Exhibit 23.1






               CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS


The Board of Directors
Ryan's Family Steak Houses, Inc.:

We consent to incorporation by reference in the Registration
Statement  (No. 0-10943) on Form S-8 of Ryan's Family  Steak
Houses,  Inc.  and subsidiaries of our report dated  January
31,  2001,  relating to the consolidated balance  sheets  of
Ryan's  Family Steak Houses, Inc. as of January 3, 2001  and
December  29, 1999, and the related consolidated  statements
of  earnings  and cash flows for each of the  years  in  the
three-year  period ended January 3, 2001,  which  report  is
incorporated by reference in the 2000 annual report on  Form
10-K of Ryan's Family Steak Houses, Inc.



Greenville, South Carolina              KPMG LLP
March 29, 2001