“Our community and the restaurant industry lost a legend and the Taylor family lost a wonderful son, father and grandad this week,” said a joint statement from Taylor’s family and Texas Roadhouse sent to CNN on Saturday.
Taylor’s family and the restaurant chain said in a statement to The Hill on Sunday that the business executive “took his own life this week” after “a battle with post-Covid related symptoms, including severe tinnitus.”
“Kent battled and fought hard like the former track champion that he was, but the suffering that greatly intensified in recent days became unbearable,” the statement read.
Taylor had funded a clinical study to help members of the military suffering with tinnitus, the statement said.
“Kent leaves an unmatched legacy as a people-first leader, which is why he often said that Texas Roadhouse was a people company that just happened to serve steaks,” the statement said.
“He changed the lives of hundreds of millions of employees and guests over the past 28 years.”
The restaurant chain, which operates more than 500 dining establishments in 49 states, confirmed Taylor’s death in Facebook post.
“We will miss you, Kent. Because of you and your dream of Texas Roadhouse, we get to say we [love] our jobs every day,” the chain wrote in the post last Thursday.
Taylor, who co-founded the chain that opened in 1993, made headlines a year ago for giving up his bonus and base salary to pay his chain’s workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Texas Roadhouse is based in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer tweeted Thursday that the city had “lost a much loved and one-of-a-kind citizen.”
“Kent’s kind and generous spirit was his constant driving force whether it was quietly helping a friend or building one of America’s great companies in @texasroadhouse,” Fisher wrote. “He was a maverick entrepreneur who embodied the values of never giving up and putting others first. My deepest condolences to Kent’s family and many, many friends.”
A company Facebook post Friday said: “We will miss you, Kent. Because of you and your dream of Texas Roadhouse, we get to say we (love) our jobs every day.” The post used a heart emoji instead of the word love.
Taylor created the idea that would later become Texas Roadhouse on a cocktail napkin, the family’s statement said.
Greg Moore, the lead director at the company, told McClatchy News that the “selfless act was no surprise to anyone who knew Kent and his strong belief in servant leadership.”
“He was without a doubt, a people-first leader. His entrepreneurial spirit will live on in the company he built, the projects he supported and the lives he touched,” he added.
“Kent leaves an unmatched legacy as a people-first leader, which is why he often said that Texas Roadhouse was a people company that just happened to serve steaks,” Taylor added. “He changed the lives of hundreds of millions of employees and guests over the past 28 years. He also impacted hundreds of thousands of people through his generous and often anonymous donations.”
The company’s board of directors announced last week that President Jerry Morgan would assume the role of CEO of the company.
Texas Roadhouse first opened in 1993, according to the company’s website, and has more than 600 locations in the United States and 10 restaurants in other countries.
