Virginia couple stops in Bloomington on Texas Roadhouse journey (2024)

BLOOMINGTON— A Virginia couple is continuing on their journey to visit every Texas Roadhouse location in the United States, with a stop in Bloomington this week.

Judy and Mike McNamara, 71, were some of the first customers to take a seat at the Bloomington Texas Roadhouse when it opened its doors at 3 p.m. Monday.

This was the couple's first time in Bloomington-Normal and marked No. 431 on their list of Texas Roadhouse locations they've visited.

"Texas Roadhouse to us is like home cooking," Mike said at the Bloomington location, at 1713 E. Empire St. "You know what to expect when you get here and the food is, in our opinion, very good."

"He does the driving and I do the reservations," Judy said.

The McNamara's first-ever Texas Roadhouse visit goes back to 2003 when they were visiting Judy's brother in Tennessee. Years later, it has now become a frequent stop in their travels.

The couple's quest to visit every location started in 2017 when Judy retired from International Paper in Franklin, Virginia. At that time, the two had already visited nearly every state and dined at 37 Texas Roadhouse locations.

Mike said they realized how many Texas Roadhouses they had been to and began thinking of a new challenge for their trips: How many Texas Roadhouse locations in the United States could one couple eat at?

"They're building new ones at a rate of about 45 a year so we're catching up, but we're not getting that far yet," Mike said.

With more than 600 locations in the states, the McNamaras are well over halfway through their mission. They planned to visit the East Peoria location Tuesday along their goal to reach more than 80 locations this summer.

But they do more than eat at Texas Roadhouse while they are on the road.

Judy said they travel in their 2012 GMC Sierra 3500HD pickup truck with a camper to whichever location is next on their list and plan two major trips per year, aiming for a northern or Midwest destination in the summer and heading south in the fall and winter.

Driving around 350-400 miles between stops, the couples looks for a place nearby to park their camper before reaching the Roadhouse.

Sometimes they look for a local tourist attraction or a national park they have not yet visited, like Yellowstone National Park, but the main focus of their trips is and has always been Texas Roadhouse, they said.

"I sit down and look at where we have been and what is still available," Mike said. "I'll pick one to four that are close and then I search through and find a campground."

Although the location may be different, they each order one of their favorite meals from the menus: sirloin, chicken critters, herb chicken, pulled pork, pork chops or ribs.

Judy said they do not leave reviews at any of the locations they have visited, but sometimes they will tell the restaurant ahead of time that they are visiting and they will be greeted by reception of people.

Having received news coverage across the country and attention on social media, the McNamaras said they sometimes find fans along the road or at one of the Texas Roadhouse locations they visit.

Before the end of the year, the two are planning to visit Alaska, leaving the continental U.S. to finally cross off two more locations in Anchorage. They previously drove more than 5,000 miles to Alaska in 2010, but the locations were not open yet at the time.

"I enjoy driving. It doesn't bother me yet, but she said the biggest thing now is the condition of the highway," Mike said. "We're meeting wonderful people and we're having a wonderful time with what we're doing."