Texas Roadhouse founder and CEO Kent Taylor took his own life last week after a bout of COVID-19 left the 65-year-old restaurateur with a debilitating case of tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, Taylor's family and company said. Taylor opened the first Texas Roadhouse in 1993, growing the Louisville, Ky.-based company to 610 locations, and last year he stopped taking his salary and bonuses, donating $5 million to help his company's employees struggling during the pandemic.

Texas Roadhouse has already made some changes to accommodate more to-go orders, such as turning its outdoor overhangs into curbside pickup areas, and the chain may make additional changes to its building prototype as it continue to open new units. The Louisville, Ky.-based company is also planning to grow its drive-thru concept, Jaggers, with one new unit scheduled to open this year.

About 3 million US restaurant employees have been laid off this month as restaurants closed their doors during the coronavirus outbreak, according to a National Restaurant Association survey. Forty-four percent of respondents reported closing restaurants temporarily, 3% said they had closed permanently and 11% reported expectations that they'll close for good within a month.

Texas Roadhouse has launched a fast-casual concept called Jaggers, serving burgers, milkshakes, fries, chicken sandwiches and salads. The company currently has no plans to expand the concept beyond its Indianapolis and Noblesville, Ind., locations, instead choosing to focus on its casual dining concept, Bubba's 33, said Travis Doster, senior director of public relations for Texas Roadhouse.

Louisville, Ky.-based Texas Roadhouse isn't adding gluten-free items to the menu but it is cutting the gluten out of dishes where it can and training servers on how to answer questions from customers with celiac disease and gluten allergies. The chain discontinued a gluten-free menu shortly after launching it six years ago, amid concerns about the possibility for cross-contamination in the kitchen, said spokesman Travis Doster.