eatir. by LASA Ezine

FALL 20 21

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LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Dear readers, Welcome to eatir, a magazine about food written by us: Edwin Liu, Yunxi He, Annabella Smith, Samuel Li, and Mills Hullum. We have been working on this magazine for months, and we are very excited to see you here. eatir is all about food in Austin. Inside the pages of eatir, you can dive deep into what working at a restaurant is like, from what goes on inside a restaurant’s kitchen to what needs to be done to start a food business. Learn about the different food industries in Austin, ranging from the ice cream industry to the plant-based industry to the food delivery industry. We always abide by our motto: “no B.S, and definitely none in your food.” Whether it be climbing a mountain, or driving 3 hours, we’ll always get the best and most factual information on your plate. It was hard to work together sometimes because we all had different opinions and ideas, and learning how to navigate the different tools to make this magazine was certainly a journey. But we enjoyed the process, and we are proud of what we have made. We hope you enjoy it.

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Top: Hot Honey Chicken Biscuits from the Brunch Bird. Photo courtesy of the Brunch Bird. Bottom: Kid’s Grilled Cheese. Photo courtesy of the Brunch Bird.

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TABLE OF C

Letter From the E

Meat the Contrib

Rushin’ the Resta

Restaurant Kitchen

Austin Based and Pla

Your Food is 1 Click

I Scream, You Sc

Special Tha 4

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CONTENTS

Editors

butors

aruant

n Insider

$16

ant Based

k Away

cream

anks

$22

$30

$36

$42

R E B S U T L A E

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E H T T A E M

S R O T U B I R T

N O C

EDWIN LIU Currently a freshman at LASA, Edwin Liu has always had a fondness for food. Whether it be trying new restaurants or making food himself, Edwin enjoys it all. He was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and lived there for most of his childhood before moving to Austin. This contributed to his love of Cajun food, despite not being able to handle spice. While he is not eating, you can find Edwin listening to music or taking a nice, long walk outside.

MILLS HULLUM Mills Hullum is the best person of all time, and a freshman at LASA. He was born in Austin, Texas which is the only state shaped like Texas in all of America (North). In his free time he loves engaging in intellectual activities such as eating, drinking, and sleeping. His favorite food is probably something like a burger. When asked about the matter Mills could only say “ooh yeah I love eating some beef in my mouth, yum yum!” He’s very passionate about burgers, burgers and water, the two best things in the world amen.

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YUNXI HE Milk-lover Yunxi He currently is a freshman attending LASA high school. He was born in Georgia, later moving to Florida, and then Austin. Former food-hater, he’s now a food-lover, chomping up to 43 chicken nuggets a day at the school cafeteria. In his free time, he enjoys reading and likes to play piano. With all these strengths, he’s only afraid of one thing: a milk shortage, although he’s also afraid of being lactose intolerant.

SAMUEL LI Milk-hater Samuel Li was born in California and is currently a Freshman at Lasa. His hobbies are reading webtoons and eating Instant Ramen, he especially likes reading My Gently Raised Beast and Dating With a Tail. Despite liking the flavour of milk, the heavens were jealous of him so they made him lactose intolerant. Nowadays, he downs 2 cups of juice everyday instead of slurping milk like his peers.

ANNABELLA SMITH Annabella is currently a freshman attending LASA. She was born in Los Angeles and moved to Austin at a young age. In her free time she likes to read, bake, and hang out with her cat. She also enjoys trying new foods and exploring the restaurant industry in Austin. Annabella loves popcorn and she prefers apple cider over hot chocolate. She wants to travel the world and try charcoal ice cream by the time she turns 50.

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By Yunxi He Just like making a delicious looking burger, making a restuarant is no easy feat. It can takes months to even years of planning.

