Bellingham’s Texas Roadhouse finally opened, and customers waited in line for hours

Inside Look is a Bellingham Herald series where we take readers behind the scenes at restaurants, new businesses, local landmarks and news stories.

Bellingham’s long-awaited Texas Roadhouse restaurant is now open, and several customers camped outside the steakhouse for hours before the official opening.

Texas Roadhouse is a national steakhouse chain restaurant serving steaks, ribs, famous rolls and honey cinnamon butter and “legendary” margaritas. The Bellingham location opened for business Monday, Oct. 7.

The new location was set to open at 4 p.m., but seating began at 3:30 p.m. to accommodate a long line of hungry customers. One of the first groups in line had been waiting since 1 p.m., saying the three-hour wait would be worth a hearty steak.

A Bellingham resident in line said he had been to other Texas Roadhouse locations in California and Texas, and has written multiple letters in recent years to the chain requesting a Whatcom County restaurant.

By 4:02 p.m., the restaurant’s wait time for a party of two was 1 hour and 50 minutes, and 2 hours and 5 minutes for a party of six. By 4:45 p.m., the wait time for a party of two was 2 hours, and 2 hours and 15 minutes for a party of six, according to the restaurant’s app.

Country music echoes from the parking lot into the restaurant, as guests can enjoy the dark, wooden interior covered with neon beer signs, caricature drawings of celebrities, animal taxidermy mounts, and cartoon paintings of the restaurant’s mascot, Andy Armadillo.

The new location pays homage to Bellingham, with Bellingham Bell’s memorabilia and a Bellingham mural decorating its walls.

Once guests enter the restaurant, they can pick out the exact steak they want to enjoy from a refrigerator in the entry way and grab a complimentary bag of the restaurant’s salted and roasted peanuts.

The menu includes classic steaks, “fall-off-the-bone-ribs,” burgers, sandwiches, pulled pork, “The Legend Margarita,” fried pickles, “rattlesnake bites,” cactus blossoms, desserts, salads, baked potatoes, chicken and more.

But the restaurant serves more than just classic BBQ and steakhouse food. Every 45 minutes, the restaurant staff performs one of three line-dance routines for guests to enjoy, according to one waitress.

Texas Roadhouse is open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday at 4331 Meridian St. in Bellingham.