cornering the market on marketing | restaurantville magazine fall 2014

RESTAURANTVILLE MAGAZINE Fall 2014 | 1

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RestaurantvilleMAGAZINE CONNECTINGTHETEXASRESTAURANTCOMMUNITY

C ORN E RI NGT H E M A R K E TON MARKETING:Pros Share their Secrets

2 | Fall 2014 RESTAURANTVILLE MAGAZINE

PUBLISHERRichie Jackson, CEO

Texas Restaurant Association

EDITORWendy Saari, Vice President, Marketing & Communications Texas Restaurant Association

ART DIRECTORCarol Ann Lee,

Graphic Design Manager Texas Restaurant Association

CONTRIBUTORSChantal Rice

Restaurantville Magazine is published quarterly by the Texas Restaurant Association.

It is the mission of the Texas Restaurant Association

to be the advocate and indispensable resource for the foodservice

and hospitality industry in Texas.

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P.O. Box 1429Austin, Texas 78767

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Restaurant Community

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4 CORNERING THE MARKET ON MARKETING: PROS SHARE THEIR SECRETS

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CORNERINGT H E M A R K E TON MARKETING:Pros Share their Secrets

By Chantal Rice


For nearly 40 years, The County Line has served classic Texas barbecue. Fall-off-the-bone beef ribs, sausage, peppered turkey breast, heaping sides of coleslaw, potato salad, fried

okra and beans lured Texans from as far away as Amarillo and Corpus Christi to the former Austin speakeasy that became known as The County Line on the Hill. And, of course, there was the slow-smoked brisket, the No. 1 draw for diners at The County Line and a dish that became so legendary for its delicious messiness that it spawned the restaurant’s long-held slogan: Get it all over ya!

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But in 1975, when The County Line got its start, it was a different marketing world. Today, in our globally connected society, in which one bad Yelp review can thwart a prosperous business, restaurateurs must take a more modern, strategic ap-proach to marketing.

“If we did things the same way [now] we did 40 years ago when we started, we’d be gone,” says Scott Ziskovsky, director of marketing for The County Line, which now boasts seven lucrative loca-tions throughout Texas and one in New Mexico, as well as a thriving Air Ribs barbe-cue-delivery business that ships to all 50 U.S. states. “You really have to pay attention to the ever-changing landscape of marketing. We now attend bridal shows, we are members of event-planning organiza-tions and we attend as many

‘new marketing trends’ sem-inars as we can. You never know when you’re going to get a little gem out of these.”

The County Line utilizes a variety of unconventional sources as marketing oppor-tunities, in addition to playing active roles in their local and statewide restaurant associa-tions, which keeps the own-ers up to date on the con-stantly evolving food-service industry and allows them to gain helpful information that enables the restaurants to perform better.

In today’s competitive restaurant industry, consum-ers decide where to dine based on a quick glance at online reviews garnered from their smartphones while idling in traffic, or they choose a spot because they have a Groupon. Amidst this technological cacophony,

how can Texas restaurants, particularly those without massive marketing budgets, stand out, continue to bring in customers and sustain a profitable business?

According to Robin Ahearn, president and CEO of Norton Creative and the former chief marketing officer for Ignite Restaurant Group, there are many marketing tactics that can be used to drive sales and traffic, but restaurants must use marketing strategies that specifically address the prob-lem they are looking to solve.

“The marketing mix is not a one-size-fits-all. Budgets, objectives, target audiences and other areas all play a role in determining which tactic to use,” says Ahearn. Do not use a tactic to solve a problem you don't have. For instance, if guest counts are up but customers are

County Line BBQ

You really have to pay attention to the ever-changing landscape of marketing.


Health Care Reform: Guidance and Solutions

�GuidanceThe TRA is committed to helping you understand what the regulations mean to your business and what you need to do to comply.

�SolutionsThe TRA trusts UnitedHealthcare to develop health care solutions for the hospitality industry that comply with the Affordable Care Act.

