Kent Taylor, the founder and CEO of Texas Roadhouse, died by suicide Thursday. He was 65.<\/p>\n
Taylor\u2019s family said he was suffering from severe post-COVID symptoms, CNN reported.<\/p>\n
Taylor had tinnitus, which causes a ringing in the ears. Studies have suggested COVID could both cause and intensify tinnitus in some cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cKent battled and fought hard like the former track champion that he was, but the suffering that greatly intensified in recent days became unbearable,\u201d Taylor\u2019s family said, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.<\/p>\n
Taylor gave up his CEO\u2019s salary from March 2020 until January 2021 to help pay frontline workers amid the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of company does these things? Well, that would be a people company that happens to serve steaks, that\u2019s who,\u201d he wrote in a letter at the time.<\/p>\n
Taylor founded Texas Roadhouse in 1993, but experienced early struggles, as three of the first five restaurants failed. Despite the name and Taylor\u2019s signature 10-gallon hat, the chain started in Louisville, Ky., and was headquartered there.<\/p>\n
Ever the entrepreneur, Taylor bounced back from the tough start, and now Texas Roadhouse has around 600 locations and 75,000 employees. He later launched two more restaurants, Bubba\u2019s 33 and Jaggers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI encourage us to have creative people that try creative things,\u201d Taylor told the Louisville Business Journal in December. \u201cI have this creative problem. Every few years I have to create something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor recently funded a study to help military members suffering from tinnitus, Louisville NBC affiliate WAVE reported.<\/p>\n
\u201cKent leaves an unmatched legacy as a people-first leader,\u201d his family said. \u201cHe changed the lives of hundreds of millions of employees and guests over the past 28 years.\u201d<\/p>\n