Couple travels to Texas Roadhouse in Middletown for 500th different location visit

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It's a love affair with a restaurant 22 years in the making.

Mike and Judy McNamara are high school sweethearts who've been married 53 years and have a love for Texas Roadhouse, which is headquartered in Louisville.

They visited one for the first time in Knoxville, Tennessee, back in 2003 and Saturday hit their 500th location.

A celebration was held at the restaurant on Shelbyville Road in Middletown.

Mike said they are determined to visit as many as possible. During the pandemic they traveled to several states to find ones that were open.

Until then, they averaged about 45 to 50 a year.

"I keep promising Judy I am going to slow down so this year we'll probably just go to maybe 40," Mike McNamara said.

"This is kind of a local, hometown store," Texas Roadhouse CEO Jerry Morgan said. "I live just 20 miles down the road so when we were communicating it's like where would it be, where we could all come and meet them and spend time with them - this turned out to be the perfect spot."

Mike said his go-to is the 6 oz. sirloin, sweet potato and salad. They said their next visit will be in Waynesboro, Virginia, when it opens next month.

They also hope to visit one in Puerto Rico and eventually hit the 600 milestone in three years.