©2013 United HealthCare Services, Inc. Insurance coverage provided by or through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or its affiliates. Administrative services provided by United HealthCare Services, Inc. or their affiliates. Health Plan coverage provided by or through UnitedHealthcare of Texas, Inc. UHCTX638981-001

To discuss UnitedHealthcare’s solutions for your business, contact Clinton Wolf at (312) 348-7064 or [email protected].

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spending less on average at each visit, advertising a discount or coupon to increase guests will not solve the problem that you have. Possibly highlighting more profitable items or suggestively selling add-ons in-restaurant might be a better solution.”

Targeted marketing strate-gies are key, but it is also es-sential to be clear about your restaurant’s marketing goal.

“I often see restaurateurs start with marketing tactics instead of beginning with overall objectives. Asking ‘Why?’ before starting any marketing program is criti-cal,” Ahearn notes.

And having a good feel for the overall objective of a restaurant’s marketing plan means the restaurateur won’t be wasting money on what Ahearn calls “random acts of

marketing” that serve no real purpose or attempt to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.

Additionally, as Gje Green-Wallace, director of marketing, aka “fish flaunt-er,” for Fish City Grill and Half Shells, notes, it doesn’t hurt to know your brand.

“Fish City Grill and Half Shells maintain an almost obsessive devotion to un-derstanding our brand at all levels,” Green-Wallace says. “This drives all our market-ing strategies in the short and long term. By using our brand as our touchstone, we can always be comfort-able that our marketing is authentic, meaningful and fun. Consumers today are so sophisticated; they just won’t tolerate inauthentic marketing.”

IN THE MARKET FOR A WINNING

MARKETING PLAN

While having a good grasp of a restaurant’s marketing tactics and strategies is in-deed fundamental for restau-rant owners and marketing managers, the research and planning involved in creating a marketing plan are equally important. Annual marketing campaign planning cycles look different for every restau-rant based on the company’s size, number of units, the volatility of sales and its busi-ness commitments and dead-lines. If a restaurateur’s plan includes buying annual media in bulk, he must start planning well ahead of when his com-mitments need to be made for the following year. In fact, he may want to begin planning as early as a full year ahead in order to have a successful marketing campaign.

Fish City Grill


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“Marketing planning is typically completed in most brands I work on by August or September of the year prior,” Ahearn says. “The hardest-working marketing plans I have seen are ones that work in concert with operations, purchasing, finance, IT and product development.”

Lasco Enterprises, which owns several Max’s Wine Dive locations in Texas, Atlanta, Chicago and soon Denver, as well as The Tasting Room Wine Cafe, Boiler House Texas Grill & Wine Garden and Flow Juice Bar, handles all the backend support (marketing, PR, legal) for its concepts from its corporate office in Hous-ton. Particularly for the Max’s brand, marketing planning cycles often revolve around seasonal menu changes and branded events the com-pany aims to push. Lasco Chief Brand Officer Jonathan

Horowitz also keeps up with editorial calendars and pays attention to holiday-season marketing opportunities that are a good fit for Max’s.

In its decades as a constantly evolving business, The County Line has had to change the way it approaches marketing cycles to ensure their effec-tiveness.

“We used to plan our mar-keting schedule to try and off-set slower periods of the year, i.e., January through March and mid-August through Oc-tober,” Ziskovsky says. “We re-alized that we were not going to get customers to come into The County Line when they weren’t going out to eat at all. So we now place the bulk of our marketing dollars and effort towards reminding our customers that we are there during times when folks are getting out more due to the nice weather in the spring and

for the holiday parties later in the year.”

As unique as every restaurant is, so is their marketing cam-paign planning cycles. And so is their approach to where they market their business. For Max’s Wine Dive, Lasco Enter-prises focuses its marketing and advertising in local com-munities, with the goal being to drive customers to their local Max’s, while PR efforts (information about awards the brand has garnered, for example) tend to be spent on a broader national scale. For Austin-based Mama Fu’s Asian House—which has stores throughout Texas, in Ohio, Florida and Arkansas, and will soon open a location in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emir-ates—the company focuses on local or national marketing depending on the marketing objective: Store grand open-ings are usually local in focus

Asking ‘Why?’ before starting any marketing program is critical.

