Two years after a change in landlords forced him to relocate his restaurant from downtown Austin, Gene Kobboon said he struggled to find the same success at Thai Passion’s new Northwest Austin home. “We were doing really good in downtown,” he told Community Impact Newspaper days before he shuttered the north location of Thai Passion. “When we moved up here, we were new in the area. It’s tough. It’s very difficult because they already have local restaurants around here.” Besides facing competition for customers from six other nearby Thai restaurants—Northwest Austin is the region’s mecca for Asian cuisine—Kobboon tried to survive in a burgeoning Austin food scene. “It’s gotten insanely competitive,” said Patrick Terry, founder of P. Terry’s Burger Stand, which has three locations in Northwest Austin. “Sometimes bringing your A-game isn’t enough. You also need some luck.” Kobboon said he found some success with Sunday brunch, live music and late-night hours until 2 a.m. But because relocating took a toll on his customer base, he had to close the restaurant Feb. 10.

Help wanted

The increase in the number of new restaurants in the Austin area has also brought an influx of new jobs, but that has not translated to well-staffed restaurants. When he reopened in 2014, Kobboon said the quality of service suffered because he was understaffed. Lately he said he has been almost fully staffed and able to focus on quality service. “In downtown we were shorthanded almost every day, in the kitchen or [front of the house],” Kobboon said. “I talked with other restaurant owners, and they all have the same problem with the workers. It’s so difficult to find people to work.” From 2011-15, the number of food service workers increased almost 22 percent in Texas compared with a population increase of nearly 7 percent, according to data from the U.S Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. In the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area, the growth difference is even greater at 31 percent growth in food service workers compared with a 12 percent population increase. “When you’re at 3 percent [unemployment], it’s hard to find help,” Terry said. “You just have to continue to pay more. The danger is you start to price yourself out of your business, which has had a national effect on restaurants because labor is significantly going up. You just can’t keep going up on your menu prices.” Majid Khan, who co-owns Texas Wings & Grill on Pond Springs Road, said he has been short-staffed with delivery workers, who often do not show up. He said he plans to transition his deliveries to UberEats. “I have to be here all the time,” he said. “If we’re short on drivers, I have to make those deliveries.”

Local trends

Business was slow at first upon opening Texas Wings & Grill in July, but residents from the nearby neighborhoods soon discovered the local establishment, which aims to offer better-quality handmade sauces and seasonings than national wing chains, Khan said. “Now I’m worried for the future,” he said. “I see there is not going to be enough space for people to come in and dine, and I’m going to need more space. On the weekends it’s busy.” Local restaurants continue to have an edge in Austin over national chains and franchises, but that has led to a regional surge in local dining options, Terry said. “The people who are interested in eating local have a lot more choices,” he said. “Frankly, there are only so many people. It is not as unusual as it once was to have a local place and to have local sourcing.” The popularity of the food industry also has increased with the rise of cooking shows, said Robert Vandeventer, cafe and catering manager at Garden Spot Cafe and Catering on Burnet Road. “It’s cool to own a restaurant now; it’s cool to cook,” he said. “In the ’90s if you were a chef or a cook, unless you worked at the best places and people knew all about you, you were just a guy who worked on a [kitchen] line.” Garden Spot has survived for 34 years because of the quality of its simple food: handmade sandwiches served during lunch hours and homestyle, Southern comfort food available through its catering services, Vandeventer said. “Either keep it fancy or be good at the simple,” he said. “People really appreciate a cheeseburger, a sandwich or a taco. That’s what’s great about [Garden Spot]. There’s nothing off-the-wall crazy about what we make here.” Raymond Choi, who took over ownership of Garden Spot in 2016, said he would like to open a second location of the restaurant but plans to wait three years. He has 10 years of experience as a sushi chef, but he said he never owned a restaurant before. “I need to get that knowledge first,” Choi said.

From the tip jar

Gaining knowledge first is advice Terry said he would give other restaurateurs wanting to expand. He and his wife, Kathy, needed a few years to locate the right spot for their second burger stand. “Had we opened any sooner than we did, it could have been disastrous,” he said. “We found out really quickly how hard it is to have two locations than just one. You have to maintain the consistency of the product—that’s the No. 1 challenge.” Terry said new restaurateurs should focus on building up their first location before expanding. “Because we were always there we got to know our customers, and customers will tell you how you’re doing, what you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong,” Terry said. “If you’re listening to them you’re able to improve.” Dave Duce, a certified restaurant broker with We Sell Restaurants, said many restaurants fail because of the upfront costs needed to build out a space. “If you have an empty shell and 3,000 square feet and have to put in a full kitchen and bar, you’re talking $1 million, $700,000-$800,000 and then you have to deal with permitting,” he said. For restaurateurs wanting to expand or even open a first location, Duce said many are choosing second-generation spaces, meaning a storefront has already been built out. With increasing rent costs and new shopping centers that offer more restaurant space, Duce said it is harder for restaurants to compete for residents’ disposable income and make an earning. “The competition for the number of new restaurants opening, it can be difficult unless you’re a destination location and have a killer concept and kill it from Day 1,” he said. “It’s hard to share all that money.”