The vendor opportunity at Texas Roadhouse Development
The Texas Roadhouse system spans 638 restaurants: 56 franchised and 582 company-owned by Texas Roadhouse Development's affiliates, part of Texas Roadhouse's strategic multi-brand portfolio alongside Jaggers. Franchised outlets fell 9.7% year over year. Royalty runs at 4.0% of sales, and the 2024 FDD carries no Item 19 financial performance representation.
Who controls software purchasing
Officers named in the filing include Gerald L. Morgan, President of TRDC and CEO of TXRH; David "Christopher" Monroe, Treasurer of TRDC and CFO of TXRH; Christopher C. Colson, Secretary of TRDC and Chief Legal and Administrative Officer of TXRH; and Hugh J. Carroll, Vice President of TRDC and JDC. The mapped franchised operator base is small: 55 operators, 2 of them multi-unit, across roughly 63 located units, led by California (10), Indiana (8), Pennsylvania (6) and Texas (5). With software, hardware and installation purchased through the franchisor itself, the buying decision sits with Texas Roadhouse headquarters rather than any individual restaurant, franchised or company-owned.
Tech named in the FDD, and what is actually required
Every restaurant must purchase the Texas Roadhouse-authorized and required point of sale system, with the software, hardware and installation services purchased through the franchisor, which may contract portions out to approved vendors. Restaurants must also purchase Help Desk Support and hardware support from Texas Roadhouse's IT department or its pre-approved Help Desk provider, must run only Texas Roadhouse-approved and certified software on POS terminals, back-office PCs and servers, and must purchase a support agreement for each piece of POS and back-of-house software installed. Back-office software must be licensed from Texas Roadhouse or one of its certified vendors, and internet access, credit card and gift card processing route through the franchisor's authorized provider and approved payment processor. Restaurants must also participate in the electronic gift card program using the company-approved system, have network wiring installed through the IT Help Desk by an approved cabling installer, and store data on Texas Roadhouse hosted platforms such as the BOH computer and Office 365.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Texas Roadhouse Development generally does not require franchisees to buy from the franchisor, but requires certain items — special recipe and proprietary products, back-office software, and upgrades to franchisor-developed software — to come from itself or a designated or certified vendor. Franchisees may propose an alternate supplier for approval. The renewal term runs 5 years and requires 6 to 12 months' notice, repairing and updating equipment, maintaining possession of the premises, paying a renewal fee, and signing the then-current agreement and a general release.
How to read the Texas Roadhouse Development FDD
The embedded PDF viewer below holds Texas Roadhouse Development's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document. Item 11 sets out the POS and computer system requirements in full; Item 8 covers the approved-supplier rules. Talk to FranCloud for a ranked target list of full-service restaurant brands with a franchisor-purchased POS relationship.