THE STORY BEHIND THE
FOOD THE EVOLUTION AFTER EVERY PLATE
MENU: Austin’s restaurant plan Austin’s Organic Flavor History in Your Plate Sales Vs. Location
TABLE of CONTENTS
Letter From the Editors
THE DINING EXPERIENCE
AUSTIN’S APPETITE
LOCATION DATA
THE RESTAURANT IN FRONT OF THE STORY
GROUP PHOTO
6 12 18
24 30
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8 14 20
26 31
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Austin’s Restaurant Plan by Hayden Tomazin
Location and Sales by Declan Jackson
Austin’s Organic Flavor by Sofia Syed
History In Your Plate by Chris Solorzano Perez
IF YOU GO... TO THE PAST
INTERVIEW CREDITS
Meet the Editors Our own inside stories
My name is Hayden Tomazin. I’m 15 years old and a freshman at LASA. My hobbies include music, Ultimate Frisbee, and making and eating food. I like cooking and baking, and eating all the food I make. Austin is my favorite city to eat in, so I thought it would be a fun thing to make a magazine on the Austin restaurant scene. I’ve always taken an interest in the different styles of restaurants and how they came to be. I wanted to highlight the amount of diversity that the Austin restaurant scene contains, so I decided to write my feature article on this.
My name is Sofia Syed I attend the Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School as a freshman. In my free time, I love to competitively Irish dance, play soccer, and bake sugary treats. I enjoy spending time with kids and have many years of experience as a camp counselor. I chose to write my article on the local, healthy, and affordable food in Austin because as an athlete, I often find myself looking for healthy alternatives to the sweet, sugary treats that I enjoy to binge eat. I wanted to learn more about this unique food community in Austin. During the creation of this magazine, I learned how to use many computer programs to design unique graphics and page layouts. I also learned many techniques for taking interesting photos.
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My name is Christopher Solorzano, I’m a freshman student at Liberal Arts and Science Academy, where I study for most of my time. Some of the things that I study include piano, graphic design, biology, geometry and others. My experience with graphic design is short but enough to be able to produce various pieces which are shown throughout the extension of this piece. My goal is to be able to accomplish a successful four years of high school to then be able to study in dentistry, more specifically orthodontics where I will continue with the family tradition as my mom did when she was my age.
My name is Declan Jackson. I’m currently one of the editors and designers for a 4 person EZINE group within Mrs. Guiletti’s 2/6 period. For my feature article, I chose writing about the relationship between a restaurant’s location and its sales and demographics. This topic fit our groups theme of “FOOD” as well as lead me to new locations around the hustling city of Austin. Owners of food trucks created the most intriguing interviews as they are used to parking nearly everywhere an selling the desired meals of choice. My goal is to inform current and future restaurant owners of how and where to choose a location in order to help them achieve their goals. Around writing this article I’m reading geopolitical articles and books along with playing ultimate Frisbee.
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AUSTIN’S RESTAURANT PLAN
STORY BY HAYDEN TOMAZIN
How the restaurants came to be
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The Austin skyline with construction on Thursday, March 22, 2018. (Photo by Dhruv Ruttala, courtesy of Dhruv Ruttala.)
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he clash of dishware sounded from the kitchen as the restaurant rushed to accommodate all of its customers. The chef was in the back ensuring that every dish met his standards of high quality. This bustle echoed throughout every restaurant, striving to find its niche in Austin.
Austin’s restaurant scene is vast and full of great variety. There are tons of different styles and types, each with its own unique twist and flavor. Every street in downtown Austin is lined with places to eat. The expectation of quality food in Austin is so high that there is a constant race for new ideas and a hip Austin atmosphere. This creates lots of new and interesting businesses that are always evolving. “Coming out and offering a twentyfour hour opportunity for Austin is something that we want to do,” Josh Graves, general manager of 24 Diner, said. 24 Diner, located on North Lamar, is a restaurant open all day. “It’s definitely something that is great to have available for the city of Austin which is, chef driven comfort food at any time of the day.” 24 Diner is unique. They serve high quality food for any meal of day, at any time of day. A customer could come in at 11 p.m. and order a breakfast platter. “Of course the chicken and waffles I think that that’s something that we’ve really developed a notoriety around,” Graves said. “It’s a very iconic dish.” 24 Diner’s chicken and waffles is the most famous dish in the restaurant. It’s a sweet, bready waffle with a scoop of brown sugar butter, topped with four pieces of
interact with their customers.
fried chicken. While it sounds like an unusual combination of flavor, that dish alone brings customers back, time after time.
