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Long Island’s third Texas Roadhouse location is all set to open this week.
During a special friends and family pre-opening event on Saturday night, the restaurant’s managing partner, Kristina Wilson, told GreaterPortJeff that its doors will officially be open Monday, Aug. 31.
“We’re really excited,” she said. “We strive to be the friendliest place in town.”
GreaterPortJeff wrote earlier this month that the chain was finishing construction after a long wait due to COVID-19. Originally it was slated for an early spring opening.
The new spot is in the space that once held Ruby Tuesday at 289 Middle Country Road intersecting with Route 83 in the Selden Plaza shopping center. This will be the third Texas Roadhouse to come to Long Island — one is in East Meadow and the other in Deer Park.
Wilson has been with the company for 11 years, starting out as a hostess at the East Meadow location. She moved up in rank, working the first three international openings as an international corporate trainer. She is now one of the youngest owners in the company. Originally a Levittown native, she said she just moved to Selden this week and is now calling herself a local.
“I’m so excited to bring Texas Roadhouse to the community,” she said.
After opening in 1993, the Kentucky-based company has over 520 locations in the U.S. and 10 worldwide. On average, its restaurants average 5,000 guests per week and serve 300,000 meals per day, according to Texas Roadhouse.
Famous for its hand-cut steaks, ribs, made-from-scratch sides and freshly baked bread, the restaurant also offers 15 different varieties of margaritas. On-site bakers and butchers are hired for every location.
Customers can expect line dancing from the staff every 45 minutes, and Long Island-influenced murals decorated throughout the space.
Wilson said that there will be no reservations for the Selden spot. Those interested can call up to an hour ahead and get on the waitlist, but she encourages people to download the Texas Roadhouse app to stay in the know and to get on line.
“The app will make it super easy to get a spot,” she said. “You can also order takeout through it.”
Texas Roadhouse will be operating with social distancing guidelines, and will be at 50% capacity.
Check out the photos below to see inside the new Selden Texas Roadhouse. Photos by Julianne Mosher