Robin Ahearn

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while announcements about franchise development would call for a more national reach.

The County Line employs a social-media director at each of its stores so they can represent what’s going on at that particular location. But because the restaurants get so many out-of-town visitors, The County Line does commit some budget to regional and national marketing.

“A good partner for us in all of our cities has been the local convention and visitors bu-reaus. You can become part of a huge marketing push with-out having to spend a ton of money,” Ziskovsky says.

At Fish City Grill and Half Shells, marketing planning begins with matching the company’s sales and growth goals with the constant year-

round collection of input on promotions and communica-tions from franchisees, GMs, team members, customers and vendors.

“We are always measur-ing results and filing that data away for future review,” Green-Wallace says, adding that the corporate marketing team notes which marketing strategies worked during a particular month, what inter-nal factors may have impact-ed a particular promotion and what can be replicated. “This approach means we never start planning from scratch, which saves time and mon-ey across the organization. That said quarter three and four are the naturally practical times for us to design cam-paigns and the calendar for the following year.”

ACQUIRING A TASTE FOR RESEARCH

One aspect of the technol-ogy age that can help refine a restaurant’s marketing strategy is access to data. Culling the right data can help restaura-teurs understand their menu mix, their guest mix and sales and traffic trends, whether that data comes from the POS system, market research or other sources.

“Marketing research can be very expensive but is usually well worth the cost,” Ahearn says. “Research that is focused on gaining an understanding of what could be done differ-ently to create happier guests and more of them is usually where I start.”

Ahearn suggests that menu research and customer sat-isfaction studies are a good

“We get a lot of anecdotal info,” Horowitz says. “It would be nice to be able to confirm what we think via actual data, and then be able to go out and target those folks in the future.”

Johnathan Horowitz


jumping-off point and provide a clear picture of what current, potential and lapsed users feel about a restaurant’s brand.

Many already thriving restaurant businesses are still at the beginning stages of data gathering, but most restaurateurs see the benefit in gaining that knowledge. Max’s Wine Dive, for in-stance, currently draws data only from their opt-in data-bases and business partners like American Express. But Horowitz says the company will soon introduce new sys-tems and processes that al-low for better customer-data collection, and implement some customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

“We get a lot of anecdot-al info,” Horowitz says. “It would be nice to be able to confirm what we think via actual data, and then be able to go out and target those folks in the future.”

Mama Fu’s, on the oth-er hand, partners with a third-party vendor to gather information on who their customers are. The compa-ny also uses data analytics and their POS system to gather info, and engages with their guests through a variety of feedback chan-nels, including social-media platforms, Yelp, their website and their mobile app.

“We certainly watch for industry trends and monitor competitor performance,” adds Patti-Lynn Walker, Mama Fu’s director of marketing.

County Line BBQ

From whichever sources restaurateurs are gathering data, most agree the data itself is absolutely essential to have.

“We live for the data,” says Fish City Grill’s Greene-Wal-lace. “Our leadership team collaborates to share the mar-keting and operational data, which in turn, drives all the strategies. By starting with our goals and the facts, we can build campaigns that achieve what the company wants to accomplish.”

RESTAURANT KARMA: WHAT GOES AROUND

COMES AROUND

Despite the necessity for a focused marketing plan supported by accurate data, sometimes the best marketing comes directly from custom-ers who have had a positive experience.

“One thing we’ve found over the years is an oldie but a goodie: There is no substi-tute for word-of-mouth,” says Max’s Wine Dive’s Horowitz. “For our concepts, we work really hard to include lots of community involvement and philanthropy, particularly in events.”

Indeed, a large part of the Max’s marketing budget and the team’s energy, in every market where the company has stores, is spent on com-munity events.

“Our big focus is on giving people an idea of the expe-rience of being in our places and what we have to offer. A visual ad is nice, but it doesn’t give you that experience,” he

There is no substitute for word of mouth and community involvement.


