For diners checking out the new Not Your Average Joe’s restaurant in Glen Eagle Square, space and taste were key and ample.

Not Your Average Joe’s is now open in the space formerly occupied by Outback Steakhouse. The official opening was June 23, but there was a benefit for the West Chester Food Bank on June 20 and 21. That benefit generated $10,000 for the group.

The fundamental thought behind the restaurant is to serve food that’s “good enough to get dressed up for, but we hope you don’t get dressed up…Be casual…Enjoy yourselves.”

Diners were impressed with the sense of space that resulted from raising the ceiling, installing roughly 180 degrees worth of windows and having an open kitchen, something owner Steve Silverstein called “proscenium,” a theatrical term referring to the part of a stage that’s in front of the curtain.

Silverstein said the open kitchen is “part of the show. We want people to see what’s going on.”

Diners like the idea.

“I’m glad I came,” said Margaret Faia, of Chadds Ford Township. “I’m glad to see something in the area that has adult fare, kid fare and family food.”

Margaret Faia had mustard crusted chicken while her husband, Sal Faia, had the Tuscan chicken sandwich that he described as “great.”

He also liked the atmosphere.

“I think it’s really warm. It’s friendly and inviting,” Sal Faia said.

Margaret also liked the open kitchen.

“I like to see what’s gong on. It adds to the atmosphere of the whole dining experience,” she said.

In addition to the atmosphere and food, she also enjoyed a blackberry lemonade with muddled basil.

“I feel like I’m in my backyard. It feels like summer,” she said while sipping her second.

The sense of space was also important for her. There are 10 children in the Faia home and mom and dad like to go out as a family. Margaret said she feels there’s space enough — and a menu diverse enough — for her clan.

Comments from others were pretty much along the same lines.

Marianne and Mark Yuill, from Concord Township, said the food and service were both great.

Mark Yuill had the meatloaf, but it’s not a common recipe.

“It’s a special meatloaf. It’s not just meatloaf. It’s meatloaf with cheese inside, smothered with mashed potatoes and onions. It’s superb,” he said.

Marianne Yuill also liked the space.

“It’s light and open,” she said.

Bob and Maureen Stadnicki, of Thornbury Delaware County, were also pleased with the food and the space.

“I really like it,” said Bob Stadnicki. “It’s much better than the way Outback had it. It’s more wide open. I like the way they set it up. It’s not just a table with four chairs all over.”

Maureen said the large number of glass windows helps the sense of space and she was also pleased with the high ceiling with acoustic material. People can have a conversation, she said.

Bob had steak frites, while Maureen chose Thai Asian salad. Both were good, they said, and they do intend to return.

Not Your Average Joe’s has restaurants from New England to the Washington, D.C. area and Virginia. The Glen Eagle location is the first in Pennsylvania but another is planned for Suburban Square in Ardmore later this year. Vice President and Executive Chef Jeff Tenner, said the idea is to serve the suburban markets around large cities.

He describes the restaurant as “casual, creative cuisine with approachable bold flavors and riffs on classics.”

One of those “riffs” was the meatloaf.

“It seems approachable and recognizable, but we make them little mini. We fill them with fresh mozzarella cheese and we top them with crispy onion strings. So, it’s like a little riff on a traditional item,” Tenner said.

The food ranges from the traditional to more ambitious items, he added. One of those more ambitious items is a saffron cod in a corn lobster broth.

“We love serving food that our owner Steve [Silverstein] says is ‘good enough to get dressed up for, but we hope you don’t get dressed up.’ We want you to be casual. We want you to enjoy yourselves.”

As for the owner, Silverstein said he had heard from advisors that the Chadds Ford area would be a good market. During the six months of renovating the location and meeting people, he became more enthusiastic.

Commenting on the sense of space, he said the Glen eagle location is not the prototype, but thinks it should be.

“Our prototype is a rectangle. When I first walked into this space I wondered what we were going to do with it, how we could work with it. I now think this is what our prototype should look like.”

(Top photo: The open kitchen is part of the show, according to the owner.)