TEXAS LONGHORN
CASE STUDY

Texas Longhorn is a Swedish restaurant chain inspired by the classic Texan steakhouse experience - warm hospitality, big flavors and a relaxed atmosphere where guests can sit down and enjoy the moment. With a clear focus on quality and consistency Texas Longhorn has built a strong reputation for generous portions, grilled favorites, and a welcoming feel that's just as good for families as it is for after-work drinks and dinner.

The story began when founder Philip Huntzinger missed his hometown of San Antonio, Texas - the smell of barbecue, slow cooking and a place where people gather to unwind, laugh and eat really well. In 1994, he opened the first Texas Longhorn on St. Paulsgatan in Stockholm. Since then, the concept has grown to a highly successful franchise model with 35+ restaurants in Sweden - built to deliver the same sense of feel at home in Texas, no matter where you visit the chain.

In Mood Nordic's first project with Texas Longhorn, the team challenged us to help realize a new concept in the new restaurant in Telefonplan: Texas Longhorn 2.0. In the updated vision, the Texas Longhorn would be more than a place for dinner and drinks it would also become a destination for sports screening, live music and quiz nights, where great food meets the energy of a sports bar and the atmosphere of a music scene.

The owner Petri Utriainen had a clear goal for its third restaurant: it had to be different. The bar and lounge area needed to become the area's go-to gathering place for big games, live performances and quizzes, while the overall experience needed to feel thoughtful and the system easy for staff to manage.

This meant that the AV solution needed to deliver high sound quality not only for background music, but also for match sound, live music and speech (quiz host). The system also needed to be fully zoned, so that the dining room can have a comfortable level of music while the lounge and bar can play match (or event) sounds independently. On the video side, staff needed an easy way to control and switch content on TV screens quickly, as several matches would be shown each week often several on the same day.

When there weren't games on, the screens couldn't be black. The Texas Longhorn wanted to easily display brand-boosting content, promotions, and the game schedule so guests would immediately understand: this is where the big game is.

At the same time, Texas Longhorn HQ gave us an extra challenge: to develop a new cross-chain background music program. Mood Nordic developed the music in close collaboration with HQ - a sound that reflects the authentic Texas feel, appeals to a wide audience of country and rock'n'roll fans and stays consistent with the brand, but also changes during the day to match the energy at different times and different days of the week. Most importantly, the content needed to be large and varied, so that staff and regulars don't feel like the same songs are playing over and over again.

Telephone plan would serve as beta test where the real confirmation comes from Petri, the Telefonplan team and the on-site guest experience. If it worked, there was the possibility of rolling out the music service to the entire Texas Longhorns franchise network with 35+ restaurants.

Mood Nordic's Head of Sales and music designer, Andrew Adams, was highly motivated to take on the Texas Longhorn 2.0 challenge. As a native Texan with over a decade of experience creating AV and guest experiences for restaurants and sports bars in Texas, he had a clear sense of how the concept could be authentic yet practical to operate in a busy restaurant environment.

Flexible, zoned audio for all types of events

From the start, the audio system needed to be able to handle any source (music, TV, live band, HDMI) in any zone, with separate volumes for each part of the restaurant. The aim was for the music to sound really good at a low level during the day, with an easy way to raise the energy as the evening progresses, and for matches, live music and quizzes, a slightly higher level was needed, but evenly distributed so that it is not excessively loud near the stage and too soft in the rest of the room.

To achieve this, Mood Nordic chose an amplifier with built-in digital signal processing (DSP), which can 8 independent sound zones and up to 8 sound sources. For speakers we recommended Klipsch commercial series - a legendary American brand known for hi-fi sound and long-lasting reliability, with the clarity and punch that country and rock'n'roll deserve.

The solution made it possible to integrate:

• TV audio from a digital streaming device
• Live music via an XLR input near the stage - the standard connection that performers use to plug in their mixer
• Quiz / BYOD audio via an HDMI connection near the quiz host's location (for laptop)

All sources were carefully equalized so that staff can switch

To cope with longer evenings, the system was built with a clear ”switch up” opportunity: when Telefonplan books larger musical acts, events or parties, the fixed installation is supplemented with Mood Nordics speaker rentalg. Then it is taken Bassboss loudspeakers to amplify the sound at the stage and create a clear live and party feeling, without losing control of other zones in the room.

Centralized video + a simple control system

With five TV screens planned for sports viewing, we avoided the ”easiest” solution of installing separate streaming apps on each screen. In a real restaurant environment, this often leads to everyday problems: staff need multiple remotes, have to walk around changing screens one by one, and when things get busy, the wrong content easily ends up on the wrong TV.

Instead, we designed a centralized video system where a streaming device, a digital signage-player and an HDMI input feeds all screens. We installed Samsung monitors throughout the restaurant, including a 98″ signature screen in the lounge for those big match moments. To make everything easy to use, we built an integrated control via a mobile iPad with charging dock at the bar.

The iPad runs a specially designed control app, branded for Texas Longhorn and programmed exactly to the needs of Telefonplan. Staff can control the system from the dock or take the iPad around the room - selecting the right match, switching the screens to digital signage when there is no match, or switch to HDMI for quiz nights. To simplify opening and closing, the app has on/off button for each TV, and a master button to turn on all screens when opening and turn everything off when closing.

As the iPad control also integrates the audio, staff can select the audio source per zone and adjust the volume while standing in the relevant part of the room and hear the result directly. We also created preset ”scenes” (Morning / Lunch / Evening) which automatically sets the right volume level in all zones depending on the time of day.