Here’s how a Texas Roadhouse in Macon is giving back to Middle Georgia residents

A nationally known restaurant chain wants to make a difference in Middle Georgia, and is offering free food to prove it.

The Texas Roadhouse restaurant on Riverside Drive in Macon last month launched a new program to help local people in need.

The restaurant posted on social media that it wanted “to take care of a different person/family every week who could use some kindness in our community.” The post includes a link to a form where someone could nominate themselves or others.

Anna Reeves, local store marketer for Texas Roadhouse, told The Telegraph on Wednesday that 11 people responded to the first post. One winner, a family of five, was chosen to come into the restaurant for a free meal.

“They don’t pay anything and it’s not a catch,” she said. “We just wanted to help the community.”

The family picked had undergone some hardships of late that particularly caught the restaurant’s attention, she said. A daughter had been diagnosed with an illness and the family’s mother lost her job in her efforts to care for the child.

“Me as a mom, that would really hurt my heart,” Reeves said. “Why not shine the light on someone having a rainy day?”

The restaurant plans to give away free meals to deserving recipients through the end of 2024. Local Texas Roadhouse management will read each nomination and “share the kindness” with a weekly winner, Reeves said.

Reeves said she got the idea from a sister Texas Roadhouse in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and is hopeful the idea will eventually be tried by more restaurants in the chain. Texas Roadhouse has more than 600 restaurants nationwide.