THE HISTORY OF THE TEXAS INN

Serving “1,500 People, 15 at a Time” Since 1935

Long before the Cheesy Western became one of Virginia’s most beloved sandwiches, there was a circus man, a five-dollar chili recipe, and a little diner with ten seats.

That is where the story of the Texas Inn begins.

From the Big Top to the Flat Top

Isaac “Nick” Bullington worked as an advance man for the Ringling Brothers Circus, traveling ahead of the show to arrange upcoming stops. According to T-Room legend, Bullington tasted a bowl of chili while visiting San Antonio and paid the chef five dollars for the recipe.

Five bucks was real money in those days. Turns out, it was a pretty good investment.

Bullington opened the original Texas Tavern in Roanoke in 1929. After finding success there, he brought the same no-frills diner concept to Lynchburg in 1935. The Lynchburg restaurant started with ten seats, a takeout window, and a straightforward menu built around chili, hot dogs, hamburgers, breakfast, and what would become its signature sandwich: the Western. Texas Inn, Virginia General Assembly

The Birth of the Cheesy Western

The original Western combined a hamburger patty, fried egg, onions, and the Texas Inn’s golden relish. Sometime around the late 1940s or early 1950s, customers began asking for cheese to be added.

And just like that, the Cheesy Western was born.

The sandwich eventually earned its own place on the menu, but the formula has remained refreshingly uncomplicated: burger, egg, American cheese, relish, and chopped onion on a soft bun.

Order it “all the way,” and you get the full experience. Order one without the relish and onions, and somebody behind the counter may quietly question your judgment. Lynchburg Living

A New Location and a New Name

The Lynchburg restaurant originally operated as the Texas Tavern. In 1971, its building was torn down and the diner moved one block to 422 Main Street.

The move did not take long. According to current owner Dave Saunders, the crew converted an old gas station into the new restaurant in just 72 hours. The Lynchburg diner became the Texas Inn, but most regulars simply kept calling it the T-Room.

The new downtown location had 15 stools, giving rise to the famous promise that the Texas Inn serves “1,500 people, 15 at a time.” The phrase captures the place rather well: small counter, quick service, and a steady stream of people from every corner of the community. WDBJ7

More Than a Place to Eat

Over the decades, the downtown T-Room became one of Lynchburg’s great meeting places.

Students stopped in after class. Third-shift workers came by for breakfast. Families introduced new generations to the same food they had grown up eating. Late-night crowds squeezed onto the stools for Cheesy Westerns, hot dogs, and bowls of chili.

You could sit beside a college student, a business owner, a police officer, or someone who had been eating there longer than you had been alive. Everyone got the same stool, the same fast service, and the same question:

“What are ya havin’?”

That mixture of people is a big part of the Texas Inn’s history. The restaurant has never needed white tablecloths or a reservation book. It just needed an open stool and a hot flat top.

Keeping the T-Room Alive

A second Lynchburg location opened in the Cornerstone community in 2012. Six years later, Lynchburg native and lifelong T-Room customer Dave Saunders purchased the business.

Saunders first visited the Texas Inn with his father when he was a child. When the restaurant came up for sale, he stepped in with the goal of preserving the Lynchburg institution he remembered. The building needed attention, but the important things stayed put: the familiar food, the diner atmosphere, and the recipes customers had loved for generations. Lynchburg Tourism

The T-Room later traveled beyond Lynchburg. A Harrisonburg location opened in August 2022, followed by a Richmond location in April 2024. Today, the Texas Inn serves customers at four Virginia locations while remaining proudly owned by the Saunders family. Virginia General Assembly, Axios Richmond

Still Serving Them 15 at a Time

A lot has changed since 1935. Lynchburg has grown, buildings have come and gone, and most meals cost more than that legendary chili recipe did.

But walk into the downtown Texas Inn and the important parts still feel familiar. The stools line the counter. The grill stays busy. The chili and relish follow the old recipes. And the Cheesy Western still arrives hot, messy, and best ordered all the way.

Nearly a century after opening, the Texas Inn remains what it has always been: good food served fast, with plenty of personality and no need to dress things up.

Pull up a stool.

What are ya havin’?