Roadhouse Sees Big Potential

ORLANDO, FL-The Louisville, KY-based chain of 214 Texas Roadhouserestaurants has identified 600 or more sites that would be appropriate for its locations, company officials said at a growth conference here on Wednesday. G.J. Hart, president and CEO and Scott Colosi, CFO, delivered their remarks at the RBC Capital Markets Consumer Conference.

Hart pointed out that Texas Roadhouse enjoys the advantage of “real estate flexibility” in its site selection, explaining that “We are not dependent on being where the lunch crowd is, like many of our competitors.” Since Texas Roadhouse is primarily a dinner restaurant and serves lunch only on the weekends, it can operate profitably in many varied types of locations and in many places that competitors would not likely choose, the CEO said.

The Texas Roadhouse locations are in 39 states, primarily in mid-sized cities, but Colosi noted that the company also does very well in some small towns and has restaurants in larger cities like Boston, Dallas and Denver as well. “Based on our demographic, we have identified 600 potential locations in the US where we could go,” Colosi said. “Basically, we can go anywhere Outback can go,” he added, although he pointed out that Texas Roadhouse would not likely open as many locations as a chain like Applebee’s, which tends to space its restaurants a bit closer that the Louisville-based chain.