A new sports bar from Texas Roadhouse is headed for Central Ohio, with plans in the works for a Reynoldsburg location at the former TGI Friday’s site on Taylor Road.
The restaurant would go at 2928 Taylor Road, replacing the building that previously housed the last remaining TGI Fridays in the area before it closed in 2024.
If approved, plans call for tearing down the existing structure and building a new 6,686-square-foot Bubba’s 33 restaurant.
Bubba’s 33 is a full-service sports bar and casual dining concept owned by Texas Roadhouse Inc. The menu leans heavily into comfort food staples like burgers, pizza, wings, sandwiches, and beer, with plenty of TVs throughout the space for watching games.
The concept first launched in 2013 and has grown to more than 50 locations across the country. According to company figures, each location averages about $122,000 in weekly sales.
Bubba’s was the brainchild of the late Kent Taylor, Texas Roadhouse’s founder and former CEO. The company named the concept after Bubba, Taylor’s after-hours alter ego.
“There was Kent Taylor, and then late at night, there was Bubba,” said Texas Roadhouse CEO Jerry Morgan in an interview. “And Bubba liked him a burger and pizza after midnight. So we thought it was kind of a great thing to call a restaurant chain.”
The 33 is a nod to 1933, the year prohibition ended in the U.S. and alcohol flowed freely again. Today, Bubba’s marks the occasion with a celebration every Dec. 5.
This Reynoldsburg location is part of a bigger Central Ohio expansion for Texas Roadhouse Inc.
The company is also working on two local locations of its fast-casual burger chain Jaggers at 1351 Polaris Parkway and 837 Refugee Road in Pickerington.
Texas Roadhouse has said it expects to open multiple Bubba’s 33 and Jaggers locations each year as both brands continue to grow.
There is no official opening timeline yet for the Reynoldsburg restaurant, but this is one to keep an eye on if you live on the east side or frequent the Taylor Road corridor.
