Since bursting onto the scene in 1993, Texas Roadhouse has steadily grown into America’smost iconic restaurant brand.
It rose from the ashes of other struggling chains.
At its height, the Irish-themed chain boasted some 300 restaurants nationwide.
Photo: Shutterstock. Design: Eat This, Not That!
Lawyers for Bennigan’s even threatened legal action over Taylor’s efforts to poach its employees, he wrote.
Roadhouse also benefited from the decline of an older casual-style steakhouse chain: California-based Sizzler.
One of the earliest Roadhouse locations was a failing Sizzler in Kentucky.
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The operator was “willing to throw some money our way to try something new,” Taylor wrote.
Soon, other Sizzler managers started reaching out to convert their restaurants into Roadhouses, too.
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It originally featured live music.
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In fact, the first Roadhouse location in Indiana included a stage for country music bands to perform.
Henceforth, no other Roadhouse location would provide a stage for live performances.
It originally served Mexican food.
Photo: Texas Roadhouse/Facebook
That’s due to the Chi-Chi’s influence.
Though Taylor agreed to try it, the effort was short-lived.
“Our kitchen wasn’t set up to do Mexican food justice,” he wrote.
Photo: Texas Roadhouse/Facebook
“With poor execution and almost no sales, we eliminated the Mexican items two weeks after opening.”
At least one Mexican-inspired touch would stick, however: the chain’s signature cocktailits “legendary margarita.”
Roadhouse now offers 15 different varieties of the classic tequila cocktail.
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It was sly about its Texas connections.
Yet, in the early days, Taylor did little to dissuade patrons from thinking otherwise.
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The cards would then be forwarded to the company’s real headquarters in Louisville.
Three of the first five restaurants failed.
The first two locations were profitable.
Photo: David Carter Fine Art/Facebook
The next three were not.
The other underperforming restaurant was located in what Taylor described as a “lousy” part of Cincinnati.
All three amounted to poor real estate decisions.
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Texas Roadhouse restaurants have a distinctive look that sets them apart from other chains.
One defining architectural feature is the pair of towers that grace the roofs of most locations.
The tower aesthetic dates back to the chain’s second restaurant in Gainesville, Fla. Taylor liked the tower look so much that he eventually decided that one wasn’t enough.
Nowadays, most locations have two towers.
Superstition is at least part of the reason.
All three of Roadhouse’s early underachieving locations featured only a single tower.
“Logical conclusion: add a second tower,” Taylor wrote.
The attention to landscaping is another detail that Taylor picked up from the same Florida landlord.
The logo was a late-night revelation.
Taylor drafted the restaurant’s iconic logo himselfbut didn’t really remember doing so.
“Everything about it spoke to comfort food and old-fashioned fun,” Taylor wrote.
By 2021, Carter’s studio had produced over 3,500 murals for the restaurant chain.
To this day, original artwork remains an integral part of the Roadhouse aesthetic.
Big-name investors balkedexcept for one.
He also promoted the chain in radio and TV appearances.
In 2004, Nelson partnered up with Texas Roadhouse to open two new restaurants in Austin, Texas.
