FAMILIES flocked for a table as Basildon’s newest restaurant opened for the first time.

American style bar and grill, Grand Central, has reopened on the site of the former Australian themed Outback Steakhouse, which closed in October.

The opening of Grand Central has created 65 jobs, with the majority of posts filled by former Outback employees, saving them from the dole queue.

Steve and Jo Haslam, aged 46, and 40 respectively, snapped up the Outback a fortnight after reading about the restaurant going into liquidation in the Echo.

The couple, from Chelmsford, ploughed £200,000 into completely gutting and renovating the venue within a tight six-week schedule.

Grand Central has been themed on a traditional American bar.

The menu includes “Rockefella ribs” and “Bloomingdale Onions”, as well as cocktails, desserts and home-made hamburgers.

Little touches brought in by the couple include a “movie corner” where fidgety children can watch a film wearing headsets, while they wait for their food to be served.

Steve has been practically living at the 235-seater venue, while the re-modelling work has taken place.

He said: “We were thrilled with the success of our opening night. We had plenty of bookings, and a lot of people just walked in to see what we’d done to the place.”

Steve added: “We’ve employed the majority of former Outback workers who wanted their jobs back, and we’ve created some new jobs too.

“We’re really excited about this new venture, and feel it’s bringing something new to Basildon.

“We believe this is the first independent restaurant in this area to rival the Festival Leisure Park.

“One critic who came for the first night said we were ‘sophisticated and authentic’ and we were certainly pleased with that praise.”

The Haslams already own five award-winning pubs, including the White Horse at Ramsden Heath, near Billericay.

Together they have won 21 restaurant industry awards and opened three successful pubs during the recession.