Banking on a classic steakhouse

Landmark Steakhouse is only seven weeks old, but the new restaurant’s

owners are aiming for an old-fashioned feel.

Landmark opened July 1 in Corona del Mar. Remodeled over a period

of six months before its doors opened, the restaurant has

cream-colored walls, dark-brown molding, mirrors and maroon

furnishings that evoke a traditional feel.

“We wanted, basically, a classic American steakhouse,” co-owner

Mario Marovic said. Marovic is a second-generation restaurateur and

one of three partners behind Landmark Steakhouse.

Marovic said his restaurant career started when he acquired

Fullerton’s 2J’s Lounge after graduating from USC in 1996. But after

his first foray into restaurants, he almost left the business.

Marovic returned to USC for a business degree and then moved to

San Francisco in 2000 to try investment banking, he said. He quickly

realized he preferred kitchens to offices.

“I was extremely bored. I didn’t see daylight,” Marovic said. He

said he left San Francisco for Newport Beach in mid-2001.

Having tried the employee’s life, Marovic definitely prefers to do

things his way.

“When you work for a big company, you give, give, give but get

less in return,” he said.

He said owning restaurants may not be as lucrative as investment

banking, but he feels he gets an hour’s worth of reward for each hour

he works.

“It’s less money but more passion,” he said.

In addition to the restaurant’s filet mignon, porterhouse and

rib-eye steaks, Marovic touted chef Mark “Sabre” Kennedy’s Chilean

sea bass.

“We sell as many Chilean sea bass as we do filet mignons,” Marovic

said.

As Landmark nears the end of its second month in business, Marovic

and manager Dan Strapp are confident about the restaurant’s progress.

Strapp is in charge of security at Landmark and said his biggest

problem so far is managing the crowds. “It’s very hard to keep people

out when we’re having dinner to keep it from becoming a nightclub,”

Strapp said.

“Everyone here thinks they’re a VIP, and when we have a line,

there’s nothing I can do about it,” he added. “I do a lot of

apologizing.”

Landmark Steakhouse is at 3520 East Coast Highway, Corona del

Mar.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at

[email protected].