Texas Roadhouse, a US-based steakhouse chain, is to begin trial operations at its first Asian outlet in Taipei today, before expanding further in the Greater China market in the future.
Texas Roadhouse, founded in 1993, currently has more than 430 restaurants in the US. It also has a presence in Dubai and Kuwait.
“Aiming to introduce Texas Roadhouse to the market of China, we hope to watch and learn from the experience in development in Taiwan as the first step to enter the Greater China region,” Merritt Croker, president and chief operating officer of Bayshore Pacific Hospitality Ltd (英屬維京群島商北軒餐飲管理), which introduced the brand to Taiwan, told a press conference yesterday.
The number of Texas Roadhouse outlets is expected to increase to between eight and 10 in Taiwan in five years, or one or two new outlets a year, prior to tapping the Chinese market, Croker said.
The first outlet in Taiwan is in the newly launched Breeze Song Gao (微風松高) department store in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義), and the company plans to open its second outlet in Taipei’s Minsheng Community (民生社區) by the end of the year, followed by the launch of the third outlet in the middle of next year, he added.
Croker did not specify a sales target for the first outlet, but said that annual sales for a single Texas Roadhouse restaurant in the US averages about US$4.1 million.
In addition to Texas Roadhouse, Bayshore Pacific also owns the management rights for the 14 outlets of the US casual dining chain TGI Friday’s in Taiwan.
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