TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Carrabba's Italian Grill announces the opening of their 200th restaurant on Monday, December 12th in Denver, Colorado. Carrabba's features full-flavored Italian dishes made by hand from original family recipes and prepared to order in an exhibition kitchen. Co-founders Johnny Carrabba and Damian Mandola, hosts of the popular PBS cooking show series, "Cucina," established Carrabba's legacy of delivering fresh, flavorful food and warm hospitality when they opened the first Carrabba's in Houston, Texas in 1986. Family recipes and the use of only the finest ingredients have been at the core of the restaurant's success. Outback Steakhouse purchased the rights to expand Carrabba's in 1993. Outback Steakhouse, Inc. CEO Bill Allen commented, "This is a significant milestone for Carrabba's and we look forward to continued expansion of the brand. We are very proud of the record of success that Carrabba's has established in terms of top line performance and returns. Under the leadership of Steve Shlemon, this concept has had ten consecutive quarters of positive comp store sales growth, impressive results." Carrabba's was recently named the top rated Italian concept in terms of service and quality by Restaurants and Institutions Magazine's "2005 Consumer's Choice in Chains Survey." "Our family is so proud of the growth and success of Carrabba's," commented Johnny Carrabba, "and the number of lives we've touched across the country, from our customers to our employees. And to think it all started with one little family-owned restaurant in Houston, Texas." For more information about Carrabba's Italian Grill, please visit http://www.carrabbas.com/ . DATASOURCE: Outback Steakhouse, Inc. CONTACT: Dirk Montgomery, Sr. Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Outback Steakhouse, Inc., +1-813-282-1225 Web site: http://www.outback.com/ http://www.carrabbas.com/

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