Great idea. You've got Bennigan's customers out there so faithful that for some reason they received Bennigan's gift cards. I'm sure the cost is worth it to try and win them over to your restaurant. But there's no Bennigan's around here so I doubt anyone would be willing to accept the cards.

This is just smart business. Accept gift Cards of a defunct competitor to get more bodies in the door.

Sure, they may loose a few dollars by accepting 'funny money'...but they have the opportunity to gain repeat business and thus more profits.

It's a shame not all places do this when a competitor goes under. I know if the situation ever came up, I'd make sure my company does this.

How will they know how much money is on the card. Unless the gift card transactions are done by some sort of clearing house, only Bennigan's would know their value.

@Hedgy2136: I'd imagine they have a phone number for that type of thing... Just a guess.

I would not call Texas Roadhouse a rival of Bennigans. That is like saying that the current heavy weight MMA champ and I are rivals.

Considering that in most cases, most gift cards will be worth say $25-50. But in this case, you are losing a little money, but gaining customers at the same time - maybe even gaining some loyalty. But what's the most you've spent on a restaurant gift card?

I'm not sure though - I imagine that the overhead on steak is pretty good that TR can absorb this kind of loss.

I think the restaurant is banking on that people will buy drinks - high margin there. Either that or not a lot of Bennigan's gift cards in circulation.

I live in Buffalo, so with all the Canadians around this is going to get pretty pricey for the Texas Roadhouse.

What's odd is that I somehow got on their email list and I got an email the other day from the manager at the Glen Burnie, MD Bennigan's telling me that they survived the axe.

Ah, the power of GMail:
Date: 4 Aug 08
Subject: Long Live the Leprechaun

Bennigan's in Glen Burnie has survived!

Yes, we are open!!!

Now its time to celebrate. September 17th marks the halfway point to our annual St. Patrick's Day celebration.

You are invited to a "Halfway to St. Patrick's Day" party on Wednesday, September 17th, at Bennigan's in Glen Burnie. There will be plenty of food, drinks, and surprises. Details will follow in the coming weeks.

(Random $5 off $20 image, no info about printing it, etc)

I would like to thank everyone for continuing to frequent the restaurant and contribute to our growing success. We have a great support team within our family, friends, and guests. Now its time to move forward and continue to provide great food and excellent service.

Justin M. Sappington
General Manager

@TheBovaEffect: That's a good one, eh.

@sir_pantsalot:
Assuming your are analogizing yourself to Bennigan's, I think you are giving Texas Roadhouse a lot of credit.

I agree that they are not really competitors, but they are both bad in their own unique ways.

@RevRagnarok: You're lucky, it looks like the one in Greenbelt, MD got the axe.

Isn't Texas Roadhouse based in Kentucky?

...because I don't think I've ever seen one in Texas.

@threlkelded: Then you're not looking hard enough: [www.texasroadhouse.com]

In north Texas they seem to stick to the suburbs (The Colony represent!) but they're in every major and most minor urban areas.

@rbcat: Wow. Well, I'm an inner city girl, so that would explain why I've never seen one.

Weird! I can't imagine why Texans would patronize a pseudo-Texan restaurant.

We absolutely love TR , not only are they the best steak in town , they put up with all my coupon clipping madness without so much as a sneer !
Just one more reason to frequent this business.

For a chain restaurant, Texas Roadhouse is actually not bad at all. My only complaint is that they are always packed and the one in my area is not open for lunch.

@threlkelded: Well, not that I disagree with you. :) The only reason I go to a Texas-themed restaurant is because most of the sole proprietors around here close up shop at 7 or 8 in the evening, and working nights means I tend to want to eat dinner later in the day. Since the chains are routinely open until 11-midnight, that pretty much settles the matter. On weekends, it's another story. :)

Texas Roadhouse is kind of unique. The reason most of them are not open for lunch is their prep process. It takes all day for a Texas Roadhouse to get ready for dinner because everything is made in house. This is very uncommon in the restaurant biz these days. I would suggest anyone who has not tried one because they look kid of gimmicky give them a shot. The steaks are reasonably priced and excellent in the 3 or 4 restaurants I have been to in North Texas.

Though if you order your steak anything more than medium you are really missing out. There is no good way to cook a steak to medium-well.

I *heart* Texas Roadhouse. It's one of my favorite places to eat. The staff are great, the food is great, I've never had one complaint. It's one of the few places I eat out at anymore. Most things I crave I can make at home cheaper, but I can't replicate those steaks.

We have a Texas Roadhouse in Birmingham AL and I love the place. The food is always good and the staff is fantastic. Yeah, it's a little gimmicky, but it's fun and the place is never not packed.

Wow, da fountain. Weird. I was reading this and remembering my good ole days working at TRH. Best restauarant job ever. I am assuming you are talking about the chain off of 288...in Pelham, Al? I was their meatcutter there for like a year. Up until the end of 2006. Moved back to Texas at that time. Next time you go, ask around to see who remembers Peaches. You'll seriously get a lot of responses.

Texas Roadhouse did the same thing when Roadhouse grill went under. I remember there being 2 locations for that in buffalo. The problem was that you would receive a $25 discount for your gift card, no matter how much it was worth. It's better than nothing though.