If you're from the Midwestern or Southern part of the United States, you're probably familiar with the Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain. Although it's everywhere these days, this is where the largest concentration of locations are open.
You may have even enjoyed a meal or two there. It's become an iconic establishment since it first opened its doors, but there are some things that most people don't know about it.
The Western-themed eatery deserves a closer look and we're sure you'll be intrigued as you discover twenty interesting facts about Texas Roadhouse that you probably didn't know.
1. Texas Roadhouse didn't start in Texas
The name of the restaurant makes you think that it all began at a little diner somewhere in the great state of Texas. The truth of the matter is that the first Texas Roadhouse restaurant opened its doors in February of 1993 in Clarksville, Indiana.
The headquarters is located in Louisville, Kentucky. have restaurants (over 500) in 49 of the 50 states in the Union, but their largest market it in Texas, however, it's not where the chain got its start.
2. Texas Roadhouse makes their sides from scratch
In most cases, when a restaurant chain grows as large as this one has, they take shortcuts in preparing meals that feature some prepackaged or frozen ingredients that are microwaved or heated in some other way and served.
That's not the case here. Texas Roadhouse chefs prepare each of the side dishes that they offer from scratch. In addition to this, the bread that you're served with your meal is freshly baked daily. It doesn't get any better than that.
3. They rule the Margarita market
Most diners know that Texas Roadhouse offers mixed drinks, but did you know that they offer a big Margarita menu? Their Margaritas are legendary because they're perfectly mixed and this isn't even the most amazing part.
They offer guests at the restaurant a total of 15 different Margaritas. This takes up a sizable portion of the menu but it's one of their signature drinks and if you've ever had one, then you know why.
4. The daily number of meals served would blow your mind
The statistics for the Texas Roadhouse show that they serve an average of 5,000 guests per week per restaurant. There are 430 of them distributed over 49 states. Each restaurant offers between 6,700 and 7,500 square feet of space and accommodates 291 guests at a time. The serve approximately 300,000 meals every day total between all of the locations on average.
5. Their draft beer is the coldest around
The Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain takes extra measures to ensure that each draft beer that they serve their customers has been chilled to a specific temperature. The staff is very particular about following the rules to ensure perfection.
The beer is kept at a chilly temperature of 36 degrees Fahrenheit. This is just one of the things that Texas Roadhouse does to maintain a top spot in the restaurant industry. They don't mess around when it comes to satisfying their customers.
6. The food served is authentically home-made
Texas Roadhouse staff make their food from scratch. They pride themselves in procuring fresh ingredients for each dish that is served. You'll notice the difference in the quality of the food because even the salad dressing, croutons and bacon bits are prepared fresh and right there in the restaurant.
They don't use pre-packaged ingredients. Instead, they make the time and effort to ensure that everything is fresh so the flavor is unique and it makes people want to come back for more.
7. Fittingly, there are more Texas Roadhouse restaurants in Texas
Even though the Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain wasn't started in the state of Texas, it's the state where the largest concentration of their restaurants are located.
There are currently 56 of them distributed throughout the state. That's a whopping number, but they do bear the name of Texas and they certainly meet the criteria for being Texas-sized and serving large amounts of homestyle foods. They fit in very well with the locals who keep staff busy cooking and serving.
8. Every guest gets free food
Each guest who sits at a table is met with a treat of peanuts and it's all that you can eat. You're not charged for the pre-meal snack. The company gives away more than 8 million pounds of goober peas a year.
That's not all that you get for free. After you're seated, the waiter brings out a basket that is filled with their signature fresh-baked bread and it's warm out of the oven. They bake bread in racks that come out of the oven every five minutes. In addition to the steaming breadbasket of yeast rolls made from scratch, they serve homemade cinnamon butter to go along with it.
9. Each restaurant has a designated butcher
Steaks are the number one menu item and Texas Roadhouse also serves killer ribs as well. So much meat is served at each location daily that the restaurant hires a butcher on their staff for each restaurant.
Every steak, chop, and rack of ribs has been hand cut to the specifications of the management and they're very picky about what they serve their guests. The meat is kept in coolers that keep it at an even temperature of 34 degrees Fahrenheit just to make sure that it's at its absolute freshest when it is prepared and served.
10. They spend $1 billion a year just for meat
Any cut you could hope for is on the menu, including New York strip, ribeye, T-bone, filet, filet medallions, prime rib, and steak kabobs, but the all-time best-seller is the 6-ounce USDA Choice Sirloin. Serving that much quality beef really adds up.
11. Texas Roadhouse has an exclusive lunch menu
The Texas Roadhouse restaurant isn't open for lunch every day. They only offer lunch two days of the week. The purpose behind this schedule is to help give their managers a balance for their work life and family life as well as for reducing the costs of operation so they can continue to offer value-priced meals for their customers.
