Texas Roadhouse has deemed its younger siblings ready for takeoff.
The casual-dining giant plans to ramp up development of the Bubba’s 33 sports bar concept and the fast casual Jaggers next year, believing both have a solid foundation and are ready to spread their wings.
The company said the 53-unit Bubba’s 33 could have “double-digit” openings next year, all company-operated, while it expects to open eight Jaggers, some of which will be franchised.
It’s a marked acceleration for both brands. Bubba’s opened four locations last year and will add seven this year. Jaggers, meanwhile, has opened just 15 restaurants over 10 years, though they have come in bunches recently. One of them is on a U.S. military base in South Korea.
Bubba’s is a full-service sports bar concept with a rock-and-roll theme that specializes in burgers, pizza and beer. Jaggers is a fast casual offering burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads and shakes. Like Roadhouse, both brands make their food from scratch.
It’s rare for a concept as large as Texas Roadhouse to have success with a second brand, let alone a third. But both Bubba’s and Jaggers have shown promise. In 2024, Bubba’s systemwide sales leapt more than 20%, and Jaggers rose 58%, according to Technomic data.
Historically, Texas Roadhouse has limited itself to opening no more than 30 restaurants a year to ensure proper execution. The stepped-up development pace for Bubba’s and Jaggers could push it close to that number.
"I think you will see us a little on the high side of that in the next couple of years," said CEO Jerry Morgan, noting that the pipeline for Texas Roadhouse is still strong as well. "I really want to get into the next year and have that confidence before I move that number up, but we are clearly starting to tip our head in that direction."
As for Texas Roadhouse, the 673-unit steakhouse chain kept chugging right along in the second quarter. Same-store sales rose 5.8%, driven by 4% traffic growth. Executives said more customers are ordering steak or upgrading to pricier cuts, while fewer consumers are opting for alcohol, though a new line of mocktails has performed well.
Takeout continues to be an area of strength. Average weekly to-go sales increased 11% year over year, to more than $22,000 per store.
On the bottom line, rising beef costs are creating a bit of a headache for Texas Roadhouse. It’s expecting commodity inflation of 7% in the current quarter, and it raised its guidance on full-year commodity inflation to 5%, from 4% previously. The higher prices and uptick in demand for steak has hurt its restaurant-level margins, which declined to 17.1% in the quarter, a point lower than a year ago.
The company is continuing to buy up franchised locations, preferring to operate more of its own stores. In the second quarter, it acquired three franchised locations, and plans to acquire eight more in the fourth quarter and first quarter of 2026, including the five remaining franchised Roadhouses in California.
Those transactions will bring the number of domestic franchised Texas Roadhouse locations to just over 30, or less than 5% of the system. They could also set up the Louisville-based brand to do more business in the Golden State.
“We are meeting as a group and really discussing from a real estate team to an operations team on, ‘How do we look at California?’” Morgan said. “We've had a lot of success there with our 19 stores open, and we will continue to see our presence in California grow.”
The company also has a deal to acquire its Louisville support center, which it had previously been leasing, solidifying its hometown roots.
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