The Pittsfield Place development that fronts Meijer on Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. is finally complete with the opening of Verizon, Bob Evans, Starbucks, and Texas Roadhouse. The last is by far the most interesting addition. The steakhouse, whose red-and-yellow neon signage looms over Ann Arbor-Saline Rd., makes Outback’s red-only neon, glowing from far back in the parking lot across the street at Village Centre, look positively discreet.
On a Thursday night in January, at 6 p.m., the Roadhouse, which opened in December, had a waiting list of thirty or forty (though because of its size and quick service, that meant only a ten-to-fifteen-minute wait, the host assured). If the parking lot weren’t packed, you could have done a Texas two-step in its far reaches to the Randy Travis song blaring over outdoor speakers.
At least one family viewing the line at Roadhouse made an audible decision to go to Outback instead. Over in the Outback parking lot, things were pretty full too. It seems the decision to open a second steakhouse on this corner was an inspired one.
Texas Roadhouse, 3133 Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. (Pittsfield Place), 332-8850. Mon.-Thurs. 4-10 p.m., Fri. 4-11 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-11 p.m. texasroadhouse.com
