Texas Roadhouse chief executive officer Jerry Morgan describes his company as “rowdy,” “enthusiastic,” and “energetic.”
Probably not your ordinary descriptors for a steakhouse chain, but Texas Roadhouse has been everything but ordinary as of late. In the past few years, the Louisville, Ky.-based chain has outpaced the casual dining segment by a dizzying pace, leapfrogging Applebee’s along the way to become the No. 2 concept in the category by sales.
It’s also been a traffic anomaly in a softening environment, generating gains while much of the industry is losing guests to grocery stores. The company has done all of this without jumping into delivery, discounting, national marketing, or limited-time offers.
Instead, the secret sauce for Texas Roadhouse is the people and the culture. At least, that’s chief executive officer Jerry Morgan’s perspective. That perspective, by the way, has been informed by his 27 years with the company working through several positions including managing partner, market partner, and regional market partner.
Morgan joined Nation’s Restaurant News editor-in-chief Sam Oches for a one-on-one chat at last week’s CREATE event in Nashville, Tenn., before he and a large constituency from Texas Roadhouse accepted NRN’s “Brand Icon” award. The award was recently created to recognize brands that masterfully balance the intersection of legacy and innovation. Previous winners include White Castle and Taco Bell.
For Texas Roadhouse, the “legacy” piece is clearly driven by late founder Kent Taylor’s vision for the company — “Legendary Food, Legendary Service.” The “innovation” piece is a bit more subtle given the chain’s historically conservative approach to LTOs, marketing, and tech investments.
“Our innovation is keeping our managing partners at the center of our universe, providing them with the tools to provide a great experience to our employees and our guests,” Morgan said. “If we take care of Roadie Nation and they take care of the guests, that’s what creates our reputation. You have to create an environment that your employees want to work in. You’re getting me fired up just talking about it.”
Morgan is a firm believer in this approach because he lived it — borrowing money and writing a check all those years ago to become a partner for a five-year contract. Betting on himself, he said, was risky, but it forged a true partnership.
“We freaking love (the model),” he said. “If you’re running a restaurant, you have to believe in what you’re selling and doing. That’s what it comes down to.”
Beyond the managing partner program, Morgan said Texas Roadhouse’s differentiators come from the kitchen — made-from-scratch offerings, hand-cut steaks, the expectation of two sides, bread with signature honey cinnamon butter, and peanuts. It also comes from the front of house — music, line dancing and, that “rowdy enthusiasm” he often refers to.
“We like consistency and hospitality and human interaction and creating an environment where people come to work hard and have a good time. Let’s go!” Morgan said.
The “controlled chaos” of operating such an environment helped him step into the CEO and president role after Taylor’s death in 2021. Less than two years later, Morgan transferred his duties as president to Gina Tobin, another 27-year veteran with the company and also a former managing partner and market partner. Together, the two are proof points that the partner model seems to be working. Both leaders learned everything from Taylor, and Morgan said the founder’s influence continues to loom large not just over the leadership team, but the entire company.
“He was our head coach. He put everything on the line, which is what a founder does, and believed in something so strong and gave us a piece of that pie. He taught us how to do it legendary,” Morgan said. “We made a promise to him and with the help of friends, partners, and Roadie Nation, we’ve been able to be strong.”
In addition to Texas Roadhouse, the company is growing Bubba’s 33 – a burgers, pizza, and beer concept — and Jagger’s — a quick-service concept Taylor once described as “a place that would have better burgers than Five Guys, and serve chicken tenders and sandwiches that could compete with Raising Cane’s and Chick-fil-A.” All three brands are poised for expansion both domestically and internationally, including Jaggers’ recent opening in South Korea.
“People love being part of Roadie Nation everywhere,” Morgan said. “Seeing the brand translating to different markets and cultures will have a significant impact on our purpose. Serving communities across the world is why we get out of bed every day. We are focused on making sure our founder’s legacies remain in place, while evolving and growing as a three-brand company.”
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