A DEEPER

LOOK BEHIND

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WHAT IT TAKES TO

MAKE A RESTUARANT BRO, I FEEL IT, SOMETHING is cooking. There’s a special aroma in the air. It’s the fresh scent of limestone and drying concrete. It looks fresh and vibrant, gleaming with the sparkle of a newly installed rooftop. Ah, turns out it was a new restaurant building. Restaurants serve not just as food hubs in Texas, but also as cultural and social ones too. Restaurants often have stories and creations behind them that often remain overlooked, and many people underestimate the dedication it takes to create a restaurant.

According to Eric Silverstein, owner of Fat City Stacks, creating a restaurant leads many more concerns and steps than one thinks “There is a lot that goes into it. First, you have to nail down your menu, think about your supplies, where you’re going to put everything, what you need, getting the right equipment, remodeling, takeout, furniture...shade,” Silverstein said. “That’s just {one} part that goes into it.” Experience is a major factor in the success of a restaurant. Without enough experience, a restau-

Photo by Edwin Liu.

RUSHIN’ THE RESTUARANT

FROM START TO FINISH

IT TOOK 4 MONTHS -ERIC SILVERSTEIN, OWNER OF FAT CITY STACKS

rant’s path to success becomes murky, and its future becomes more risky. Arjav Ezekiel is the owner of Birdie’s, a local restaurant and wine bar. “It’s really important to have spent at least ten years in restaurants before you open your own restaurant. Then have a good idea about what you want the restaurant to feel like and the food you’d like to serve,” Ezekiel said. The location of a restaurant is just as important, as it serves as a foundation for who the restaurant will serve. As Johnny, the front of house manager of Jewboy Sub Shop, said, “Picking and choosing where you want to be, where you’ll find the best people that will be at your restaurant, is what I think is very crucial.” Although location and experience can be important, more recently, there has been a new factor that many restaurants

Photo by Yunxi He. Customers sit in the newly built outside-patio of Jewboy Sub shop. Despite looking simple, it took months of planning and design to make.

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Photo by Yunxi He.

have to keep in mind about: COVID-19. Many restaurants have adapted to it by switching to takeout or by other means. “The biggest thing being a lot of businesses nowadays moving really heavy into the carryout takeout kind of side as opposed to something at our end we have a full bar, we don’t have full bar seating like something you see in a movie, talking to a bartender or anything like that, but this

...DO SOMETHING THAT WOULD MAKE PEOPLE WANT TO COME TO YOUR RESTUARANT -JOHNNY

MANAGER OF JEWBOY SUB SHOP

place honestly hasn’t been affected all that much because this place wasn’t opening up during the early stages as far as COVID-19 is concerned,” Johnny said. Staffing was always a major concern for restaurants, but after COVID-19, it became an even larger issue. “There were equipment delays because

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The Horchata is a specialty at the Salty Donut that is made daily. Thousands of the fan favorite are sold every year.

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The Salty Donut is known for its well-designed boxes. Establishing a strong niche is vital to the success of an resturant.

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Photo by Yunxi He.

Jewboy Sub Shop boasts a variety of different subs, combining Texan and Jewish Cuisines. New types of fusion cuisine are widely appreciated by Austinites.

Photo by Yunxi He.

of the pandemic. Difficulties with trying to get staffing, yeah just a lot, ” Silverstein said. Tannir, the manager of Salty Donut, a donut shop with a new location in Austin, agrees, too. “Staffing has definitely affected us with COVID-19,” he said, “everyone is taking the opportunity to stay unemployed, just to stay safe from COVID-19.” Anyone can dream of creating a restaurant. But of course, the

amount of tasks it requires to do isn’t something you can count your fingers on, unless you have several hundred. As Silverstein said, “...there’s a thousand concerns. When opening a restaurant there’s a ton of things you have to do.”

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ALL AB

Milk is a popu A group of 87 high school studen

Here’s what

60.9%

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BOUT

ular beverage. nts were interviewed about milk.

t was found.

79.2%

OF THOSE WHO DRINK MILK

PREFER THEIR MILK COLD

GRAPHICS BY YUNXI HE

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Chefs at Desano Pizzeria Napoletana are working in an assembly line fashion to produce pizzas as efficiently as possible. Photo by Samuel Li.