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landscape includes making a commitment to the busi-ness’ core values, ensuring consistent branding, disci-plined planning and deliver-ing on promises.

“It is one thing to build awareness and drive traffic, but nothing markets better than great food and great service in a safe, clean, comfortable environment,” she says. “Success is truly achieved via an experience worthy of return.”

The County Line’s Ziskovsky agrees, noting that after nearly 40 years in business, gaining and keeping happy custom-ers all comes down to simply providing the best restaurant experience possible.

“People have food at home,” he says. “They are going out for the whole experience, and there are lots of choices, so when we get them in the door, it is really important that we fire on all pistons.”

says. “I’d much rather spend my money donating time, food and wine, and have someone look around and go, ‘Wow, this place is fantastic.’ The benefits of having some-one have that experience outweigh potential additional costs. Plus, doing those sorts of things its good karma.”

Similarly, many elements Fish City Grill adds into their marketing mix have a chari-table component, such as the monthly Dine-to-Donate and the annual Oysterfest events, which both benefit local charities, and the Cup of Hope program, in which the com-pany sells its signature soups to raise money for unexpect-ed community needs, such as the fertilizer plant explosion

Max’s Wine Dive

in West. It’s a move that, in the past 13 years, has created what Greene-Wallace calls “wildly loyal partnerships.”

“The outcome of this com-mitment to giving back is that it permeates our culture, and our guests and employ-ees see us a business that is a true neighborhood asset. Doing good becomes not just a once-a-year special event, but part of the Fish City Grill brand,” she says. “We have seen firsthand that when you take good care of your community, the PR and word-of-mouth all just takes care of itself.”

Mama Fu’s Walker says the overall key to successfully marketing a restaurant busi-ness in today’s competitive

Guests and employees see a business that is a true neighborhood asset.


TEXAS 360

HEALTH CARE LAW:NEXT STEPS FOR EMPLOYERS


TEXAS 360

The federal government has now published most of the regulations to ex-

plain how the Affordable Care Act affects employers. But the regulations are complex, and putting them into operation in a restaurant business will be challenging.

The pressure is on: Starting Jan. 1, 2015, many employers could face potential penalties for failing to offer health plans to full-time employees. Hundreds of thousands of employers will have to start tracking new data in 2015 as they prepare to file ACA-required reports with the Internal Revenue Service and employees in early 2016.

The National Restaurant As-sociation, with other organi-zations representing millions of employers, continues to ramp up the heat on Con-gress to make changes in the law. But as the law continues to unfold in the meantime, here’s a look at some key questions for employers.

Q. Which employers will face penalties under the ACA?

The ACA’s employer mandate begins to take effect in 2015. The mandate subjects “applicable large employers” to possible penalties if they don’t offer health plans to full-time employees and their dependents. Penalties are phased in:

• Penalties start in 2015 for employers with 100 or

more full-time-equivalent employees who fail to offer health care coverage to “substantially all” full-time employees and their de-pendents. (“Substantially all” means the employer offers coverage to at least 70 percent of full-time employees in 2015. In 2016, this ramps up: Ap-plicable large employers must make coverage offers to at least 95 percent of full-time employees to avoid possible penalties.)

• Penalties start in 2016 for employers with 50 to 99 full-time-equivalent em-ployees. The transition relief for these employers through 2015 applies as long as they meet certain conditions, including not cutting back employ-ees’ hours or positions in 2015 to keep the busi-ness under the 100-FTE employee threshold.

Employers with more than one business entity may need to consider all their employees as one group to determine if they meet the 100- or 50-FTE employee thresholds. Consult your tax adviser for details.

To measure the size of their workforce, employers can use transition-relief provisions in the ACA regulations and look at any consecutive six-month period in 2014 to see if they meet the 100-FTE-employee threshold that triggers “appli-cable large employer” status for 2015. (Note: If your busi-

ness intends to use the ACA’s “seasonal worker exception” to qualify for an exemption from large-employer sta-tus for 2015, you must look at employment over all 12 months of 2014.)

