ribs.

The 2000s weren't kind to Tony Roma's. After years of steady expansion, the chain started handing franchisees more control — a move that didn't pan out as planned. Poor selections and mounting debt sent many locations under, and by 2005, Romacorp filed for bankruptcy. Once a staple of American malls and downtowns, Tony Roma's began fading from the map, with fewer than half of its early-2000s locations still open today.

But the story didn't end at the smoker. During the pandemic, one of its overseas franchises acquired the company outright, marking the start of an unlikely rebound. Every remaining restaurant is now franchised, and in 2023, attorney Mohaimina "Mina" Haque took over as CEO, steering the brand toward something leaner and smarter. She's nearly halved buildout costs for new franchises and helped launch Bones and Burgers — a fast-casual offshoot in Tampa serving ribs, burgers, and chicken fingers with a modern edge. And while the ribs remain the headliner, today's Tony Roma's leans just as heavily on its steakhouse roots, with sirloins and ribeyes meant to reclaim some of that old-school appeal.

The ribs, however, may need a little extra love — it even ended up last in Daily Meal's ranking of chain restaurant ribs. Still, the brand has found surprising staying power overseas, from Japan to Malaysia, where all restaurants are halal certified. And with talk of revamps ahead, hopefully, we won't have to resort to making Tony Roma's black bean and poblano queso dip purely at home. Half a century later, Tony Roma's might not be a household name anymore, but it's still out there, quietly hanging on to its grill marks.