Louisville-based Texas Roadhouse Inc. is preparing to leave the site where its first restaurant opened more than three decades ago.
The first Texas Roadhouse opened at the Green Tree Mall in Clarksville, Indiana, in February 1993.The company plans to relocate it from the mall to a new, standalone restaurant along Veterans Parkway later this year, company officials said.
Travis Doster, chief communications officer for Texas Roadhouse, said the new restaurant will be built next to Bubba’s 33, another company concept.
“Back in 2015, we bought the property where Bubba’s is out on Veterans Parkway,” Doster said. “Then in 2021, we bought the parcel next to it. That is where Texas Roadhouse will go.”
The new restaurant, expected to span about 10,000 square feet, is slated to open in mid-November, he said. Buffalo Construction is handling the build, though project costs were not disclosed.
Texas Roadhouse introduced the Bubba’s 33 concept to the Louisville area in 2016 with the Clarksville location at 4631 Medical Plaza Way.
An exact closing date for the Green Tree Mall restaurant has not been determined.
Doster said the nearly 150 employees at the current location are expected to transfer to the new restaurant, which also will add staff.
“We will have more employees, more tables, more parking,” he said. “The same management team — none of that will change.”
News of the move gained attention this week after a hoax circulated on social media, claiming to be an official announcement from Green Tree Mall about a “Texas Roadhouse Going Away Ceremony” featuring country music legend Willie Nelson.
Doster said speculation may have stemmed from early site work at the new location.
“From what we’ve heard from Green Tree Mall, that is not an accurate letterhead,” Doster said. “And not an accurate depiction of Willie Nelson coming — unless somebody knows something I don’t know. I think they started moving some dirt, that's kind of how this all started. I think somebody saw it and then somebody posted that note on Facebook.”
Texas Roadhouse was founded by Kent Taylor in 1993. Before that, he worked for Bennigan’s in the 1980s and later as a manager at KFC in the early 1990s. His first concept, Buckhead Grill & Bar, opened in 1991. Taylor died in 2021 at age 65.
Today, Texas Roadhouse Inc. operates 822 restaurants systemwide, including 749 Texas Roadhouse locations across 49 U.S. states and 10 countries.
It's also one of Louisville's largest public companies, with more than $5 billion in revenue in 2024.
By Michael L. Jones – Reporter, Louisville Business First
May 15, 2026
