LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kent Taylor, founder and CEO of Louisville-based Texas Roadhouse, has died, the company announced Thursday.Â
UPDATE: Taylor's death is being investigated by Kentucky State Police, WDRBÂ reported Friday.Â
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Kent Taylor. He founded Texas Roadhouse and dedicated himself to building it into a legendary experience for 'Roadies' and restaurant guests alike," Greg Moore who serves on the Board of Directors for Texas Roadhouse, said in a statement.Â
Taylor, 65, founded Texas Roadhouse in 1993 and opened the company's first location in Clarksville, Indiana. The steak restaurant has now grown to 611 locations in the United States and 28 locations internationally. The company is worth $6.6 billion.Â
Amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the head of the Louisville-based company gave his paychecks and bonuses to the company's employees.
Taylor made the move to help the company's workers who were facing difficult financial situations.
"We are a people company that serves steaks. So, obviously taking care of our people is number one," Taylor told WDRB News. "It was really important to take care of them to me. So, that is why I did it."
His cause of death was not immediately known.
"He was without a doubt, a people-first leader. His entrepreneurial spirit will live on in the company he built, the projects he supported and the lives he touched," Moore said.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer released the following statement about Taylor on Thursday evening:
"Louisville lost a much loved and one-of-a-kind citizen with Kent Taylor’s passing today. Kent’s kind and generous spirit was his constant driving force whether it was quietly helping a friend or building one of America’s great companies in @texasroadhouse. He was a maverick entrepreneur who embodied the values of never giving up and putting others first. My deepest condolences to Kent’s family and many, many friends."
This story may be updated.
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