By: jackie.sauter

Apparently the recipe for success if you’re opening a restaurant in Baltimore is beef + franchise. I’ve seen some family-owned establishments struggle under the weight of the recession — Copra just off the Inner Harbor closed its doors late last year, and Jay Belle’s Alabama Barbeque joint shut down in January, just to name a couple off the top of my head.

But hospitality experts tell me that new chain establishments at least stand a better chance of survival right now and, Sullivan’s Steakhouse at the Inner Harbor may be proving them right.

The restaurant officially opened Monday night and according to its marketing firm, Maroon PR, the Baltimore location recorded the third-highest sales amount that day of the 19 Sullivan’s locations across the country.

In addition, Sullivan’s spent more than $4 million to come to Baltimore, interviewed 2,000 people and hired 206 employees for its day-to-day staffing needs.

Sullivan’s also hires local jazz musicians to play six nights out of the week.

For a city that already has seven other steak houses within a few blocks of its Inner Harbor (not to mention establishments in other neighborhoods), it looks like Sullivan’s has the financial wherewithal to be a heavy hitter.

Should the Inner Harbor’s other steak houses be nervous? Or are there enough beef lovers to go around?

LIZ FARMER, Business Writer