Q. To whom must health care coverage be offered?

To avoid penalties, applica-ble large employers must offer health care coverage to full-time employees and their dependents. The ACA defines full-time as a person with at least 130 hours of service in any given month, or averaging 30 hours of service a week.

Treasury Department regula-tions go into extensive detail about how employers should measure whether new em-ployees, seasonal employees and employees whose hours vary from month to month are considered full-time. Restau-rant.org/Healthcare offers links to the regulations.

(Note: For 2015, a large em-ployer will generally not face penalties for failing to offer coverage to dependents of full-time employees if the em-ployer can show he or she is taking steps toward providing such coverage.)

Q.What reports will employers be required to file?

The ACA sets massive new reporting requirements for all employers with 50 or more FTE employees. (Note:

HEALTH CARE LAW:NEXT STEPS FOR EMPLOYERS


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TEXAS 360

Employers with 50 to 99 FTE employees don’t have to offer coverage in 2015 but still must file the paperwork in early 2016, whether you offered coverage or not.)

Employers will be required to file their first informa-tion returns with the IRS and statements with employees in early 2016, based on data tracked in 2015.

Employers got a preview of the paperwork when the IRS released draft forms and instructions this summer. The forms aren’t likely to be final-ized until later this year but covered employers should prepare now to begin track-ing the information in January 2015. Employers who don’t could find that rebuilding the necessary data is costly and time-consuming.

The reporting requirements are part of the new Sections 6056 and 6055 of the federal tax code.

• Section 6056 requires businesses that employ 50 or more FTE employ-ees to certify whether they offered minimum essential coverage to full-time employees. The reports must be submit-ted individually by any entity within a “common control” group that has 50 or more FTE employ-ees – even if an entity on its own employs few-er than 50 FTEs. Here’s just a small sampling of the data employers will

be required to compile each calendar month, and report by employee tax ID number: number of employees; number of full-time employees; whether an employee is eligible for a health-care coverage offer under the ACA; the employee’ premium contribution; and how the employer determined whether the health care coverage meets the ACA’s afford-ability standards.

• Section 6055 require-ments apply to any entity that offers a health plan, such as self-insured em-ployers and health insur-ers. These reports will tell the IRS who was enrolled in coverage and for what months. To complete this filing, tax ID numbers must be collected for the dependents of full-time employees.

Q.What are the penalties for employers?

Large businesses will face two types of penalties starting in 2015 under the ACA’s employ-er mandate.

• Penalty A — for failing to offer coverage. Penalty A applies when a large employer fails to offer minimum essential coverage to “substantially all” of its full-time employees. Penalty A can run up to $2,000 per year per full-time

employee, minus the first 30 full-time employees. (For 2015, the penalty for applicable large employers with 100 or more FTEs is $2,000 per year per full-time employee, minus the first 80 full-time employees.) The penalty kicks in if any full-time employee gets a federal tax subsidy to buy a health plan through a government-run health insurance marketplace.

• Penalty B — for offering coverage that’s unafford-able or not of minimum value. Penalty B applies when the minimum es-sential coverage a large employer offers is not affordable (based on em-ployee’s household in-come, and on the cost of single-only coverage), or if it fails to meet the ACA’s minimum-value standard (generally recognized as 60 percent actuarial value). Penalty B is $3,000 a year for any full-time employee who receives a federal tax subsidy to buy a health plan through a federal or state exchange because their employer’s plan is not affordable or of minimum value.

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TEXAS 360

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THE GOLDEN RULE: EMPLOYEES HAVE TO LOVE YOU BEFORE YOUR CUSTOMERS WILL

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Gus Perini is a first-time author. He was born in Abilene, Texas and relocated to the Perini Ranch at 8 weeks of age. His mom, Lisa, is a long time Bassett Hound advocate and his dad, Tom, is now also a passionate hound lover. Gus enjoys visiting the steakhouse, touring the ranch in his Dad’s mule, but especially loves medium rare prime rib and Blue Bell ice cream.

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TEXAS 360

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win one of the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation’s prestigious industry awards.

