Texas Roadhouse CEO Jerry Morgan on what makes the brand so iconic

Take-Away with Sam Oches

Nation's Restaurant News

Business, Entrepreneurship

2.5 • 15 Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2024

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Jerry Morgan, CEO of Texas Roadhouse, which was part of NRN’s recent Brand Icon feature. The brand closed 2023 with nearly $5 billion in system-wide sales across 638 U.S. stores, good for a $7.6 million average unit volume and helping it leapfrog Applebee’s to become the No. 2 full-service chain in America. So how is this company pulling off such impressive performance in a season when so many other brands are struggling? Sam sat down with Jerry in his Louisville office to share more about Texas Roadhouse’s core values, its commitment to consistency and quality, and why having a little bit of fun along the way have fueled this casual brand’s rocket-ship trajectory.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

Owner-operators are the keys to unlocking success in your stores and communities
Celebrating strong performances gets more out of your employees
Founders are the beating hearts and north stars of restaurant companies
Great food and great service are the bedrock to great brands
Innovation doesn’t have to be all about bells and whistles
You should try to have some fun, because customers can pick up on it

Want to check out the rest of the Brand Icon package? Click here.

Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at [email protected].

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey there, welcome to Takeaway with Sam Ocas, a podcast from Nation's Restaurant News.
0:05.3	I am Sam Ocas, editor-in-chief here at NRN, and this is the show where I give you an all-access pass to the restaurant industry's most influential decision-makers.
0:13.8	On this week's very special episode, I am sharing my conversation with Jerry Morgan, the CEO of Texas Roadhouse, which was part of our recent
0:23.2	brand icon feature. I probably don't need to tell you about Texas Roadhouse's massive success,
0:28.4	but I am going to throw a few numbers at you just to give you some perspective.
0:33.0	Texas Roadhouse closed 2023 with nearly $5 billion in system-wide sales across 638 U.S. stores,
0:42.6	good for a $7.6 million average unit volume and helping it leapfrog Applebee's to become the number
0:49.9	two full-service chain in America, only a hair behind Olive Garden. By the way, all of those
0:55.7	numbers should be easily eclipsed in 2024, as the company has enjoyed both sales and traffic
1:01.9	increases in each of the first three quarters of this year. So how is this company pulling off
1:08.0	such massive, impressive performance in a season when so many
1:12.9	other brands are struggling? I traveled to Texas Roadhouse's headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky,
1:17.8	to join my colleague Alicia Kelso in reporting on what makes them so special. I sat down with Jerry
1:23.9	in his office to discuss his 30-year tenure with the company, which included
1:28.3	being promoted to CEO when Texas Roadhouse founder Kent Taylor died suddenly in March of 2021.
1:35.9	Jerry shared more about Texas Roadhouse's core values, its commitment to consistency and quality,
1:41.8	and why having a little bit of fun along the way have fueled this
1:45.8	casual brand's rocket ship trajectory. In this interview, you will learn more about why owner
1:50.9	operators are the keys to unlocking success in your stores and in your communities, why founders
1:56.6	are the beating hearts and north stars of restaurant companies, and why innovation doesn't have to be all about bells and whistles.
2:04.7	By the way, if you want a deeper dive into Texas Roadhouse
2:07.7	and the secrets to its success,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Nation's Restaurant News, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Nation's Restaurant News and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.