RESTAURANT KITCHEN INSIDER From the beginning to the end. Ingredients into fresh food. By Samuel Li A SET OF PERFECTLY COOKED, SEASONED, and plated dishes arrive at a table. The rich aroma of food wafts through the air and the customer’s hunger intensifies, causing their mouth to salivate. Creating such a satisfactory experience for its guests, the restaurant has put a lot of effort into making the food. The staff of a restaurant usually consists of two teams that each handle the front of house or the back

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of house. The cooperation between Before COVID-19, many tradimany dim sum restaurants had these two teams is vital to the tional Chinese restaurants had a to shut down because their food success of a restaurant. The front of lack of customers. “For the whole was designed to be eaten in-perhouse usually deals with customers, world, COVID-19 was a terrible son. However, Shanghai Chinese with waiters and hosts Restaurant stayed open making up a large part of despite these downsides. this team. The majority This turned out to be a FOR THE WHOLE WORLD, COVID-19 of customers won’t get to good thing though, for WAS A TERRIBLE EVENT. THOUGH see a restaurant’s back of it meant that if people FOR MY RESTAURANT, COVID-19 house since they spend wanted to eat traditional ACTUALLY IMPROVED MY BUSINESS. the bulk of their time in dim sum, Shanghai Chithe kitchen performing nese Restaurant was one -LIMIN HE, HEAD CHEF tasks such as cooking of their only options. dishes and washing Service on the weekends kitchenware. Despite the has variation of cuisine between restaurants, the goal of each event. Though for my restaurant, back of house is relatively clear. COVID-19 actually improved That is to get food out of the kitch- my business” said He. en as efficiently as possible while In the beginmaking sure it satisfies the cusning of the tomers. This can often be a difficult pandemic, task, with each restaurant having its own way of completing these tasks. Shanghai Chinese Restaurant in Austin is known for its traditional dim sum. The place is run by Li Min He, who is both the owner and the head chef. There are many types of dim sum and they’re usually made in bamboo steamers, with each basket having one type of dim sum inside.

“

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In Chinese kitchens. steamers and woks are commonly used. In order to send out dishes quick enough, Chinese restaurant chefs still use these cooking tools except on a much larger scale. Photo by Samuel Li. become very busy due to these circumstances. “During service, it’s sort of like a battle for us. We get numerous orders each hour,” He said. To send out dishes quickly enough, the kitchen has to mobilize at least five chefs. However, just working hard during the weekends isn’t enough. On the weekdays, service usually isn’t as busy. The chefs have to take advantage of this free time to prepare for the weekend. “I come at around 8 to 9 am every day and prepare for the busy day,” said He. Since almost everything is homemade in the restaurant, preparation can be tough. He has to prepare the dough, meat, and vegetables so

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that the rest of the chefs have the materials ready to go when service starts. “We need to keep it fresh, everything,” said He. Supplies are shipped from Dallas every week to maintain the quality of their ingredients. An example of this is their rice shipment, which brings in 500 pounds of rice every time. Holding to their traditional method of making dim sum, Shanghai Chinese Restaurant utilizes steamers and woks. To send out dishes at a quick pace, the cookware is much larger than the ones frequently found in homes, which allows them to cook more food at once. However, large cookware requires a hot fire, meaning that

“

Traditonal pizzas are cooked in wood burning ovens. A Chef at Desano Pizzeria Napoletana is using a peel to shovel fresh made pizzas into these types of ovens. Photo by Samuel Li.

WE NEED TO KEEP IT FRESH, EVERYTHING. -LIMIN HE, HEAD CHEF

the kitchen is hot and arid during service. Cooking in these conditions can be very difficult, but it’s an unpreventable side-effect of working in a restaurant’s kitchen. Maintaining a restaurant’s kitchen can be an arduous task, but Shanghai Chinese Restaurant has managed to deal with it through their own methods. “There were a lot of problems in the beginning, but I just practice, practice, keep going, keep learning, and six years later, here I am, owning a restaurant that cooks food people like,” said He.