The Restaurant Neighbor Award, sponsored by American Ex-press, honors restaurants for outstanding community service and involvement. Winners are selected in four categories: small business, mid-size business, large business/national chain and Cornerstone Humanitarian. Four national winners each receive $5,000 to support their charitable giving efforts. Apply here.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

What do fine wine, deli-cious chef dinners, authentic Italian food and trips to Sicily have in common with the Texas Restaurant Association Education Foundation? The answer is TRAEF advocate Carmelo Mauro, owner of Carmelo’s Ristorante Italiano (Austin, Houston).

Carmelo has been a Texas Restaurant Association mem-ber for more than 30 years. He is a former TRA president, served on the TRAEF Board of Directors and mentors Texas ProStart students. It is no surprise that Carmelo was awarded the prestigious TRA President’s Award in June 2014. He champions the TRAEF mission to provide

opportunities for restaurant careers in Texas and is con-tinuously brainstorming new ways to invest in the future of the Texas restaurant industry.

Carmelo’s creative fundrais-ing tactics include maximiz-ing his connections to create fabulous tours to Sicily and amazing chef dinner parties hosted at his home. These once-in-a-lifetime opportuni-ties are auctioned off to ben-efit charity and the TRAEF has been most fortunate to bene-fit from several of the trips and dinners.

Recently, TRA members Russell and Monica Ybarra, owners of Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen placed the winning

CREATIVE GIVING:A CASE STUDY IN GENEROSITY

bid at the TRA President’s Gala live auction and redeemed their winnings, a private dinner prepared by Chef John Sheely and Carmelo; and a second private dinner prepared by Chef Mark Cox and Carmelo! The Ybarras and friends enjoyed the six course meals at Carmelo’s home. Each course was paired with a wine selection from Carmelo’s personal wine collection.

When asked about his con-tribution, Russell said, “It is imperative that the restaurant industry support TRA’s Edu-cation Foundation in order to prepare today’s students with the necessary tools to be-come tomorrow’s leaders.”


COMMUNITY NEWS

Congratulations to Texas Restaurant Association mem-bers Chef Larry Delgado and his wife Jessica on their sec-ond place finish at the 11th Annual Great American Sea-food Cook-Off, the nation’s most prestigious seafood cooking competition! Larry and Jessica, who own house.wine & bistro and Salt-New American Table in McAllen, represented the Lone Star state with pride as they com-peted against chefs from 17 other states in New Orleans.

Their delicious Texas Two-Step was a sophisticated take on a Shrimp Taco in a min-iature huitlacoche tortilla, topped with pickled cucum-ber, red onion and julienned nopalitos, seared shrimp and a sriracha buerre blanc. The taco was served with a no-palito slaw and spiced pecans, and paired with a Bloody Mary flavored with shrimp stock.

TEXAS TEAM TAKES 2ND PLACE ATNATIONAL SEAFOOD COMPETITION

“The taco is such a big part of Texas and Mexican cuisine and I wanted to elevate it to showcase the flavors,” Larry said. “I incorporated as many local products as possible, from fresh Gulf shrimp and nopalitos, to Texas pecans and ruby red grapefruit juice used in the slaw.”

This was a family affair with more than 35 friends and fam-ily-members traveling from across Texas to support Larry and Jessica. “It was amazing to have such a great group cheering us on,” Larry noted. “From my mom to former co-workers, to the shrimper that trawled for the shrimp I use at my restaurant and in the competition, everyone was so supportive.”

Speaking of mom, Larry was lucky to have her on his side since she came to the rescue when his nopalito leaves got a little close to the dry ice.

“I checked the produce a couple of days before com-petition and noticed that the prickly pear leaves I brought with me were frozen. I called mom immediately! She picked fresh leaves in her back yard and brought them with her.”

When asked about his favorite part of the compe-tition, Larry replied, “Cook-ing with Jessica, definitely! We’ve competed together many times and it is like a dance when we are in the kitchen together.”

