I returned from the recent Texas Restaurant Show reflecting on the fact that people I have known for decades, as well as people I have just met, have at least one thing in common:
They don’t walk around with PTSD after enduring an industry wide life-threatening crisis followed by the longest period of headwinds I have ever seen.
Fortunately, the people in our industry also have another thing in common: resilience. Restaurateurs – and the Texas Restaurant Association that reflects them – have evolved to look forward, become organized, and understand the value of taking smart, logical steps to constantly improve guest experience, guest count, profit, and net worth.
As a result, we don’t look like Detroit’s auto industry did when Japan started making better cars in the 70s. And we don’t look like the manufacturing segment in general when China rose to undercut pricing at the beginning of the 21st century.
How We Have All Grown
Over the past few years, every successful person I know has grown professionally in a dynamic way – and they now use that growth to improve their restaurants. They carry themselves ready to handle anything thrown their way, even when it sometimes feels like they’re on the wrong end of an axe throwing competition.
I see this every day working with my clients.
What We Do Now
We have learned to navigate the big changes in our industry connected to spending habits, consumer preferences, and a restaurant building habit that outpaces population growth.
That means:
- Beating the drum constantly to measure and improve guest experience so guest count goes up.
- Educating employees to close gaps in the guest experience.
- Drilling down on numbers and financial literacy so managers can run more profitable businesses instead of shifts, and begin to use the AI tools to focus to arrive at that point quickly
- Reinforcing the opportunity to improve in what they choose to talk about every day to inspire optimal behavior amongst teammates
Take these steps today to be among the winners who outperform today’s bifurcated market.
Look Up, Not Down
Negativity would be easy – the reasons are apparent to everyone. I won’t pile on and tell you why these headwinds exist; you already know.
I do know one restaurant general manager who tells me, “There is nothing we can do,” after listing a litany of factors outside of his restaurant that hold sales down. Just one out of everyone I work with.
Past years of tail winds, for those of you who can remember them, made us all look a lot better than we probably deserved. Not anymore – now we have to earn it every day.
I closed my talk at 2026’s Texas Restaurant Show session with this thought:
Don’t be a victim. Celebrate and appreciate the fact that, as a successful multi-unit operator, you have the chance to improve the lives of your guests, employees, and family every day. You have relationships with guests that chain operators will never be able to duplicate. Focus, strategy, accountability, and intention cut through those headwinds. The rest is up to you.