Unlike most fast food pizza restaurants, Traditional pizza doughs are spread out using dough tossing techinques. Photo by Samuel Li.

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PREPARING PEPPERONI PIZZA

A Beginners Guide on How to Make a Fresh Pepperoni Pizza INGREDIENTS LIST: 3 cups of flour 2 tablespoons of olive oil .25 ounces of active dry yeast 1 tablespoon of sugar 1 cup of warm water

1 2 3 4

PREPARATION PROCEDURES: In a large bowl, pour in the yeast, sugar, and flour. Mix these ingredients together. After mixng, pour in your warm water and olive and knead the mixture until it turns into a smooth dough ball. Spread out your pizza dough on a baking tray and spread your tomato sauce evenly ontop. Next, spread cheese evenly ontop of it. Lastly, top your pizza with pepperoni.

COOKING PROCEDURES: Oven- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. When the oven has reached the specified temperature, put in your baking sheet that has the pizza on it. After 10-18 minutes, take out your pizza and let it cool for a few minutes before serving. Pizza Oven- If you have a pizza oven at home, then heat it up. When its hot enough, move your pizza onto a pizza peel and put it into your pizza oven. If you don’t have a pizza peel, you’ll just have to use kitchen mittens/gloves to put your pizza into the pizza oven. Depending on the temperature of your pizza oven, your pizza can be cooked in 90 seonds to 10 minutes. Source: Fresh picked pizza, Patio and Pizza, Kjaerbo, Gudny

8 ounces shredded mozzarella 7 ounces of shredded cheddar Sliced pepperoni Tomato Sauce

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F Olive OIl

Graphics done by Samuel Li

Flour

Yeast

Sugar

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AUSTIN-BASED AND PLANT-BASED

Inside the Lives of Vegan and Vegetarian Businesses in Austin

BY ANNABELLA SMITH

The Brunch Bird’s vegan Buffalo Mac and Cheese. Photo courtesy of the Brunch Bird.

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THE SOUND OF MEAT frying on a grill. The sight of cheese melting in a pan. The smell of burgers and bacon-well, not quite. Food isn’t always what it seems at first glance. Although these foods look like they are made from animal products, they are actually completely plant-based.

Bakery, a vegan and gluten-free bakery in Austin, are both musicians, and music has heavily influenced their bakery. Freda learned about veganism through music. “I grew up in New York City, so I grew up in the punk rock scene,” said Freda. “I listened to a lot of bands like Drop Dead, political punk bands who talked a lot about veganism. And then I joined a couple of activist groups, so I was around it [veganism] a lot more, and it became not as intimidating.”

favorite cupcake and muffin recipes. I remember calling my dad and saying ‘I’ve figured out what I want to do with my life. I want to be a vegan baker.’”

To Brunch Bird co-owner Issac Morgannam, taking charge of his career running an East Austin vegan restaurant was very important. “I always wanted to work for Austin is the home to many myself, personally speaking, diverse food cuisines, plantI didn’t want to have a bunch based cuisines included. From of bosses and I didn’t want to tacos to ramen, many different have a 9 to 5,” Morgannam said. cuisines can be found in the “Food was my opportunity to focus on things that I love and that I was good at and was trying to go after what I wanted in life.” Kira Johnson, who is also a co-owner at the Brunch Bird, joined the food industry unexpectedly her senior year of high school. “I got into the food industry by accident,” said Johnson. “In 2018, I was given an opportunity to work CO-OWNER OF THE BRUNCH BIRD at a hotel as a bartender and a barista in the evenings of my senior year of high school. That summer I fell in love with the amount of work and capital of Texas. Austin is also Once Freda learned about vegthe home of many plant-based anism, she discovered she had a effort, especially behind the businesses, including restaupassion for it. “I just totally fell scenes, that keeps a restaurant working properly.” rants, bakeries, and grocery in love with it,” Freda said. stores. As the need for plant“I think once I got more inMany challenges come with based foods in Austin has volved in the vegan commugrown, so has the plant-based nity, I became really interested running a plant-based restauindustry. in veganizing everything,” said rant, according to Morgannam. Freda. “I remember when I was “I think for us in the plant food space, the way we differentiate Jessica Freda and Cece Loeffin, about 20 or 21 I just started ourselves is to be one of the co-owners of Zucchini Kill trying to veganize some of my