Larry and Jessica dazzled the audience and captivated the nationally acclaimed judg-es with every slice, dice and orchestrated move. They did a wonderful job representing the great State of Texas. The next time you are in McAllen, stop by one of their restau-rants to congratulate them and enjoy a delicious meal!


COMMUNITY NEWS

ALLEN PERKINS & JAY JENKINSON HONORED AT CHEF’S DELIGHT FUNDRAISER

Long-time Texas Restaurant Association members Allen Perkins and Jay Jenkinson, owners of WOW Food Concepts, LLC in Beau-mont were honored by the Sabine Area Restaurant Association at the chapter’s annual Chef’s Delight.

Since opening their first restaurant in Beaumont, WOW Food Concepts has added Cheddar’s locations in Port Arthur, Hous-ton and Webster, Texas and a location in Lafayette, Louisiana. They employ over four hundred people. WOW Food Concepts is heavily involved in many civic, charitable activities in Jefferson County, and both Jay and Allen have served as president of the Sabine Area Restaurant Association and on the TRA state board.

The Texas ProStart Golf Classic & Casino Party was October 19-20 at Lakeway Resort & Spa. More than 75 guests gambled the night away, raising $4,500 in the evening’s raffle. The next day 88 golfers and 25 volunteers enjoyed the beautiful Hill Country fall weather at the Yaupon Golf Club. The tour-nament raised over $85,000 for the Texas ProStart pro-gram. Thanks to everyone who came out to support the TRA Education Foundation and Texas ProStart!

TEXAS PROSTART GOLF CLASSIC & CASINO PARTYA SUCCESS


COMMUNITY NEWS

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Nov. 17 Education Summit, Houston

Nov. 18 Tarrant County Chapter Mix & Mingle

Nov. 18 Rio Grande Valley Dine Around

Nov. 18Off the Menu: Practical Insights into Common Industry Oversights, Austin

Nov. 19 Houston Chapter Member Mingle

Nov. 23 Student’s Taste of Dallas

Dec. 2 Member Mingle, Dallas

Dec. 3 Board Meeting & Mixer, San Antonio

Dec. 5 Lubbock Chapter Holiday Party

Dec. 10 Member Mingle, Houston

Dec. 14 Panhandle Chapter Holiday Party

Dec. 15 Founder’s Club Breakfast, Dallas

Dec. 16 Insider Education Series, Houston

Dec. 22 Texas ProStart Educators Workshop, Dallas

Jan. 5 Board Meeting & Mixer, San Antonio

Jan. 6 Member Mingle, Dallas

Jan. 13 State of the Association, Dallas

Jan. 23 – 24Texas ProStart Invitational Regional Competition, Hurst

Jan. 24 Golden Fork Awards Gala, Houston

Jan. 26STIR: Summit for Texas Independent Restaurateurs, Austin

Jan. 29 Awards Gala, San Antonio

Feb. 2 Board Meeting & Mixer, San Antonio

Feb. 20 – 21Texas ProStart Invitational Regional Competition, Conroe

Visit restaurantville.com/calendar for event details.

ADVERTISING INDEX

HEARTLAND..................................6

MONTY & RAMIREZ, LLP..........20

OFF THE MENU SEMINAR........14

RVM CLASSIFIED........................18

BERNER INTERNATIONAL

LOOPER REED

FOODGUARD

TABC TO GO

TEXAS MUTUAL .........................22

TEXAS PROSTART

INVITATIONAL ...........................28

TRA MARKETPLACE...................10

UNITED HEALTHCARE..............18

Skeeter Miller, president of the Austin chapter, presents 2014 Employee Excellence Awards to Baby Acapulco employees.


R EG I O N A L January 23-24 | Hurst, Texas

February 20-21 | Conroe, Texas

S TAT E F I N A L March 27-28 | Waco, Texas

N AT I O N A L April 18-20 | Anaheim, California

TEXAS PROSTART

IN V I TAT I O N A L

SAVE THE DATE

Donate your time as a judge, mentor or volunteer or become a sponsor!

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http://www.restaurantville.com/education

cornering the market on marketing | restaurantville magazine fall 2014

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