When Judy and Mike McNamara sat down for their 4 p.m. dinner Thursday at the popular Texas Roadhouse, 4005 E. 53rd St., Davenport, it was the 336th visit to a different location in their quest to visit every Texas Roadhouse in America.
They’ve been to restaurants in the 30-year-old chain across 43 states, and plan to complete the continental U.S. (48 states) during their current trip over the next five weeks.
In 2017, Judy McNamara retired after working 45 years at the Union Camp/International Paper mill in southeastern Virginia. Traveling was next on the list for Judy and her husband Mike; they both worked at the mill and he retired in 2008.
In 2003, the couple (who live in Franklin, Va.) visited their first Texas Roadhouse while seeing her brother in Knoxville, Tenn. Years later, Texas Roadhouse would ultimately change the trajectory of their trips.
When Judy and Mike began hitting the road regularly in 2017, they created a new mission — to visit all 600-plus Texas Roadhouse locations in the U.S. When planning visits to museums and national parks, they check to see if there is a Texas Roadhouse nearby.
“The food is like home cooking to us,” Judy said. “We don’t like fancy cuisine or fine dining. Texas Roadhouse fits the bill of good country home cooking and is family oriented.”
“It’s not just the food, it’s also the people,” Mike said. Between 2003 and 2017, they visited Texas Roadhouses in 37 states.
“In 2021, we visited my father’s hometown close to Egg Harbor Township, N.J. When I told the manager, Cody, he brought us out two T-shirts with the city on it, but when he realized they were the wrong size, I joked ‘I’ll just take yours’. A few minutes later, Cody handed us the blue Egg Harbor Township polo he’d been wearing – he literally gave us the shirt off his back,” Mike recalled.
There are Texas Roadhouse locations in every state but Hawaii. The McNamaras haven’t been to ones in Alaska, which didn’t open until 2014.
Judy and Mike’s favorite meals are the sirloin, chicken critters, herb chicken, pulled pork, pork chops and ribs – always with a side salad. They plan to visit at least 26 more locations this summer and finish off the continental 48 states — leaving only Alaska to be visited. They hope to visit their 400th location early in 2024.
Texas Roadhouse opened its doors in 1993. Since then, the company has grown to more than 600 locations in 49 states and nearly 40 international locations in 10 countries. They are famous for their Hand-Cut Steaks, Fall-Off-The-Bone Ribs, Made-From-Scratch Sides, and Fresh-Baked Bread.
In 2019, Mike and Judy went to their 100th Texas Roadhouse at the first one, in Clarksville, Ind., where W. Kent Taylor founded the company. Taylor was a native of Louisville, Ky., and the chain’s headquarters are in Louisville.
During 2020 (which sidelined many restaurants during the COVID outbreak), the McNamaras visited 72 Texas Roadhouses, which had limited seating.
Six-ounce sirloin is his favorite
On Thursday, Mike ordered his favorite (and the chain’s top seller), the 6-ounce USDA Choice Sirloin, cooked medium well. Each meal includes two sides, and he got a salad and sweet potato. Judy ordered pulled pork, with salad and apple sauce.
Around the country, they’ve gotten a lot of free restaurant hats and T-shirts. Texas Roadhouse around the world serves 544,000 meals per day.
On this trip, Judy and Mike will also go to Montana, Idaho, Utah, Oregon and Washington State, traveling in their 36-foot-long RV they got in 2019. They’ve put 25,000 miles on it so far.
“It’s like home cooking; I don’t like fancy food to start with,” Mike said. “We enjoy it.”
“The servers, kitchen managers, managing partners, they’re all friendly,” he said.
Other Texas Roadhouses in Iowa they’ve been at are Coralville and Council Bluffs. Judy keeps a spreadsheet of all the locations they’ve been to. In Illinois, they’ve been to Crystal Lake, Edwardsville, Rockford, and Sycamore. The chain is not in the Illinois QC.
James Gentry, a partner of the Davenport restaurant, gave Mike and Judy Texas Roadhouse belt buckles on Thursday, including a Davenport 20th-anniversaruy one.
Gentry remembered seeing the couple at the chain’s Founder’s Day last September in Louisville, which honors Kent Taylor’s Sept. 27, 1955 birthday. He died in 2021 and Jerry Morgan is the current CEO.
“They’re a big deal with Texas Roadhouse,” Gentry said Thursday of the Judy and Mike McNamara. He’s worked for the chain six years, and in Davenport since last December. “I didn’t know them until I saw them at Founder’s Day. When they talked about their journey, I thought, that was so cool. When they walked in the door (in Davenport), I was glad I was working today.”
A true family
“There’s not many places you can go as a restaurant owner and say, I love my job,” Gentry said. “There is no better company in the world. It’s just awesome the way they take care of us.”
During the COVID pandemic in 2020-21, Taylor donated his compensation package to support his company’s frontline workers.
“It’s one big family,” Gentry said. “I just got here in December, but everybody’s loving it.” He moved from the store in Forsyth, Ill. “It’s a great team.”
When Judy and Mike visited Texas Roadhouse in Parkersburg, W. Va., they took a picture with their server Jessie. Fourteen months later, they returned. “As we walked back to her table, she recognized us right away. After more than a year, you’d think we’d be a faded memory, but Jessie knew exactly who we were,” Mike said. “It amazes us. The people we’ve met – every now and then we’ll talk to a server who’s worked there 10 or 12 years. People seem happy working there, which makes us want to come back. It feels like a family.”
Texas Roadhouse considered opening a location on John Deere Road in Moline, but was too close to Davenport, Gentry said. “They like it to be at least a 20-minute drive, so you don’t impact the other stores too much,” he said.
Early this year, Jerry Morgan reported record company results for 2022, with over $4 billion in revenue and double-digit bottom line growth in spite of significant cost pressures.
“Everything is made from scratch,” Gentry said. “The bread is made in front of the guest. The cinnamon butter is made fresh. There’s somebody back there mashing potatoes every 30 minutes.”
“The number-one thing here is the affordable price,” he added.
Texas Roadhouse planned to open 25 to 30 Texas Roadhouse and Bubba’s 33 company restaurants in 2023. For more information, visit the restaurant website HERE.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7sMHRqqyanJOewaqx0meaqKVfo7K4v46lppyZnGK7psPSaJqoraChsm67zWapqJmUYsGwedWiqqKsmaO0brHVnqmyZaSaxaK%2FjKummpyYpMK0sYyipWatXah8