There's something appealing about a restaurant that lets its customers throw peanut shells all over the floor. Maybe it's because we never get to act that way at home.

Or, maybe it's the country music, or the moderately priced steaks that keep people coming back to the Roadhouse Grill in Gresham. Whatever the secret is, the Roadhouse Grill has stumbled across a success formula that most restaurant owners would pay a fortune for.

The Grill is so popular that customers are willing to wait up to two hours just to be seated on Friday and Saturday nights. It gets so crowded, you won't even find a space in the parking lot unless you have perfect timing or get there early.

The place seats about 160 and some nights the waiting list will contain close to twice that many. In order to maximize the turnover, each server's territory includes no more than four tables.

"That way we can give the best service," says general manager Tim Becker. "Within a minute of the time you're seated, you already have a server giving you a bucket of peanuts."

"With a lot of restaurants, you wait five minutes or more for a server, who has one whole section. We use the team system - everyone runs everybody's food. Sometimes that creates confusion. The customer thinks their server has abandoned them or something because four or five other people have come to their table and brought them everything else."

You almost need a scorecard to keep track of the servers, but it's the type of system that made it possible for the Roadhouse Grill to do $17,000 worth of business one Saturday night in late January. "It was the busiest day we've ever had," Becker says. "It was insane."

It's the kind of insanity many restaurant managers would welcome. In fact, some of them have joined in on the fun at the Grill to find out what makes the restaurant so popular. Recently, the bar manager at The Keg in Gresham paid a visit to find out what the Grill was doing right.

Becker replied, "I don't do anything. Well, we have $1.50 appetizers, and buck-fifty bottles of Bud and we discount all the draft beers a few cents for happy hour. But other than that, it's nothing. This is just the place to be, man. We've got the best food, the best service, the coldest beer. I don't have to discount. I don't have to have gimmicks."

However, the Grill does have live country music every Friday and Saturday. Providing the entertainment every weekend is Lana Kress, a local singer who is gaining popularity.

"She's just really good," Becker says. "Great background music, and the people love her. She walks around with her mike and gets the people into it. It's a lot of fun."

Kress may not be there on the other nights, but the customers still get an earfull of country music, which is blasted out at a high volume from a juke box.

"It gets pretty loud in here," Becker admits. "You gotta yell across the table. Some people don't like that. We just tell 'em, "this is the Roadhouse. If you don't like it there's a list of about 300 people who want your table."

Becker got his start as a cook when the restaurant was still called McKenzie Grill, which served buffet-style lunches and dinners. It was popular with the customers but the owners felt there must be a better way to maximize profits. So they began studying restaurants in the south and southwest. They found that some of the more popular establishments had a country theme.

"They just thought it was a really cool idea," Becker said. "You throw the peanut shells on the floor. The beer is served in bottles and buckets. The music is louder than a normal restaurant. Lots of neon. It's a little darker. They just thought it was a really cool idea and there's nothing like it on the West Coast."

In addition to a huge chain of buffets, the company now has four Roadhouse Grills (Gresham was the first) and there plans to build five this year. All the other Roadhouses are bigger than the Gresham facility, but many of the customers say they prefer the coziness of the original. "It has that eclectic kind of feeling to it," Becker says.

It's also one of the few places that has its floor covered with peanut shells. "Just eat the peanuts and throw the shells on the floor. That's what it's all about," Becker says. "People call everyday and say, 'is this the peanut place?' Maybe we should change the name outside to Peanut Place."

Or maybe it should be called "Everybody's." The restaurant caters to every age group, from infants to the elderly and everyone in between. They're popular with families, singles, country fans and steak eaters. Name any category and you'll likely find it inside the Roadhouse Grill.

"We defy all demographics," Becker says. "We don't have your average 25 to 40-year-old group. We've got 'em all. And they're here every single day of the week."