“Laid back, relaxed, classic 1976 Austin. That’s the atmosphere we want,” Knobloch said
24 Diner is run by the ELM restaurant group.“I think that ELM is Austin standard.” Graves said. “You have to be exceptional and you have to be exceptional everyday and that’s the drive that you are expected to be because there’s great restaurant groups in the city and there are great restaurants in the city and that competition brings out the best within the context of ourselves,” Graves said.
The restaurant hosts lots of live music and charity events. They want to live up to the vibe of old Austin, so they incorporated the Austin music scene into their restaurant style. “We really felt like we were helping everyone we could.” Knobloch said. The ABGB hosts many charity events, and donates much of their profit. They do this instead of advertising their business, as it creates a positive impact on the community and also serves the purpose of increasing publicity. Austin is a city that has a unique vibe, in its restaurants and in its people. The ABGB wants to preserve that vibe as the city grows, and really keep that era of Austin’s history intact.
A meatloaf sandwich from 24 Diner with a side of mac and cheese on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018. (Photo by Hayden Tomazin.)
The restaurant has a constant pressure to stay consistent during every hour of the day and to keep a high quality of service. The food always has to be held to their standard, or else people may not come during the later hours of the day. “What would 1976 do?” Jill Knobloch, owner of The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Company, asked. This question is the decider for nearly every factor of the ABGB, a brew pub on Oltorf street. The restaurant began with some beer recipes, and continued to develop as a restaurant, as they wanted to
“Introducing constraints is kind of interesting way to drive creativity,” Shalou Barth, the owner of Unit-D Pizza, said. Unit-D is a pizza place on Manor Road. It’s out of the way, with no signage. Tucked around the corner, it’s easy to miss if you aren’t looking for it. The restaurant itself is fairly small, and the entrance is dominated by the large Italian woodfired oven. Everything on
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We really felt like we were helping everyone we could.” -- Jill Knobloch
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the menu, from olives to pizzas, is cooked in that same blazing hot oven. “We really wanted simplicity to be at core of everything we do,” Barth said. Nothing on the menu is too
The peacock logo of Unit-D in the restaurant entrance on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018. (Photo Hayden Tomazin.)
the best possible product in every category just like no other city and no other state can do that,” Graves said. Austin can’t make the best ingredients for every situation. A restaurant has to decide how they want to approach this situation. Unit-D chooses to get the best ingredients for their pizzas, which often means importing from Italy and Germany. Then, they supplement the rest with the best local ingredients they can find. The ABGB takes a similar approach, as they import most of their beer ingredients from Europe, while more of the food stays local. 24-Diner has two menus, one for the local, farm fresh ingredients, and a second for their main dishes, which they source locally where they can. They want to be able to provide that local Austin feel, and they also want to be able to make the best food they
complicated. Nothing changes too much in the restaurant. Everything is cooked the same way and stays consistent between visits. “We’re high quality, but I think high quality is a better term than upscale.” Barth said. The restaurant is going for a more casual feel. Despite this, they still want high quality food. “We try to source local, but it’s also about the craft producers,” Barth said. The ingredients are important in any restaurants business plan. Some restaurants stay local, others just go for the best ingredients for the task. “We are actually looking for not only being local but also having the best possible product and the truth this is that Austin does not produce
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Every restaurant has to make decisions on their plan and how to
The meat and cheese board from Unit-D on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018. (Photo by Hayden Tomazin.)
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We’re high quality, but I think high quality is a better term than upscale.” -- Shalou Barth run as a business. This creates an incredibly diverse restaurant scene, where every restaurant makes its own style and twists. Austin is no exception to this rule, and each restaurant is a new experience.
A slice of Pepperoni Primo pizza from Unit-D on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018. (Photo by Hayden Tomazin.)
can. Many restaurants use this method, because it doesn’t force any compromises into the meal planning.
THE STORY BEHIND THE FOOD
Lady Bird Lake at sunset on Sunday, April 15, 2018. (Photo credit Sofia Syed, courtesy of Sofia Syed.)
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The Dining Experience Casual vs. Formal The differences, pros, cons, and oddities of the two different styles. Attire: Formal restaurants expect formal wear. Button downs, ties, dresses. Casual restaurants expect much less, giving you the freedom to choose what you want.
