The Greeneville location, which opened in November, boasts a bevy of sustainability-minded tools and Energy Star–rated equipment. That’s especially true in the kitchen, where Texas Roadhouse has invested in a more sustainable dish machine, oven, fryers, and refrigeration, plus a bulk oil system that automatically recycles the oil. There are also low- flow faucets, toilets, and urinals, plus energy-efficient lighting, insulation, and windows. There are solar panels on the roof, and Doster said the restaurant will soon try composting. To commit to sustainable operations, he said, any change needed to make both “sense and cents.” In other words, new tools have to help the store be more efficient and effective, he said, but also be smart for the bottom line. The Greeneville location has a managing partner just like any other Texas Roadhouse — an owner-operator who buys into the restaurant and gets 10% of the profits — so the company had to ensure the investments would pay off (it also covered the upfront costs). “I think this was a big step for us just to say, ‘Hey, let's try it,’” Doster said. “Because again, it's not a marketing effort or anything, and it is some additional work on our staff, but I think we get a win if we get three or four things out of this that we can expand or give restaurants as options.” Doster noted that Texas Road- house has been on a sustainability journey since 2017, initially driven by late founder Kent Taylor and his pas- sion for the environment. That journey originally included a focus on “bees and trees,” Doster said. The compa - ny supports beekeepers around the country and even keeps about 200,000 bees at its headquarters, selling the honey to support its own Andy’s Out - reach employee assistance fund. For the trees, it supports the Arbor Day Foundation to plant trees throughout the country, usually in areas devastat- ed after hurricanes or fires. The company’s sustainability initiatives have since included leveraging an energy management firm to monitor and disclose greenhouse
gas emissions at both stores and headquarters, as well as a sustainable uniform program that kept 5.5 million plastic bottles out of landfills and oceans by incorporating the plastic into hats, aprons, and uniform shirts. The Greeneville location could provide a huge step forward for Texas Roadhouse as it continues on that sustainable journey. “It may not work, and if it doesn't, then great lessons learned,” he said. “But if it does, it could be expanded system-wide. How awesome would that be?”
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SUSTAINABILITY OUTLOOK 2025
PHOTOS COURTESY: TEXAS ROADHOUSE
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