“

FOOD REALLY IS NOURISHENT FOR THE MIND, BODY, AND SOUL. -KIRA JOHNSON

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Clockwise from top. 1. A breakfast meal prepared at the Brunch Bird. Photo courtesy of the Brunch Bird. 2. Zucchini Kill’s Ultraviolence Donuts. Photo courtesy of Zucchini Kill Bakery. 3. Bouldin Creek’s Good Livin’ Salad. Photo courtesy of Bouldin Creek Cafe.

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Although there are many challenges, there are a lot of good things that come with running a plant-based restaurant as well. “When you work here you get to know a lot of people,” said Wilson. “It’s really nice when I’m not at work and I go places like the grocery store, or I go out to eat, I see people that I know from working at the restaurant. It builds a sense of community. I really feel like I belong in Austin.” said Wilson. Watching people enZucchini Kill’s Candied Yam and Walnut joy vegan food is one of few people in the market cupcakes. Photo courtesy of Zucchini Kill Johson’s favorite parts that can truly showcase Bakery. about running a plantplant-based foods in a based restaurant. “The way that doesn’t feel like This is a challenge that many plant-based foods. We want our plant-based restaurants in Aus- beauty of people who are carnivores enjoying vegan food and food to look, feel, and taste just tin face. not understanding why,” said like conventional food. That’s “Vegan products and environa very unique challenge,” said mentally safe containers can be Johnson. “The word vegan is intimidating. To most people, Morgannam. “Most restaurants hard to source and even more it means a limitation, no fun, are not trying to mirror some- difficult to source continuousno options, and no flavor. It’s thing. They’re just trying to ly,” said Johnson. really nice to be able to surprise make something great. We’re It can also be difficult to sell people.” not only trying to mirror some- products because many peothing, we’re trying to make it as ple think that because food is Plant-based restaurants can delicious as you once rememvegan, it will taste worse than bered it.” conventional food, according to give non-plant-based eaters a chance to explore different Buying ingredients and othFreda. types of eating. er products can also be very “I would say the stigma that “It helps them start transitionexpensive, according to Jacob people have, for vegan baked ing to making better decisions Wilson, office manager at Boul- goods and for gluten-free that are more humane for din Creek Cafe. baked goods,” said Freda. “To animals, better for the envi“We try to provide affordable, have both of that put together, ronment, better for the planet, healthy [meals],” said Wilson. I think people automatically “We try to make it organic, but think, ‘That can’t possibly taste better for our bodies,” said with rising costs, it is kind of a good,’ or ‘It’s going to be crum- Morgannam. Plant-based restaurants in Ausdance of trying to keep things bly.’” tin can also make plant-based affordable and cost-effective.”

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Austinites feel more comfortable in their city. “It’s a sense of home,” said Johnson. “A sense of belonging. You’re not the only vegan in your friend group. Now you have places that represent you and your diet choices.” Community is an important part of the plant-based restaurant scene in Austin.“Creating a community space for people to meet up, and providing a diTherent perspective,” said Wilson.“Letting people see that funky side of Austin.”

Food, plant-based or not, is “There’s nothing like a person a huge part of Austin, and it who comes in hungry and they is very important to the vegleave satisfied with not only an and vegetarian businesses the service but the food,” said around the city. Johnson. “I think from a deeper understanding, food is just a very “It’s a great way to show apprecommon thread that brings all ciation and create a safe space people of all cultures together,” to gather in and enjoy each Morgannam. “It’s our one ener- other’s company,” said Johnson. gy source that we get from the “Food really is nourishment for planet that allows us to live.” your mind, body, and soul.” Watching people enjoy good plant-based food is one Bouldin Creek Cafe’s Kool Humof the best things about mus Sandwhich. Photo courtesy of working in the business, Bouldin Creek Cafe. according to Johnson.

