Big Texan Steak Ranch & Brewery

It’s hard to miss the Big Texan Steak Ranch. There’s the bright yellow building, the giant fiberglass cow and of course the restaurant’s 90-foot-tall cowboy sign.

Of course to call this eatery and brewery a “restaurant” vastly understates its place as a historical icon along Route 66 in Amarillo, Texas. There are many reasons to stop here for a meal, but its Texas-size challenge is surely the wildest and most entertaining. It presents the question:

Can you eat a shrimp cocktail, a baked potato, a salad, a buttered roll and—drumroll—a 72-ounce steak in one hour?

The 72-ounce steak challenge, as it’s called, has been bringing diners in since 1962, when the challenge was first held. That was in its first location, along official Route 66; though its current spot on Interstate Highway 40 follows roughly the original highway’s path. 

Kansan R.J. Lee recognized back in the middle of the last century that other people shared his enthusiasm for the storied culture of cowboys and ranchers, so when he opened his restaurant, he reserved a big table in the center for them. This way, visitors to the area could experience big steaks amid an authentically big Texas scene. 

Legend holds that in 1962, one hostler ate the equivalent of 72 ounces of steak and claimed he was still hungry, so he was served a baked potato, shrimp cocktail, salad, and a bread roll. Anyone who could do the same within one hour could get their dinner free. The opportunity spread through newspaper headlines and word of mouth and business boomed. 

That boom halted in 1968 when I-40 replaced Route 66 as the major artery through the area. Suddenly patrons disappeared, and Lee, now with eight children and no bank loan, rebuilt the Big Texan on I-40 with scrap wood and reclaimed materials. It again became a success, despite a fire in the 1970s that destroyed part of the building. When it was rebuilt, the restaurant was grander than ever, with two-story seating for 480 guests, a gift shop, an arcade and a stage where the 72-ounce challengers chowed down. 

Two of Lee’s sons took on the business in the 1990s. The restaurant continues to be popular today, as one of the sons has noted: Cowboys don’t go out of style. 

Indeed, the traditions and the challenge continue. The menu features 15 different steak cuts (not counting the Little Texan sirloin on the kids’ menu), and a variety of non-steak items including fried pickles, chicken and waffles, and other Texas specialities.

One of the restaurant’s servers noted in 2025 that the restaurant has about 10 to 15 challengers a day with one to two winners a week. More than 10,000 people have won the challenge out of about 100,000 that have given it a go. 

The only question now is: Will you be next?