Dining: Casual restaurants are very laid back, with a relaxing atmosphere and a calm experience. Formal restaurants are more structured and consistent.
Reservations: Formal restaurants will often take reservations in advance, allowing you to ensure you’re seated quickly. Casual restaurants rarely have this feature, as the wait tends to be shorter.
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By: Hayden Tomazin
Plating: Plates from formal restaurants will tend to be smaller with a nicer presentation. Each bite is a planned combination. Casual restaurant plates are often larger and the flavor combinations are more up to you.
Menus: Casual restaurants often have disposable menus or wall menus. The prices are often lower and the menu is less showy. Formal restaurants always have a nice, physical menu for your sit-down experience.
Sources: Sources: • tableagent.com •• tableagent.com www.webstaurantstore.com •• www.webstaurantstore.com www.finedininglovers.com • www.finedininglovers.com
Service: Formal Restaurants have a waitstaff that constantly roam the restaurant, ensuring that your food is right, you have water, and you’re satisifed. Casual restaurants are often less dedicated. They check in, but not as much. THE STORY BEHIND THE FOOD
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EFFECTIVE LOCATION Demand for quality food in a short period is risisng as more and more melinials enter the expanding workforce daily STORY BY DECLAN JACKSON
A view of Lake Austin from the Austin Public Library at the intersection of West Cesar Chavez and Shoal Creek Trail on Sunday, March 25th, 2018. (Photo by Declan Jackson).
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veryone likes a good home cooked meal. “A restaurant is good if they’re busy on a Tuesday night” Colin Cowherd said. Food trucks are doing their very best to recreate this satisfaction with a certain specialty, but there are still large obstacles to overcome before they can be considered a landmark.
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PROS AND CONS OF EXPONENTIAL GROWTH In 2018 millennials are now the largest economic driving force in history, surpassing their parents, the baby boomers of World War II. They constantly consume and demand new products at an unprecedented rate, creating the Big Four, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. These companies are expanding their reach, affecting every aspect of life from restaurants to thermostats. Space is being bought in these industries before newcomers have a chance to get off the ground, making it even more important to have solid research and planning before going through with an idea. This is especially important in the restaurant industry where one bad press article can ruin a person’s life dream.
Austin’s economy has grown exponentially since the influx of residents from California moving to the Lone Star State. They come to Austin knowing there moving into a vibrant city full of people following their passion, from starting a business to busking every other weekend. This hub of creativity has also created a surplus of traffic clogging highways daily. With an average commute time of around 30 minutes, the demand for residency hubs located near economic centers grows daily, as workers move to Austin in a steady stream. These newcomers almost always come to Austin with the expectations of buying a house with a great location. Developers try to combat this demand by tempting to secure lots, located near high traffic areas. After these apartments or condominiums are built the amount of traffic flow is increased, making commute times even longer.
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The fifth factor in the T Algorithm is the ability to control the consumer experience, at purchase, through vertical integration.” -- Scott Galloway
A view of a downtown Austin development from the Austin Public Library near the intersection of West Cesar Chavez and Shoal Creek Trail on Sunday, March 25th, 2018. (Photo by Declan Jackson).
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Downtown Austin From the hill country near the intersection of 2222 and 360 on Sunday, March 25, 2018. (Photo by Declan Jackson).
Knowing the demographics of a location before choosing a spot of land to start a business is just as important as the items on the menu. Downtown Austin is a giant hub for young and old professionals, while the university of Texas campus is home to a slightly younger crowd of students. “No specific demographics, everyone loves pizza. Daytimes we park at business parks so it’s all ages and downtown usually a younger professional crowd on Rainey Street” Stony Cohn, owner and operator of Stony’s pizza, said. Pizza is nearly universally loved within every style of food, even with its popularity it is not an instant path to restaurant success, as there is so much competition. Torchy’s Tacos has a similar situation with locations all around town from the suburbs
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to South Congress. Their Northwest Hills location faces a very large lunch crowd from the high school, and culmination of small business parks all around it. their main crowds include families throughout the weekends and a lots of working individuals class and high school students throughout the week days. In comparison their south congress location is almost constantly busy with families and working class alike. Their prime location creates a constant flow of people waiting in line for their “Damn Good Tacos.” There is no surge of people at their south congress location because a high school is that close, and the collection of small business all have different rules for their employees can leave their building.
