Roadhouse can refer to a type of building or business, principally in the USA, Canada and Australia:

• A local inn or restaurant, the "roadhouse" or "road house" commonly refers to an establishment that serves meals, especially in the evenings, and has a bar serving beer or hard liquor, and which features music and dancing for entertainment. Most roadhouses are located along highways or roads in rural areas or on the outskirts of towns. Early roadhouses provided lodging for travellers, but, with the advent of motels in the early 20th century, few now have rooms available. Roadhouses have a slightly disreputable image similar to honkytonks.
  • American film: The roadhouse is portrayed in movies including The Wild One and Easy Rider.
  • In Australia, a roadhouse is a service station in a rural area specifically aimed to service passing traffic on a major intercity route. A roadhouse sells fuel and provides maintenance and repairs for cars, but also has an attached "restaurant" (more like a café) serving hot food to travellers. There is usually space to park semi-trailer trucks and buses, as well as cars. In remote areas such as the Nullarbor Plain, a roadhouse also offers motel-style accommodation and camping facilities.
  • In Alaska and the Yukon, starting in the 1890s (External Link), roadhouses were checkpoints where dog drivers (mushers, or dog sledders); horse-driven sleds; and people on snowshoes, skis, or walking; would stop overnight for shelter and a hot meal. Remains of a roadhouse can be seen today south of Carmacks, Yukon along the Klondike Highway. (See also Black Rapids Roadhouse)

Texas Roadhouse is a US restaurant chain based in Louisville, Kentucky (External Link).

Local interpretations