type public traded as nasdaq txrh industry restaurants founded clarksville indiana february 17 1993 founder wayne kent taylor headquarters louisville kentucky u.s. key people willie nelson spokesman products steak ribs chicken and seafood revenue 880.4 million 2008 net income 38.1 million 2008 website texas roadhouse.com texas roadhouse westland michigan texas roadhouse is an american chain restaurant that specializes in steaks and promotes a western theme . 1 texas roadhouse corporation is headquartered in louisville kentucky . the chain operates about 450 july 2015 locations in 49 u.s. states and in saudi arabia kuwait united arab emirates and taiwan . it is known for its free buckets of peanuts at each table along with free yeast rolls . contents 1 history 2 operations and marketing 3 cuisine 4 controversy 5 see also 6 references 7 external links history edit a texas roadhouse location in stow ohio . texas roadhouse was founded on february 17 1993 at the green tree mall in clarksville indiana ; across the ohio river from louisville . 2 founder w. kent taylor lived in colorado and worked at nightclubs and restaurants there having aspirations to attend a culinary school . in 1990 taylor returned to his hometown of louisville . he began work as a kentucky fried chicken manager and had dreams to open a colorado themed restaurant . former kentucky governor john y. brown jr. helped taylor fulfill his dream by backing him with 80 000 . 3 in 1991 taylor opened buckhead hickory grill the chain that would eventually become buckhead mountain grill . 4 taylor was his own executive chef . brown invested more money and wanted to open a second store in clarksville but complications in the partnership caused it to fall apart . taylor through scott canfield found new partners and was forced to use a new name texas roadhouse . a year later he sold his shares in buckhead mountain grill . the second texas roadhouse opened in gainesville florida . when the chain expanded rapidly in the late 1990s and by the end of 1999 67 restaurants had been opened . in 2004 the chain began public offerings . 3 in september 2011 texas roadhouse started their international expansion with the first international location in dubai . citation needed operations and marketing edit texas roadhouse s slogan is legendary food legendary service . their mascot is an armadillo named andy . the company s restaurants offer entertainment in the form of line dancing . the waiters and waitresses learn line dances to popular country songs and perform line dances throughout the night . the employees also participate in intercompany competitions bartenders compete in the real bar competition and meat cutters in the annual meat hero competition . 5 the roadhouse corporation supports the homebuilding program habitat for humanity international . 6 the company also sponsors a road cycling team of about 20 cyclists along with willie nelson tours . 7 originally each restaurant had a table called willie s corner with pictures and memorabilia of willie nelson . in 2002 nelson signed a deal to become the official spokesman of texas roadhouse . since then nelson has heavily promoted the chain including a special on food network . following nelson s legal issues in recent years when the firm and willie nelson no longer have a business relationship and many restaurants no longer have a willie s corner . citation needed cuisine edit traditional bucket of peanuts texas roadhouse serves american cuisine including steak ribs chicken and seafood . their main suppliers are jbs swift and smithfield foods . 8 the chain boasts several cooking championships across the country with their ribs and steaks . the menu follows a theme of mushrooms cheese and barbecue . everything on the menu is made from scratch with the exception of children s menu items kraft macaroni & cheese applesauce and hot dogs . this includes the salads and dressings the only dressing not made from scratch is low fat ranch sauces and side dishes . their steaks are hand cut with the exception of the t bone steaks which are cut off site and vacuum packed and are never frozen . citation needed controversy edit the texas roadhouse store in chantilly virginia outraged local police over its conduct following a shooting at the sully district station of the fairfax county police department fcpd . citation needed after a gunman had opened fire at the station eventually killing two officers police cordoned off the area forcing some local businesses to close for a few hours . in the following days some businesses closed again during the funeral processions for the two officers due to the large number of people lining the route . the manager of the local texas roadhouse claimed losses of 9000 due to these closures and requested that this lost revenue offset the 5000 of fines the store had accrued due to alarm malfunctions . the claim was denied and prompted the fcpd to contact the firm s corporate headquarters in louisville . chain officials apologized weeks later and made a donation to a trust fund for the officers families . they also said the manager had been severely disciplined . 9 the story of this controversy has been circulating as a viral email beginning around 2006 and verified by urban legend website snopes.com . 10 also a crisis management firm has used this controversy as an example of poor crisis management and public relations . 11 see also edit aspen creek grill restaurant chain formerly owned by texas roadhouse references edit texas roadhouse txrh shares forming bullish flag pattern . bloggingstocks . 2007 11 15 . retrieved 2011 06 24 . it s what makes us legendary texas roadhouse retrieved 2013 01 28 a b texas roadhouse inc . reference for business . retrieved 2011 06 24 . business first by rick redding 1999 09 27 . bizjournal texas sized growth fuels roadhouse . bizjournals.com . retrieved 2011 06 24 . general info texas roadhouse retrieved 2013 01 28 roadhouse habitat for humanity archived november 8 2007 at the wayback machine . the south beach diet dining guide by arthur agatston 2005 rodale page 129 isbn 1 59486 360 1 texas roadhouse menu archived december 12 2008 at the wayback machine . fisher marc 2006 09 12 . it s enough to make your stomach turn . the washington post . texas roadhouse . snopes.com . retrieved 2012 01 24 . the four ps of crisis preparation crisis management crisis public relations . bernstein crisis management . 2005 02 23 . retrieved 2012 01 24 . external links edit texas roadhouse website texas roadhouse cycling retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title texas roadhouse & oldid 744307692 categories clarksville indianacompanies based in louisville kentuckyrestaurants in louisville kentuckyrestaurants in kentuckyrestaurants in indianarestaurant chains in the united statesrestaurants established in 1993companies listed on nasdaqsteakhouses in the united statestheme restaurants1993 establishments 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