With Austin’s ever-increasing demand for land near downtown, opportunities to park a food truck or buy land are becoming harder and harder to find. “It’s not hard to find parking for the trucks because state law mandates that we are on private property selling always. It can be tricky finding a spot to rent in the city though since the food trucks have blown up so much” Cohn said Texas’ law about food trucks tries to help the newer small guy, instead it is also beneficial for the larger businesses to take over even more valuable land. This high demand for land isn’t all bad as it forces food trucks to increase their quality to stay relevant within their respective niche in the food industry. Ropollo’s Pizzeria has recently been named for having the best pizza in Texas and the 16th best in America serving its iconic New York Style pies. “they have had the same spots for so long, there is not much competition for their land” Owner Lance Roppolo said. Even though their land is nearly untouchable, the surrounding land is turning into business centers at an everincreasing rate as the demand for jobs increases as giant tech companies plan to move to Austin. Roppolos Pizzeria is also known for their catering which runs seven days a week, sometimes they are open until 3 a.m. on the weekends. More companies and jobs means an increase in catering for mid-size food trucks and restaurants. This could also mean a potential partnership between a corporation and a restaurant where they run routine catering routes throughout the day. This would be like Los Angeles style of food trucks. It would also help eliminate the need for a vast amount of parking for food trucks if they could rotate street parking spots throughout the day. Large grocery chains are moving to selling prepper meals for today or tomorrow. This creates a higher profit margin as they can sell a cooked meal at a more expensive cost, than the combined cost of selling all of the ingredients used to make it. A mainstream example of this is Whole Foods 365 which specializes in meal’s which are meant to be eaten in the 48 hours after they are bought. As consumers get more used to this rising business model small restaurants will have prime opportunities to become a main part of someone’s everyday life.
Roppolo's Pizzeria from East 6th Street near Trinity Street on Sunday, March 25, 2018. (Photo by Declan Jackson).
A view of Mopac, taken from a car on Mopac near Camp Mabry on Sunday, March 25, 2018 (Photo by Declan
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AUSTIN’S
by: Sofia Syed
a dive into Austin’s local cuisine
A survey of LASA students’ favorite local Austin
15.625%
15.625%
12.5%
6.25%
AUSTIN’S 18
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Hopdoddy Burger Bar
Torchy’s Tacos
Other
Magnolia Cafe
Thundercloud Subs
3.125%
FAVORITE
APPETIT E
through the eyes of Austinites
restaurants in a bar graph of the Austin skyline
Sources: •www.skyscrapercenter.com/city/austin •www.emporis.com/statistics/tallest-bu ildings/city/101341/austin-tx-usa •LASA student survey, conducted Feb. 12-19, 2018.
18.75%
12.5%
9.375%
3.125%
Franklin BBQ
Epicerie
P. Terry’s Burger Stand
Kerbey Lane Cafe
Home Slice Pizza
3.125%
RESTAURANTS THE STORY BEHIND THE FOOD
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AUSTIN’S ORGANIC FLAVOR A behind the scenes tour of local , organic, and affordable businesses in the Austin area. STORY BY SOFIA SYED Each table is decorated with a vase of flowers as a centerpiece at Farm to Fork in Leander, Texas on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. (Photo courtesy of Farm to Fork).
The Farm to Fork truck sits outside the restaurant in Leander, Texas on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. (Photo by Sofia Syed.)
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he smell of freshly mashed potatoes fills the air. The sizzle of the lamb chops can be heard above the persistent beeping of the oven timer. Dishes clatter as they are dried and stacked, ready to be decorated with food. The customers can be seen lining up outside of the locked door, anxiously waiting for a taste of the food that will remind them of their grandma’s kitchen. Every city, large or small, has a unique food scene or community attributed to it. Some cities are known for a specific style of food while others are recognized for their wide variety of options. From food trucks to fine dining, Austin restaurants are unique because they appeal to a variety of individuals. Many businesses find it difficult to maintain their reputation of serving a specific food style due to their obligation of serving such a wide variety of local residents. One of the most difficult images for restaurants to maintain is the serving of a healthy menu.
