Texas Roadhouse Focuses On Middle East Expansion

Texas Roadhouse is ramping up its expansion plans for the Middle East over other emerging markets. The chain cites the region’s sophisticated consumer base and a new partnership with Kuwait’s Alshaya Group, its key licensee in the region.

Earlier this month, the casual dining steakhouse opened in Dubai, its first restaurant outside the U.S. It plans to open a total of 35 new restaurants in the region during the next decade, in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Lebanon and Jordan.

Alshaya will be the Louisville, Ky., company’s chief partner for all 35 new restaurants in the Middle East. Texas Roadhouse operates more than 350 restaurants across 46 U.S. states. W. Kent Taylor recently resumed the title of CEO, a position he held from 2000 until ’04. Prior to his first turn as CEO, he was the company’s president since its founding in 1993.