State Restaurant Associations Pursue Mexican/Latin Restaurants

By Ed Avis

   You are wanted! State restaurant associations across the U.S. are realizing that owners of Mexican and other Latin restaurants are underrepresented among their members, and some are taking steps to recruit them.

   “The perception is that membership in the state association is something exclusively for Americans, or that it’s an old boys club,” says Damian Barone, member relations manager, Austin, for the Texas Restaurant Association. “I can assure you that is not the case. We do whatever it takes to make sure the restaurateurs and other the people in the industry are taken care and make sure they are not alone in their journey.”

Resistance to Joining

   The belief that state associations are “old boys’ clubs” is part of the cultural divide between Mexican/Latin restaurant owners and others. The language barrier contributes to that divide – if a recruiter from a state association does not speak Spanish and the owner he approaches does not speak English, the conversation doesn’t get very far.

   Another important issue is that some fear the associations are government organizations, which are especially unappealing in the current political environment.

   “When you’ve come from another country and taken the chance to start a restaurant, you’ve built up trust through your family, and it’s hard to trust an outside organization. And some of them feel the state association is connected to the government, which doesn’t help,” Barone says.

   But some state associations are working to close the cultural divide.

   “Previously we were not prepared to take care of Spanish-speaking restaurant members, but now we are,” explains Maria Neider, director of member development for the California Restaurant Association (CRA). “We now have four Spanish speakers on staff, and we will be hiring someone later this year who can work exclusively in Spanish. Part of this person’s job will be to focus on the Spanish version of our outreach.”

Advocacy for Restaurants

   The fear that state restaurant associations are affiliated with the government is an unfortunate irony, given that one of the strengths of state associations is that they advocate on behalf of restaurants against burdensome government regulations.

   “I train our staff to approach potential members by explaining that advocacy on their behalf is our main thing, and no one else in California does that,” Neider says. “Often they are only vaguely aware of legislation that affects their business. So we inform them about what we’ve been working on, and sometimes they say, ‘Why haven’t I heard about that legislation?’ And we tell them, ‘Because we got it killed before it was implemented!’”

   For example, Neider says the CRA successfully lobbied against a bill that would have required restaurants to create staff schedules 28 days in advance, and pay a fine, plus pay the workers, if the schedule changed.

   “Let’s say you have a restaurant on the beach and you schedule 15 works for a shift, and then it’s foggy and freezing and no customers show up. You want to be able to call four workers and have them stay home – if that legislation had passed, you could not have done that,” Neider says. “We managed to kill that.”

   The Illinois Restaurant Association (IRA) also has been effective in advocating for issues its members care about. For example, the IRA endorsed a Chicago ordinance that allowed 18-year-olds to serve alcoholic beverages.

   “Allowing 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds to sell and serve alcohol with the proper training is the kind of smart, pragmatic legislation that a state restaurant association fights for in order to help the industry thrive,” says Sam Sanchez, second vice chairman of the Illinois Restaurant Association and owner of Moe’s Cantina and Old Crow Smokehouse. “This ordinance helps with youth unemployment in Chicago, while also expanding the labor pool for restaurants.”

Discounts and Training

   Perhaps the most tangible benefits of state restaurant association membership are the training programs they offer and the discounts the groups negotiate.

    For example, the state restaurant associations offer ServSafe training, including ServSafe Food Protection, ServSafe Alcohol Responsible, and Sexual Harassment Prevention.

   The negotiated discounts help members save money on insurance, payroll services, music licensing, office supplies, and much more.

   “We have a workers’ compensation insurance program that provides our members a 5 percent discount,” Neider says. “That will save them often thousands of dollars.”

A Phone Call Away

   The advocacy, discounts, and other programs the state restaurant associations offer are valuable member benefits, but for many restaurants, being able to get advice from experts and fellow restaurant owners is essential.

   “What’s most important is that they're a phone call away,” Sanchez says. “You can pick up the phone and you can ask a question or ask for advice or information.”

El Restaurante, which recently joined the three state associations mentioned above, has launched an online State Association Center to help our readers access information about each state association. Visit the center at elrestaurante.com/state-association-center