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BETTER TO BE PLANT-BASED 5 Reasons to Eat More Vegetables

Accordin making farmland things need for slaughte as well, fro portation

Sources: Evening Standard, Healthline, Everyday Health, Annabella Smith

Makes Feel B

According to the Ev average, vegans and lower on depression than the avera

Can Be Healthier If planned well, a plant-based diet can be healthier than the average American meat-eater’s diet. When planned correctly vegans and vegetarians will consume more minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber. However, because of the absence of meat, plant-eaters must be careful that they consume enough protein from other sources like nuts, seeds, grains and legumes.

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Good For The Earth

ng to the Evening Standard, the of meat takes more energy and d than the making of plants. The ded to take care of animals raised er put pressure on the enviroment om water and grain to the transn of meat and other animal products.

Helps You Live Longer According to Healthline, eating a well planned vegan or vegetarian diet is likely to prevent many diseases, including type two diabetes, kidney disease, and some forms of cancer. It can also lower your blood pressure and reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease. With all of these factors combined, plant-eaters are likely to live longer and healthier lives than the average meat-eater.

s You Better

vening Standard, on d vegetarians scored n and mood profiles age meat eater.

Good For Your Skin and Vision Vegans and vegetarians consume large amounts of vitamin C than meat-eaters, and that vitamin can improve your skin. Vegans and vegetarians also tend to have better vision, due to the large amounts of vitamins and minerals they consume from plants.

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YOUR FOOD IS ONE CLICK AWAY A look into the food delivery service business, from customers to food delivery drivers.

BY EDWIN LIU

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GRAPHIC BY EDWIN LIU

“

IF I AM AT HOME, OR IF I’M WITHOUT A SCHEDULED RESTAURANT TASTING OR WITH SOMEBODY WHO DOESN’T HAVE DINNER PLANS WITH ME, THEN I AM MORE THAN LIKELY TO JUST ORDER IN. -JANE KO, FOOD BLOGGER

AN UNMARKED WHITE van pulls up to a house in the middle of the night. Out comes a man holding a bag full of… food which was ordered online through a food delivery service. Most restaurants have an option to deliver food through a medium, most commonly food delivery services. ey are a convenient way to eat your favorite restaurant’s food at home, allowing people to order online and get the food delivered straight to their door. Recently, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the food delivery industry has rapidly expanded resulting in more and more users according to Jane Ko, the blogger behind A Taste of Koko, an award-winning food blog in Austin. “If I am at home, or if I’m without a scheduled restaurant tasting or with somebody who doesn’t have dinner plans with me, then I am more than likely to u j st order in,” Ko said. ere are many dierent ways food delivery services can be used, some being more - un conventional than others. “I was an early adopter actually because during that time, the person I was dating, we were doing long distance so we actually used food delivery as a way to communicate and do date night from a distance,” said Ko. As with everything, there are some downsides to food delivery services. Since

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Appetizers ordered from 1618 Asian Fusion using Uber Eats. PHOTO BY EDWIN LIU

Jane Ko, the blogger behind A Taste of Koko PHOTO BY JANE KO

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logistics are done online instead of face-to-face, mistakes can be made and food can be delayed because of traffic and other issues. “The food is wrong, the food is cold. Most times it’s because the food is cold,” said Ko about her bad experiences with food delivery services. With every industry comes a wide variety of companies you can choose from. The food delivery industry is no different, with many different companies each offering their own benefits and attractions. “I usually prefer to use DoorDash because I have the Chase reserve card, and that lets me have free delivery for deliveries,” said Ko. This leads to the next problem some people have with food delivery services, the high delivery fee. Due to recently inflated restaurant prices and the price needed to deliver the food to people’s homes, many food delivery services have extremely high delivery fees. “I feel like when I order Uber Eats if I have to, it’s because the restaurant I really want to order food from

Spring Rolls ordered from 1618 Asian Fusion using Uber Eats.

