Texas Roadhouse COO Steve Ortiz To Retire

(RTTNews) - Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (TXRH) said Tuesday that Chief Operating Officer Steve Ortiz will retire effective January 12, 2015.

Ortiz joined Texas Roadhouse in 1996 as the Market Partner for the state of Texas. As a result of his success building the state of Texas, he was promoted to Director of Operations in 2001 and later to COO in 2004.

Texas Roadhouse said it is working on an agreement with Ortiz to become a franchisee in the San Diego area.

The company also said that Doug Thompson is being promoted to Vice President of Operations. Thompson, who will report directly to the CEO, Kent Taylor, has more 31 years of industry experience, including 12 years with Texas Roadhouse.