Upscale steakhouse to open in June atop Santee residential tower
The Heritage Steakhouse, a 120-seat, elevated New York-style restaurant and bar, will open in June on the sixth floor of the new Legacy Tower at the Lantern Crest Resort Community in Santee.
The restaurant, which also includes a 10-seat bar, outdoor patio and rooftop deck, will be accessed via a glass-walled elevator in the recently completed residential tower at the 34-acre retirement community. Its founders expect that most of the dining guests Heritage serves will come from outside the community, because it will offer an experience not available at any other East County restaurants.
Heritage Steakhouse was founded by Michael Grant, the developer of Lantern Crest, who said in a statement that he wants Heritage Steakhouse to offer the food and service found at the nation’s top East Coast steakhouses. "We're honoring the traditions that made the great American steakhouses iconic, while elevating every detail from the quality of our beef and the depth of our wine program to the warmth and precision of our service. This is about creating a destination people are proud to bring their guests to."
To create the new concept, Grant hired restaurant industry consultant Scott Barnett, who served as president and CEO of Rusty Pelican Restaurants and later founded the Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant company. In a phone interview Wednesday, Barnett said he and his team were enthusiastic to work on the Heritage Steakhouse project because they were able to fully conceive the restaurant from concept to completion.
Barnett said Heritage Steakhouse will source its beef from ranches and providers throughout the country, focusing on mostly USDA Prime beef, along with some Wagyu and certified Angus cuts. The restaurant will age all of its meat for a minimum of 28 days and then cook it in a high-temperature broiler for proper searing.
Barnett said a search is now underway for an executive chef and no other details about the menu are available.
“From the standpoint of difference, the food is the hero in this concept,” Barnett said. “We intend to execute on that at 100% and want to provide a breakthrough style of service that’s anticipatory and friendly, but also somewhat formal. A very important aspect is to personalize and customize the experience for the guests … We will lean over backward to provide a particularly important experience so they come away with an emotional souvenir.”
The restaurant will have a full bar for cocktails and it will serve an international variety of 65 to 75 wines, including selections from Napa Valley, the Valle de Guadalupe in Mexico and Bordeaux, France. Most will be red wines, but there will be a large selection of whites, as well.
The restaurant will have “speakeasy-style” dining room décor with art deco-style paintings, brass lighting fixtures, mahogany paneling, leather banquettes, and dining tables topped with white linens. There will also be a Frank Sinatra-inspired mid-century soundtrack.
The Heritage Steakhouse will open in the latter half of June in the Legacy building at 200 Lantern Crest Way, Santee. Valet parking will be offered. Opening updates will be available at theheritagesteakhouse.com.
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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 10:21 AM.