Texas Roadhouse put employees first, pivoted to to-go, and never laid off

Texas Roadhouse began 2020 with 93% of its business in sit-down dining. When the pandemic hit, it had to move fast or lose everything. Caesar's roadhouse founder Kent Taylor's first question, according to VP of communications Travis Doster, was not about profits but 'How do we take care of our employees?'

Taylor gave up his salary and bonus until January 2021, a move worth more than $1 million that went to employee initiatives, and other executives followed. The company paid staff health insurance, handed out stimulus grants, and let each location improvise. In the first weeks, 100% of the business pivoted to off-premise, with hosts re-tasked to run orders to cars in the parking lot.

The pivot worked. By early April, units were averaging $41,892 in weekly to-go sales, off-premise made up 21.1% of the business by September, and by the fall monthly same-store sales comps were a slightly positive 0.8% — achieved, the company stressed, without layoffs.

Weekly per-store to-go sales jumped to $41,892 by early April and the chain turned its comps slightly positive by the fall without any layoffs.

The CEO-led employee-first stance meant no mass layoffs at the moment of maximum fear.

Giving local managers freedom produced fast, locally fitted curbside and outdoor solutions.

Executives donating salaries funded employee health insurance and bonuses.

Loyal, protected staff executed the off-premise pivot that kept the model alive.

When a crisis closes your doors, the employee-first decision can be the business decision: people who feel protected execute the pivot that keeps revenue alive.

Texas Roadhouse kept the to-go muscle it built, adding a to-go coordinator role, a drive-thru window at one store and permanent outdoor dining options. It preserved its workforce through the crisis, and the people-first reputation it earned became a durable part of its brand and recruitment.