HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR INTERVIEW WITH RUSSELL WOODWARD, CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD FOR THE TEXAS RESTAURANT FOUNDATION
Q: Lone Star Standard
What is the Texas Restaurant Foundation and what does the organization do?
A: Russell Woodward
I have the privilege and honor of serving as the Chairman of the Texas Restaurant Foundation board. The Texas Restaurant Foundation is the workforce arm of the Texas Restaurant Association. The work that we do there is really to educate, and some advocacy, to promote and work to build the workforce that is needed for the Texas restaurant and hospitality industry into the future and that next generation of workers and those that want to pursue this as a career.
That is the primary work that we do. We are a 501(c)3. The Texas Restaurant Association has twenty-three chapters across the state that work in those local areas representing over 55,000 restaurant operators in the state of Texas. Not all of those members, but that’s the number of restaurants that we have. That is about $95 billion a year in revenue that comes to Texas through restaurant hospitality.
Restaurants are one of the largest employers in the state bringing that revenue to local communities. Whether it’s an urban area or a rural area, that’s very important in terms of that community and what restaurants represent there. Nationally, it’s a little over $1 billion. And as we look at what the Foundation’s goal is and the work that we do around workforce, there’s other things that we do, but that’s the basis for our work. We are going to need somewhere around 225,000 additional workers in the restaurant, hospitality, and food service industry by 2030. That’s a really big number. So, we’ve got a lot of work to do in providing programs and educational opportunities to bring people into this space for career opportunities.
Q: Lone Star Standard
How were Texas restaurants impacted by the pandemic and what issues persist from that time?
A: Russell Woodward
There are obviously some effects from that period of time in our history recently where restaurants had to adapt and pivot on all sorts of things. And most of it was in the to-go space, alcohol to-go and food service. And, so, being able to provide things to consumers for those on the go or to have food at home that was made in the restaurant. The to-go piece is still very large and growing. The ones that figured out how to execute that well, will continue to do so, and it continues to be an important part of their business and their business model as they adapted and changed.
As we move forward, food costs will continue to be a front-and-center item that restaurateurs are going to have to deal with from an inflationary standpoint. We have historical highs and lows of proteins and other food costs and they will look at those and figure out how to make it work.
The other things that will help them in that space was social media and technology which helped a lot of restaurants make it through from an ordering standpoint. We all use our phones every day for just about everything. So, food ordering is an important piece of that. The restaurants that were successful, figured how to adapt and make that part of their everyday operation and will continue to do so from being on the social media side, from a promotional standpoint, but just general operations and taking advantage of all the technology that is available to make their systems more efficient and more profitable.
Q: Lone Star Standard
How will A.I. impact the restaurant business in Texas?
A: Russell Woodward
From a workforce standpoint, that’s going to be an important part. There are certain things within the restaurant operation that are going to continue to need and have someone to manage it. I think the real advantage for our operators are to take the knowledge from larger multi-national chains that are doing fun, innovative, expensive kinds of things, as the technology becomes more and more available, to incorporate those things into their business. For example, the simple stuff, like analyzing data in real time to know what we’re selling and how we’re selling during different parts of the day. This will help with what we need to be able to set up for and how to get lines best prepared so that we’re not over preparing or under preparing certain items. I think at the basic business level, you have those kinds of things that help with ordering and making the process more efficient.
With that, we won’t have to spend 4 hours trying to figure out what we need to order based upon my sales and all those kinds of things. I can do that in a very quick and efficient manner. And, then you have the customer experience piece as well, in terms of how you order and what sort of technology engages with the customer to place an order and then how it flows through the kitchen and gets back to the consumer. There are a lot of exciting things happening in that space.
Russell Woodward is the senior manager of product marketing at Texas Beef Council. In his role, he fosters strategic partnerships and builds programs to strengthen the beef presence in the retail and foodservice sector.
Growing up on a farm in North Texas, he knows how personal producers take growing and raising quality products for the consumer’s plates. His desire to pursue a career in the meat industry led him to Texas A&M University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in food science, with a special emphasis in meat science.
Russell has been with the Texas Beef Council since 1996. He brings knowledge and experience from his previous work with the National Cattleman's Beef Association and the National Livestock and Meat Board to his role.
By serving on the Texas Restaurant Association Education Foundation Board of Trustees, Russell is able to ensure beef is part of the conversation throughout Texas, among the foodservice sector. He is also a member of the American Meat Science Association to stay at the forefront of the industry.
This interview transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Listen to the full discussion here: https://texas-talks.simplecast.com/episodes/ep-12-russell-woodward.