They are open for dinner only on Mondays through Thursdays. They open their doors at noon every Saturday and Sunday to kick off the work weekend with the lunch menu.
12. Each restaurant reflects something unique about the local community
If you tour the country and stop at 12 different Texas Roadhouse restaurant locations, you're going to find a dozen different themes. It's a thing with them to fit into each community while retaining the Texas Roadhouse unique style and personality, but they sponsor community relevant murals and other aesthetics so they blend in with everyone else in a familiar way. Kent Taylor, the founder of the chain approves all murals for each restaurant location before it is put up.
13. They've received national attention and acclaim.
The Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain is nationally recognized for their excellence in service and food preparation. The Nation's Restaurant News Consumer Picks survey has elevated them to an elite status for two consecutive years, naming them a fan-favorite steakhouse that performs leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. They received praise for their great food quality, the value of the food and the wonderful variety of their menu offerings.
14. Texas Roadhouse serves roadkill and it's on the menu
We have to admit that Texas Roadhouse does have a menu item they call Roadkill. It's not as bad as it sounds though. The chop steak weighs 10 ounces and it has been hand carved by their resident butcher. then they smother it in onions, mushrooms and jack cheese. It looks and tastes amazing.
15. They've gone international
The Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain is so wonderful that they just couldn't contain the goodness within the borders of the country. They've expanded across the ocean with five locations. So far, the international eateries are concentrated with five locations in the Middle East.
16. The ratio of steak to other items on the menu is almost half
The Texas Roadhouse restaurant is known for its extensive menus. They offer a variety of homestyle and comfort foods along with some amazing beverage items. But the number one selling item on their menu is a 6 ounce USDA Choice Sirloin steak. They offer a big variety of steak items with several different cuts, weights and preparation recipes. In fact, forty-four percent of the items on their menu are steak related.
17. The employees are trained to use psychology to influence what you order
Everyone go works for Texas Roadhouse restaurants undergoes a stringent training period. The management is big on teaching their workers how to upsell and make even more money on each meal that is made.
Don't get us wrong, there's not anything wrong with pointing out what extras would be absolutely delicious. Some guests are even thankful that the wait staff is willing to go the extra mile to let them know how they can improve on an already amazing meal, for a few bucks more. For example, they point out that there are many available toppings that would dress it up.
They're also fast to add that you can also order onions or mushrooms for your steak or bacon and cheese on your potato. It's a part of the Texas Roadhouse upselling expectations and everyone that takes your order has been very well instructed on how to get you to spend a little more with each meal.
18. Some days are busier than others
If you're the kind of person who enjoys a good steak but hates waiting in a line to get one, then there are three days of the week that are better for avoiding long lines at Texas Roadhouse. They're so popular that people flood through the doors in a fairly consistent stream, but employees have shared a secret with us. The best times to go and avoid long lines is actually Mondays, Tuesdays or Sundays.
There are very good reasons for this. Wednesdays are usually packed out because of the WildWest Wednesday specials that offer a $9.99 6 ounces sirloin steak dinner and two sides. This is an observation that has been made by several workers ho have learned when to expect peak customer periods and when things slow down.
19. Every meal at Texas Roadhouse is cooked to order
We've all eaten at big restaurants that serve food items that are hot on the outside and freezing cold in the middle. It's obvious that the half cooked food item was taken from a freezer and put in a microwave for heating.
This never happens at Texas Roadhouse restaurants. Every part of every meal prepared for guests is made to order. We received this information from the people who work there and they do take pride in the fact that their employer serves consistently high-quality foods in freshness, preparation and pleasing their customers.
From selecting the ingredients to preparing the recipes and plate presentations, it's good all the way around. None of the foods are cooked unless there is an order to prepare.
20. There is a hierarchy for the meat
Texas Roadhouse goes through a lot of meat every day. Any restaurant that hires a full-time butcher has got to be serious about the quality of their meat, but that's not management's only concern.
The highest grade cuts are made for the steaks that are prepared and served. They don't believe in wasting the leftovers which have not yet been cooked. The butcher also takes the time to use the meat leftover after steaks have been removed from the bulk slab. They trim the waste away and discard it, then use the leftover meat scraps to make their kababs and the popular Dillo bites.
Smaller pieces are used to make their chili. This is an economics thing and it's only good business sense. You can trust that every Dillo bite and kebab or bowl of chili that you eat at Texas Roadhouse is made with equally high-quality meats, they're just smaller pieces. This is one of the ways that the restaurant is able to keep its prices as low as they are. They've got it down to a science and nobody is complaining.
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