Texas Roadhouse Serves Up Mixed Emotions on Campus

The first Texas Roadhouse has officially opened in Bozeman and has since skyrocketed in popularity. The American steakhouse chain that specializes in Southwestern style comfort food is a new and exciting addition to our college town. 

But how do college students at MSU feel about the new establishment? With many new chain restaurants and stores cropping up in the Bozeman community as of late, there has been a stir of mixed emotions. 

Montana prides itself on cultivating meaningful and intimate connections within the community and small businesses for decades. With bigger corporations laying down roots in our beloved state, MSU students have differing opinions on how the new addition of Texas Roadhouse will affect our community.  

"From a server's perspective, this is a heavy college-student-populated state so I think they're going to be really happy to have a new restaurant and one that is nationally popular here in Bozeman,” sophomore Jenna Anderson said. "Just the job opportunities, those serving jobs, I know a lot of college students heavily rely on those and if I wasn't an RA I know I would also be relying on that."

Anderson, who has been a Montana resident since 2003 and with that she brought a unique perspective. 

"I think supporting our local businesses is one of the things we can do to combat our rising price of living in Bozeman. The more corporations we let move in here and the more that we support these corporations, the less money that we have going to actual Montanans," she said.

The addition of Texas Roadhouse to the Bozeman community seems to be a double-edged sword for many locals. The cultural repercussions of supporting a mass corporation over local businesses that are Montana owned and run is detrimental to the future of these local businesses lasting and retaining a high volume of customers. 

"I feel like it's going to be a good business to have. I think it will thrive here because of the college population,” freshman Kylie Rosario  said, sharing her excitement about Texas Roadhouse entering our community. "I haven't been yet because of the long lines I've seen stretching around the block, but when I do go I'm excited to see how it compares to the Texas Roadhouse I went to in Texas." 

Rosario, Washington state native, was full of excitement about the chain and the quality of food throughout our conversation. 

"I feel like it is going to be a good addition to our town if the food is good. If they can make it the same way that they do in the southern culture, then it's going to be great to experience,” she said.

The conflicting emotions surrounding Texas Roadhouse is a predicament unique to a community such as Bozeman. 

 Many college students are from out of state and are not overly concerned with shopping locally. Because of this, the addition of this well-known restaurant will be hugely successful and a frequent go-to for great meals for many residents. With Bozeman developing at a rapid speed, it is inevitable that more corporations will be established here.

Eating at local restaurants and shopping at local stores is always a positive and beneficial choice.  With familiar franchises such as Texas Roadhouse moving to our town, the excitement of their arrival is understandable but the negative effect on small business is unavoidable.