Creating and sustaining a local business serving healthy food has proved to be a challenge, as described by numerous Austin restaurant owners and operators. “Organic food tends to be a little
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more expensive,” Amy Schaffner, the general manager and sous chef of Farm to Fork, said. “It’s in season a little less time a year.” The restaurant, based in Leander, Texas, utilizes all locally-grown, organic ingredients and simple recipes to create a comfort food style setting. Schaffner says that Farm to Fork wants to accommodate customers from every socioeconomic class. Although some restaurants and businesses continue to appeal to a wide variety of customers, others have found a specific target audience. According to Schaffner, all of their employees are able to tell customers exactly where their ingredients came from. Not only do restaurants have to be wary of the cost and expiration date of the ingredients they purchase, but they must also be able to verify the authenticity of the organic farms they buy from and be willing to use produce from alternative sources, should they find it necessary.
The stained glass sign hangs outside the Farm to Fork restaurant in Leander, Texas. (Photo courtesy of Farm to Fork.)
“We refuse to shop outside of the United States” Schaffner said. Due to their desire to remain fully local and organic, Farm to Fork is sometimes faced with a lack of ingredients. The creators of Farm to Fork wanted to stay local by attempting to purchase most, if not all, of their ingredients from local vendors. By doing so, they are able to advertise themselves as being a truly local restaurant, a designation that
attracts a multitude of customers looking for a place to eat that is close to home. Schaffner said that her company made sure to take into account the unique characteristics and desires of the local community during the creation of their restaurant. Businesses are challenged with attracting an assortment of customers, whether they be from different parts of town or have different interests. Local restaurants, in particular, often find it difficult to keep a steady stream of customers due to the opening of other analogous businesses.
Schaffner said that the restaurant would receive clients with different personalities and wishes if they were to be located in a different city. She, along with all the other employees of Farm to Fork, are proud of how successful the restaurant has been in maintaining a comfortable atmosphere, making a profit and retaining regular, local customers.
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Every customer that comes in, we make them part of out family.” Local, fresh ingredients are used to -- Amy Schaffner create their works of art at Farm to Fork
in Leander, Texas. (Photo courtesy of Farm to Fork.)
The community portion of a THE STORY BEHIND THE FOOD
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Community facilitators teach nutrition education and cooking classes at Sustainable Food Center on 17th Street in Austin. (Photo by Buff Strickland, courtesy of Sustainable Food Center.)
Vendors connect with a customer at the Farmers’ Market on Guadalupe Street in Austin. Four of the largest farmers’ markets in Texas are hosted by SFC in Austin. (Photo by Buff Strickland, courtesy of Sustainable Food Center.)
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business is just as important as the food itself. Schaffner added that the Farm to Fork restaurant attributes a large part of its success to their customers. The restaurant, equipped with a very limited advertising budget, has continued to profitably operate in part thanks to their customers’ aptitude for spreading the word about their experience at Farm to Fork Molly Costigan, manager of The Happy Kitchen, or La Cocina Alegre, said that her program has had trouble maintaining its influence on the Austin community due to the development of new, similar programs. The Happy Kitchen is an interactive program created by Austin’s Sustainable Food Center (SFC), an organization aimed at making sure all Austin residents have access to local, healthy and affordable food. The Happy Kitchen mainly focuses on helping people of color or lower income. Costigan said that they find Austin to be a particularly difficult place for those people to live in as a result of the frequent remodeling of neighborhoods to fit the ‘middle-class standard’, which often leads to the lower income residents being forced to move elsewhere. Additionally, the quality of food that these people have access to is significantly lower than others in the Austin community, due to price and location of adequate grocery stores.
The Happy Kitchen is often approached by program participants about the challenges they have encountered in accessing food. Costigan said that the program directors are able to put these individuals in contact with farm stands, local gardens and other organizations that are dedicated to increasing food availability for people of lower income.
not uncommon for one to spot several restaurants selling organic food in close vicinity with each other. It often seems that organic is the new lifestyle. However, organic brings countless challenges of its own: the life span of ingredients, seasonality, licensing and inflated ingredient prices are all factors that contribute to the difficulties Austin restaurant owners find themselves experiencing every day.
Costigan also said that the Happy Kitchen, designed specifically for Austin, would have to change quite a few of its healthy recipes in order to adjust to the lifestyle and organic ingredient availability of a new city. Businesses are often influenced by the culture and layout of the city they are located in. With a new city comes a new variety of consumers to appeal to. The Happy Kitchen has community facilitators teaching their classes because they are better able to help and connect with the participants. A large element of having access to food is knowing how to cook it in a way that works for each individual. These facilitators teach the participants simple recipes and culinary tricks that can easily be put into use in their own kitchen. The culture and lifestyle of the city has had a major impact on how different local businesses are run as well as their goals and target customers. The industry around organic food is beginning to evolve at an exponential rate, as more and more organic purveyors are emerging every day. Today in Austin, it is
Fresh dishes are prepared daily at Farm to Fork in Leander, Texas. (Photo courtesy of Farm to Fork.)