PHOTO BY EDWIN LIU is not on Doordash and I’m like, ‘Oh My God, $8 delivery fee’,” said Ko. One of the jobs that comes with food delivery is the third-party picking up the food from restaurants and delivering it. Jonathan Chen, 21, works as a food delivery driver. “I was just looking for a job to make some quick money. I’m a college student, so I looked for a job that’s not too time-consuming,” said Chen. Food delivery drivers can choose when they work and create their own schedules,

“

I WAS JUST LOOKING FOR A JOB TO MAKE SOME QUICK MONEY. I’M A COLLEGE STUDENT, SO I LOOKED FOR A JOB THAT’S NOT TOO TIME CONSUMING. -JONATHAN CHEN,

FOOD DELIVERY DRIVER

which makes it a very attractive job to those who have other responsibilities. “Doordash lets you choose how much you want to work, so when I’m busy, let’s say I have an exam or something, I just don’t work as much or I don’t work at all,” said Chen. The food delivery business is thriving and sure to become even better in the future. “I see on both sides [restaurant and food delivery industry] it’s a good business right, and somebody has to make money,” said Ko.

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DELIVERY SERVICES

COMPARISON A brief overview of food delivery services, and a comparison between different delivery services. Ninety high school students were also surveyed about their opinion on food delivery services. Delivery Fee

Service Fee

6 5

DoodashMost Consistent

4 3 2

Uber EatsFastest Delivery

1 0

Uber Eats

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Doordash

Grubhub

GrubhubEasiest App to Use

MARKET REVENUE HAS INCREASED

204%

IN THE PAST 5 YEARS

ALMOST 1/3 OF THE ENTIRE U.S. HAVE USED FOOD DELIVERY SERVICES BEFORE

Graphics by Edwin Liu

WHAT DO PEOPLE PREFER? A group of 90 high school students were surveyed on their favorite delivery service

FARM HOUSE DELIVERY (2.9%) TRASHLESS (2.9%) SUNBASKET (2.9%)

GRUBHUB (5.7%)

FAVOR (11.4%)

UBER EATS (28.6%)

DOORDASH (45.7%) Sources: Business of Apps, CNET EATIR

I SCREAM, YOU SCREAM, How Austin Makes Ice Cream.

By Mills Hullum

A cup of ice cream from Frozen Rolls Creamery in front of one of their locations. WHENEVER SOMEONE HAS AN absolutely soul crushingly bad day, they can be sure that ice cream is one way to make them feel just a little bit better. Texas is home to quite a few ice cream restaurants, from bigger businesses such as Blue Bell Creameries in Brenham, to smaller places such as the rolled ice cream restaurant Frozen Rolls Creamery in Austin. President Ronald Reagan once conducted a study that discovered that 90% of Americans have ice cream in their fridge. Shelby Smith, public relations specialist at Blue Bell Creameries explained this was

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one of the reasons the ice cream business was so successful. “That just shows that it’s a product that can be a comfort on a hard day, it can be a soft place to land after a difficult situation, or again a hard day,” Smith said. “It’s a great way to gather around and celebrate, whether it’s an accomplishment or something that’s in the family or outside the family with friends. It’s something that brings people together and it has a lot of memories included in it.” Blue Bell has been called one of the best ice cream brands in America by WideOpenEats.com, Smith explained, adding what sets

Photo’s by Mills Hullum

Amy’s Ice Cream Employee Mari Blanchard performing an ice cream trick known as around the world.

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Amy’s Ice Cream Employee Mari Blanchard prepares a bowl of ice cream.

