Texas Roadhouse appears to be coming to Hobbs.
A sign for a full liquor license for the restaurant has been posted at Lovington Highway and Magnolia Street and a hearing for the liquor license will take place in Santa Fe on Tuesday to transfer the ownership.
According to the State Regulation and Licensing website, liquor license No. 0819 currently belongs to Club Lumina in Velarde, N.M, which is located between Espanola and Taos, and is to be transfered to Texas Roadhouse Holdings.
A spokesman for Texas Roadhouse did not reply as of Friday to a request for specific information about a potential Hobbs restaurant but did forward information about the national chain.
City building officials said as of Friday they had not received any building permit requests for the restaurant.
Texas Roadhouse has 590 locations in 49 states and 22 international locations. There are Texas Roadhouses located in Lubbock, Midland and Odessa. It is a dinner-only concept during the week but is open for lunch on weekends.
According to the company, the average Texas Roadhouse is 6,700-7,500 square feet and seats 291 guests. The average restaurant serves 5,000 guests each week and the No. 1 seller is a 6-ounce sirloin. Steaks account for 44% of the menu. The founder, chairman and chief executive officer, W. Kent Taylor, started the business in 1993 with the opening of the first Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Clarksville, Indiana.
Texas Roadhouse continues to grow. In the company’s second quarter financial statement in July 2019, the chairman said, “On the development front, we have opened 10 company restaurants so far this year. We have experienced some construction delays that we expect will push some sites into early next year but remain focused on opening approximately 15 additional locations in 2019.”
The Hobbs location is potentially part of a larger commercial development in that area, which could include additional retail shops and restaurants.
In 2016, the Hawkins Companies pursued 29 acres in that area on the Lovington Highway for a shopping center to house multiple tenants of various sizes. That project subsequently fell through but other buyers have since purchased portions of that acreage. Those new property owners have already put in Hobbs projects such as the shopping center that houses Wingstop and the center that houses the new Domino’s Pizza near Lowe’s Home Improvement.
The liquor license hearing in Santa Fe is open to public and will take place at 10 a.m. at the N.M. Alcohol Beverage Control Division, 2550 Cerrillos Road, 2nd Floor.