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Location Data
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By Declan Jackson
sssss This map shows how concentrated the number of people is throughout each neighboorhood in Austin.
People Per Square Mile
C urrent Popular Food truck Locations C urrent Open Land for Sale Locations
1,500 3,000 4,500 6,000 7,500 9,000 10,500 12,000 13,500 15,000 16,500 18,000 19,500 21,000 22,500 24,000 25,500 27,000 28,500 30,000 THE STORY BEHIND THE FOOD
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Changes made to restaurants over time STORY BY CHRISTOPHER SOLORZANO
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HISTORY IN YOUR PLATE
Mi Madre’s restaurant building promotes itself at Austin, Texas on a Monday, Feb. 19 , 2018. (Photo by Christopher Solorzano.)
In order a restaurant to be successful, chefs and owners must take many risks. They have kept pushing their boundaries for many generations by changing the experience customers receive, as well as the food that they create. Over time, these risks have changed the style and overall atmosphere of many restaurants worldwide. As weird as it may seem, restaurants haven’t always had a menu, or tables, or the name “restaurant” at all. Restaurants began around 1765 when a man named Boulanger put a sign up that advertising that he was selling food that was fit for the gods. At that time, the so-called restaurant had food more similar to that sold by local grocery stores than what customers would normally expect of a restaurant. Places like this started to become famous and were named guilds. Local pubs decided to sell their customers appetizers as they saw that people would get hungry after drinking for a long time. This was the moment when restaurants truly came to be. Many people saw this as a great investment and decided to create their own restaurants. It wasn’t until the beginnings of the 1900s that restaurants
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became as famous and popular as they are today. There were many varieties of food that came to mind, from Indian to Puerto Rican. At this time there were only two reasons why people didn’t go to eat at restaurants instead of cooking at home. The first reason was that at that time, very few restaurants had physical, printed menus, and the waitresses prefered to memorize the orders instead of writing them down. Secondly, the
“
The restuarant has kept the same kinda ‘homey’ feeling that we wanted in order to make everyone feel
time that the chefs took to prepare dishes was very long. The time one might have to wait for food to arrive at their table was expected to be around 1 hour total, and orders were constantly being mixed up with other customers’ order. Today, there have been many changes in order for the restaurants to become more efficient and to get the food out to the table at a faster and more accurate rate. Some inventions, such as the electronic menus which send the orders of the customers to the chef directly, and totally eradicating the human error out of the equation, is one of the ways this problem has been solved through the years.
Licha’s stairs promotes happy quote on Austin, Texas on a Monday, Feb. 19 , 2018. (Photo by Christopher Solorzano.)
Currently, owners care a lot about employee efficiency and customer satisfaction, and often worry about waiting time or order confusion. Nowadays most owners concentrate on what the customers eat the most and how to improve those dishes. “I have been making many changes depending on how the items sell basically, and some reliable customers have given me tips on how to make it better.” Aurelio Torres, owner and operator of Mi Madre’s Mexican and Tex-Mex Restaurant, said. The owners of restaurants always try to keep these changes as THE STORY BEHIND THE FOOD
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Licha’s restaurant building promotes itself at Austin, Texas on a Monday, Feb. 19 , 2018. (Photo by Christopher Solorzano.)
