Texas Roadhouse has promoted Jerry Morgan to president, freeing the former holder of the title, CEO and chairman Kent Taylor, to focus on the development of the company’s emerging businesses.
Those ventures include a casual-dining sister to the Roadhouse steakhouse brand, Bubba’s 33, and a fledgling fast-casual operation, Jaggers. Roadhouse has also begun an e-commerce steak business called Butcher Shop.
“Going from three jobs to two will allow me to focus my additional time, energy, and creativity on our future growth,” Taylor, the founder of Roadhouse, said in a statement. “I also want to expand our to-go operations and have several other ideas that I think will propel Texas Roadhouse into the next decade.”
Taylor has held the company’s three top jobs since the sudden retirement of Scott Colosi from the president’‘s job in June 2019. The reasons for Colosi’s abrupt exit were never made clear. At the time he stepped down, the longtime associate of Taylor’s was retained as a consultant to Roadhouse for a nine-month stint for a fee of $1.9 million.
Morgan, age 60, will start the job on Jan. 8, according to a securities filing. He will draw an annual salary of $350,000, with an opportunity to earn another $350,000 through incentives and bonuses.
He has been part of the Roadhouse chain for 25 years, most recently as a managing partner overseeing 120 restaurants in 14 states. He started with the brand as managing partner of its first restaurant. A managing partner runs company-owned restaurants in the field, motivated in part by having a small stake in the businesses he or she oversees.
Earlier, he was a manager within the Bennigan’s and Burger King chains. He will relocate to Roadhouse’s headquarters city of Louisville, Ky., as part of the job change.
“Jerry will spend his first few months listening, learning and serving alongside our folks at the Support Center in Louisville,” said Taylor.
“Let’s go Roadhouse,” Morgan said in the statement announcing his promotion.
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