Texas Restaurant Association Highlights Statewide Foodservice Industry Changes
The foodservice industry is operating under a series of new and amended laws that were passed during Texas’ 88th Regular Legislative Session. The Texas Restaurant Association delivered over 70 offensive and defensive wins during the session, creating more streamlined regulations, cost savings and new opportunities to enhance the customer experience. These laws will benefit the 55,000 foodservice establishments that employ more than 1.4 million Texans, plus the communities they serve.
“As the second-largest private-sector employer in Texas, foodservice operators rely on our legislators to make our business environment as strong as possible,” Emily Williams Knight Ed.D., president and CEO of the Texas Restaurant Association, said. “The Texas foodservice industry is resilient, but the past few years have created enormous challenges for our industry in particular. By working with our state’s officials to make government more efficient, and to plan for future growth, we continue to find enormous success helping restaurants overcome their challenges and thrive.”
This summer, Texas restaurants have experienced a decline of dine-in customers due to the extreme heat. According to OpenTable, Texas’ seated diner traffic has decreased 3-5% compared to Summer 2022. At the same time, food and labor costs are both up over 20% compared to pre-pandemic levels. For these reasons, regulatory relief, cost savings and new tools to enhance the customer experience come at a great time for Texas restaurants.