minimal as possible. As helpful for the restaurant as these changes may be, they may also affect the restaurant negatively. “Some reliable customers have giving me tips on how to make my food better,” Torres said, referring to how the the restaurant has evolved over the years. Many people ask themselves how it is that the chefs and owners manage to create new recipes, as there is so much competition nowadays and there seems to be no way that something new and original can be created. “I was always cooking for my family, so it was just like a thing that just came naturally, and as for my wife I really don’t know where her inspirations came from,” Torres said. Depending on how popular a dish is, or what customers recommend, seem to be some of the strongest reasons why these restaurant owners decide to change their restaurant. Families are a great way to bring new dishes
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Especially in the restaurant industry, you start and then you have to listen to the feedback of your customers.” --Claude Benayoun to the table, as they usually provide new perspectives than what anyone has thought of before. However, some worry that all of the food might taste the same because of the influences that the customers have on the owner or employees of the restaurant. According to Claude Benayoun, co-owner of Licha’s Cantina, the best way to make the best and most effective menu changes is to listen the feedback from customers, from employees, as well as the results from the sales of certain dishes. “Staying in touch with the restaurant leads you to make changes to the menu,” Benayoun said. Benayoun seems to be doing the same thing as Torres, as he relies on his customer feedback for most of the changes he makes in his restaurant, and doesn’t rely much on the how much the restaurant sells. This is a good idea in his restaurant as it is more of a familiar restaurant than a commercial one, meaning they focus more on their relationship with
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Beto’s #1 restaurant building promotes itself at Austin, Texas on a Monday, February 19 , 2018 (Photo by Christopher Solorzano).
customers than the popularity and advertising. Therefore, it is crucial for a restaurant owner like him to keep the families happy. At the same time, the use of this strategy may not be good for the restaurant’s evolution as it keeps only a close group of people happy, instead of everyone. “Well, in my part, I was always cooking for my family, so it was just like a thing that just came naturally, and as for my wife I really don’t know where her inspirations came from.” Torres said. Torres described how many of the Tex-Mex restaurants are based on family. When they create a restaurant, they want to have a family friendly environment. This same thing is happening with Benayoun, as they concentrate very much on keeping the family close, which is a good low-risk option. However, the expansion of the business will become much harder if this doesn’t change. “I kinda taught myself how to cook since I always had to cook my own food when I had to come from school and things like that. In general, if I had to choose one I would say that Lupita could be considered my mentor.” Norberto Nolasco, co-owner of La Placita, Beto’s #1 and Beto’s #2, said.
Beto’s #1 salsa exhibits its at food Austin, Texas on a Monday, Feb. w19 , 2018. (Photo by Christopher Solorzano.)
The priorities of restaurants have clearly changed throughout history, from finding a way to have a more efficient way of serving food, to the atmosphere or environment that the restaurant creates, restaurants have greatly changed from what they originally were.
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We actually spent about three days just looking at arrangements of furniture for Beto’s #2 to make it both eye-pleasing and efficient” THE STORY BEHIND THE FOOD
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T h e r e s t a u r a n t i n f r o n t o f t h e s t o r y PROS AND CONS OF EACH TIME PERIOD Christopher Solorzano In this article the reader (you) will be able to explore the many changes the restaurant industry has had to do throught history, either to follow the new trends, or to be able to make their restaurant stand out to the others. We will also explore time periods so that you can see the evolution of restaurants throughout history
Pros:
Cons:
food.
1600 “guilds” were expensive and didn’t have much variety
first restaurant opens, now you can eat inside
1800 the “restaurants” were actually taverns that sold some food
“guilds” started to sell cooked
more restaurants opened and had 1900 The meals took too long to come, a wider variety of food often orders were confused, and no menus 2000 The food took to long to come to the The were now restaurants, and waiters/waitresses started writing table because of the bad optimizadown the orders tion of space and time. space and time optimized, and electronic menus optimize time even further
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THE STORY BEHIND THE FOOD
now robots don’t serve us meals, or don they...
I F Y O U G O . . . T O T H E P A S T MAIN CHANGES FOUND IN EACH TIME PERIOD
speedee service system (food became fast)
1800
1940 the name resaturant came to be
food delivery became easy to access 1980
2010
Menus were introduced THE STORY BEHIND THE FOOD
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Group Photo
We had a lot of fun making this magazine. We hope that you enjoyed reading it. 32
THE STORY BEHIND THE FOOD
Joshua Graves - 24Diner Shalou Barth - Unit-D Pizza Jill Knobloch - The Austin Beer Garden Brewing Company Amy Schaffner - Farm to Fork Molly Costigan - The Happy Kitchen Becca Montjoy - Sustainable Food Center (SFC) Aurelio torres - Mi Madre’s Claude Benayoun - Licha’s Cantina Norberto Nolasco - La Placita, Beto’s #1, and Beto’s #2 Lance Vincent - Roppolo’s Pizzeria Tony Cohn - Stony’s Pizza Sarah Malhoney - Chi’Lantro
Thank you all for your contributions in making this magazine. We couldn’t have done this without you.
THE STORY BEHIND THE FOOD
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