Blue Bell apart from the other less successful brands of ice cream is their sense of community. “It is something that we have- this loyalty with our fans, that we listen to them, that we respond to them,” Smith said, “ we make ice cream for everyone. It doesn’t matter what your age, your gender, what your thoughts are, this is ice cream and it’s meant to be enjoyed by you and many people. So we don’t really stay outside those lines. It’s a small town country feel wherever you are and we maintain that despite any kind of climate outside the walls of the grocery store.” Blue Bell is well known for its quality in many states, explained Lauren Middleton, a public relations assistant at Blue Bell. This is why it has such a strong sense of community throughout the country. “We are only in in 22 states, which is a surprising fact to people, that we aren’t in the full

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can see that with our ice cream, in that not only the start but also the finish is relationship.” But running a successful ice cream business requires more than just the right environment, it requires efficient use of resources as well. An Austin based ice cream shop called Frozen Rolls Creamery is moving its company’s business into the food truck market. Chris Fisher, the operations manager at Frozen Rolls Creamery explained how the company’s next business move to get a food truck would provide more stability for the company in the future. “A food truck is a very good source of income and it’s guaranteed money,” Fisher explained, “While here we could be open for twelve hours and might make four hundred dollars, or we could work twelve hours and make two thousand dollars. Whereas a food truck we sell the product before we even get there so we know what we’re making, we can staff it perfectly appropriately, and still get the expe-

United States yet, yet we do have such a large presence in the stores and people do love our ice cream, and that’s one of the things that when we expand to new territories we always want to make sure that wherever we go we want to make sure that we’re able to distribute ice cream and make ice cream that’s at the same quality that we do here in Brenham,” Middleton said. A big part of the success of ice cream businesses is the sense of community they bring to the areas around them. Smith explained that it is important that Blue Bell Creameries is a community-oriented business. “We’ve always been so focused on the community locally as far as our outreach but also just being that community driven/oriented,” Smith said, “If there’s excess cream here, that’s what we’re going to take to make this ice cream. That’s how we started, and it’s An Amy’s Ice Cream Employee named always been relational. I think you Natalie prepares a bowl of ice cream.

Photo’s by Mills Hullum rience of the guest.” Being able to know the exact amount of product that will be bought can help maximize profits. Smith elaborated on how the same types of strategies are being used by Blue Bell Creameries. “We load our own trucks, and we deliver it to the stores and place it on the store shelves ourselves,” Smith said, “Which I think is super special because our driver-salesmen, they can go in a store and if they see that a certain store is consuming more of one flavor than another, they’re able to stock the shelves however best fits that

The outside of a Frozen Rolls Creamery Location.

IT’S VERY FUN, OBVIOUSLY YOU’RE WITH ICE CREAM. MY FAVORITE THING IS SEEING KIDS COME IN AND SEE THEM WATCH US MAKE ICE CREAM AND THEN EAT IT.

“No matter who you are, where you come fromit doesn’t matter who you are, there’s a flavor for everyone, and I think that’s what is so special,” Middleton said.

-CHRIS FISHER,

OPERATIONS MANAGER AT FROZEN ROLLS CREAMERY

store, so we’re able to really listen to our consumer and really customize each individual store to the customer profile that’s there.”

Ice cream, like all businesses, requires smart business skills to survive, but ice cream stores are one of the only businesses whose main goal is to provide joy.

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A group of 90 students from the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin, Texas were surveyed on their favorite ice cream flavors and resturaunts.

WH IS THE

POPU

20 Chocalate Chip Cookie Dough Mint Chocolate Chip

Chocolate

Cookies N’ Cream Vanilla

0 40

Other

(VOTES)

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Graphics by Mills Hullum

Austin prides itself in it’s local culture, two of the top three ice

MOST

cream resturaunts in Austin according to students are local.

ULAR

d place hat

Amy’s Ice Cream

Baskin Robins

Austin Scoops

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Special Thanks Eric Silverstein Arjav Ezekiel Limin He Jessica Freda Shantil Issac Morgannam Kira Johnson Jacob Wilson Jane Ko Johnathan Chen Shelby Smith Mari Blanchard Johnny Lauren Middleton Chris Fishe Tannir Jimmy Fitz Kevin Garcia 42

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Photos from left to right, top to bottom. Photo courtesy of Blue Bell Creameries. Photo by Anabella Smith. Photo by Samuel Li. Photo by Yuya Tamai. Photo by Yunxi He.

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