Texas Roadhouse Is America's Most Iconic Restaurant Brand of 2024—Here's Why
Hand-cut steaks, fluffy rolls, line-dancing servers, and Texas-themed decor. These are just a few things you can expect to see when dining at Texas Roadhouse. The popular steakhouse chain is known for serving up a memorable experience, so much so that it was recently recognized as an icon in the restaurant space.
This week, industry publication Nation's Restaurant News (NRN) named Texas Roadhouse as its 2024 Brand Icon award winner. Every year, the publication gives this award to one restaurant chain "that exemplifies the spirit of innovation while also honoring its heritage."
The fast-growing restaurant currently stands as the second-largest casual chain in the U.S. following Olive Garden, dethroning Applebee's in 2023.
"Texas Roadhouse is the most exciting story in casual-dining restaurants today," said Sam Oches, editor-in-chief of NRN. "Despite so many headwinds, this brand has surged the past few years and is on the cusp of becoming the largest casual-dining chain in the nation."
Oches said this growth is largely due to the chain's "ability to balance operational innovation—particularly in off-premises dining and ordering tools—with consistency and stability in the communities it serves."
The chain's website notes that Texas Roadhouse operates 697 restaurants as of March 26, 2024.
NRN will present the Brand Icon award to Texas Roadhouse at CREATE: The Event for Emerging Restaurateurs on Oct. 10 in Nashville. During this conference, Oches and Texas Roadhouse's CEO Jerry Morgan will discuss the brand's evolution.
In 2023, Taco Bell received NRN's Brand Icon award, while White Castle was honored the year before.
According to the NRN's Technomic Top 500 data, Texas Roadhouse's sales grew by 13.8% in 2023 and made $4.78 billion in sales.
The 2024 Brand Icon award isn't the only recognition Texas Roadhouse has recently received. At the end of June, Texas Roadhouse tied with LongHorn Steakhouse as the top full-service restaurant in the 2024 American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Restaurant Study. The study noted that Texas Roadhouse is focusing on maintaining low prices while investing heavily in staffing.
Although the steakhouse chain has made headlines for raising prices, it has still continued to draw in customers. During an earnings call in May, the chain reported an 8.4% increase in same-store sales at company-owned restaurants and a 4.3% rise in customer traffic. Meanwhile, franchised restaurants experienced a 7.7% increase in same-store sales during the quarter. Texas Roadhouse will announce its second-quarter earnings on July 25.
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