Shifting costs are always affecting profitability in the restaurant industry, but when inflation rises, and disposable incomes shrink, restaurant traffic tends to take a hit. However, even on tighter budgets people have to eat. Restaurants with proven track records of dependable, high-value meals and experiences should see customers coming back time and time again, even in uncertain economic conditions.
Today’s guest is Jerry Morgan, President and CEO of Louisville, Kentucky-based Texas Roadhouse, trading under the symbol TXRH. With 35 years of food service experience, including time at Bennigan’s and Burger King, Jerry is an industry expert with enormous institutional knowledge. He began his career with Roadhouse in 1997 as the managing partner of the first Texas Roadhouse in Texas and worked his way up through the company ranks. In 2020 he was named President of Texas Roadhouse, and became CEO in 2021 following the untimely death of the company’s founder and former CEO, Kent Taylor.
In this episode, Jerry explains the company values that have been instrumental to the success of the brand, how they’re handling recent inflation, and the two additional restaurant concepts they’ll be expanding over the next few years.
Highlights:
- Jerry walks through the Texas Roadhouse backstory (03:03)
- Jerry explains how he got his start with Texas Roadhouse, and why it beat out other restaurant chains for his attention (05:38)
- Jerry describes the company’s values, and their commitment to quality and service (07:06)
- Jerry unpacks the market partner structure of Texas Roadhouse (08:27)
- Jerry’s philosophy on pricing, and how he looks at passing rising costs on to customers (10:07)
- How a company culture of “fun with purpose” helps Texas Roadhouse succeed (11:27)
- How Texas Roadhouse is approaching technology (15:37)
- Jerry describes the two additional restaurant concepts in the Texas Roadhouse family: Jaggers and Bubba’s 33 (18:02)
- Jerry talks about the advantages of being a public company with increased cash generation from a stakeholder perspective (22:40)
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If you have questions about the show or have a topic in mind you’d like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, elizabeth@lowerstreet.co.
