Gaucho's Prime steakhouse set for June opening in King of Prussia

After two years of development, the long-awaited Brazilian Steakhouse at the former Ruth's Chris King of Prussia location is scheduled to open in one month.

Gaucho's prime, named for the traditional cowboys in Southern Brazil, will open on June 8, according to Anderson Winck, owner. The restaurant offers tableside service as well as a fixed-price menu.

A Ruth's Chris Steak House was located at the location, but it closed in 2020 after 19 successful years of operation due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Gaucho's Prime offers 18 different meat cuts, such as sausage, pork and chicken. It also serves traditional Brazilian dishes like rice, beans, and a cheesy, bread-like dish called pao de quijo. The restaurant's menu will include 60 different items, including heart of palm (a Brazilian food), asparagus from Peru, cheeses, and smoked salmon.

The price-fixe menu is $64 per person, and $32 if you just want to access the salad bar.

The steakhouse also has a full-service bar with 150 wines and cocktails from around the globe. Caipirinha is its signature cocktail, made from lime, sugar and cachaca (a Brazilian white rum). Gaucho's Prime will offer different flavors of the mojito-like drink, including its best-selling passionfruit-flavored Caipirinha.

The restaurant's dining room, private event space and bar will cover more than 10,000 square foot. The private event area can accommodate 200 people in one large room, or it can be divided up into three smaller rooms.

Gaucho's prime will incorporate Southern Brazilian culture, as well as white tablecloths and black leather chairs, in addition to an open kitchen equipped with a charcoal barbecue. Winck's team added larger windows to the space in order to add more light.

"I don't think darkness is the best idea. Winck stated that people now want to see the outside and be outside.

He plans to build a small patio outside of the private event area with a firepit.

The interior construction of the building continues. Winck estimates that the cost to build out the entire space is around $1.6 Million.

Winck is originally from Brazil and lived in Philadelphia for nine years. He then moved to New York before settling in Lakeville, Massachusetts. He spent 18 years working at a Brazilian steakhouse chain called Fogo de Chao before he decided to leave his hometown.

It's been a long road. Winck added, "I look back and see all my work and feel very happy about it."

Winck opened Alma Gaucha in Boston, a Brazilian-style steakhouse, just 19 days prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic, which caused many businesses to shut down. Winck, who had no experience in lending or opening restaurants and had no previous experience with the industry, was forced to keep her restaurant afloat on her own without any help from federal pandemic relief.

Alma Gaucha is a success despite the difficulties. The restaurant will surpass $7 million in sales by 2022.

Winck stated, "That was my test." Winck said, "I could make anyone else work. I made that one work."

Winck operates a Gaucho’s Prime in Brazil which opened in 2022. After the King of Prussia outlet launches, Winck will open a second location in Worcester, Massachusetts.

He was drawn to this area because of his Philadelphia connections, including his phone number which he has said he would never change. The King of Prussia Mall and the nearby business community attracted him to the Upper Merion Township. According to King of Prussia's annual report 2022, the King of Prussia Mall generates more than $1 billion in sales each year.

Winck stated that Gaucho's Prime should make about $10 million in its first full year of operations. The restaurant will join a long list of steakhouses located in the King of Prussia region, including Fogo de Chao and The Capital Grille.

The restaurant initially plans to hire 70 people.

Winck plans to hold charity and community events in the steakhouse as he does currently at Alma Gaucha, Boston.

He said that he eventually wants to have Gaucho's prime locations all over the U.S. starting with 10 on the East Coast. Winck has his eye on two additional locations in Washington, D.C., as well as Clifton, New Jersey. He hopes to have one of them open in the first quarter 2024, and the other later that year.