In Made From Scratch: The Legendary Success Story of Texas Roadhouse, Kent Taylor tells his life story including the founding of Texas Roadhouse. He ran cross country at the University of North Carolina, operated night clubs, managed Bennigan’s and a handful of other restaurants before finding funding to start Texas Roadhouse.

I appreciated Kent’s story, but I found myself not liking him. He was an absent father and flippantly mentions his divorce and lack of time at home. His management style is unique, and I assume chaotic for his direct reports. He spends a lot of time discussing the ways he is different and the “party” culture he created at Texas Roadhouse. This mainly consists of him wearing jeans at inappropriate times (the White House) and drinking with celebrities (Willie Nelson and others) who endorse Texas Roadhouse. 

The book’s strongest pieces of the book are the systems and philosophies that Kent created at Texas Roadhouse.

 “I wanted to have the same quality of beef that Outback and Longhorn featured at the time, but with price points more similar to Chili’s and Applebee’s. I wanted to target the blue-collar segment of America (my peeps) who would be comfortable with jukebox country music and a casual and lively atmosphere with energetic servers in jeans and T-shirts.”

Kent focused heavily on aligning incentives for local owners and managers across the country, and he staffed his restaurants at a high level to provide fast and friendly service. He also gave his leadership team autonomy in improving the restaurants at the local level. This culture paid dividends during Covid-19. Texas Roadhouse crowd sourced ideas from managers across the country led to early adoption of curbside service, utilizing the company’s products and supply chain for Saturday markets, and creating family griller packages when restaurants were closed. 

Texas Roadhouse is a success today and the second half of the book is a puff piece detailing their philanthropy and annual company retreats. The real meat in this book is the insight into the personal sacrifice required to build a new business, and restaurants appear to be one of the most difficult businesses to start and operate.

I’m here for their rolls (a fun section of the book) but not their founder. 

Quotes

“They have twenty regional menus with different prices around the country. What works in Adrian’s closest location of Sandy, Utah, may not work in Chester’s closest store in North Plainfield, New Jersey, so pricing decisions are made regionally—on the front lines—rather than in corporate finance or marketing departments. Such contrarianism is a consistent trait of Texas Roadhouse.”

“In 1987, however, I was about to get a rejection that would really hurt. My wife, Laura, wanted a separation and, most likely, a divorce. We talked it out, but there wasn’t much hope. I didn’t blame her. Work had become an obsession for me, and relationships can suffer in those circumstances. It happens.”

“I took a rare night off and went to dinner with my parents and kids, thanking my dad for covering the check, as usual.”

“On the spot, the three agreed to fund the build for the first Texas Roadhouse, to be located in Clarksville, Indiana. Each would put up $100,000, with all four of us signing for a bank loan to add another $250,000. Clearly, the doctors would need to back the loan as my net worth was more than a negative $ 20,000, with several credit cards maxed out and two months behind on my car payment.”

“I introduced myself to the twenty or so home-office people, including one guy who said he was the director of real estate. I ran down to Kent’s office and asked what the deal was. I had just met the guy I was supposed to replace. Kent said he had wanted to travel with me first, pick a few sites, and see if all was good before he let the other guy go. He could see I was not cool with that, so he said, “No worries. I’ll be back in a few.” Twenty minutes later, Kent came back and said he’d just let the other guy know this would be his last day, then he calmly asked if there was anything else I wanted to discuss. “Nope, all good.” I was thinking maybe I need a backup plan, too.”