75th Anniversary Member Memoirs
As a part of celebration of our 75th anniversary, TRA is interviewing member restaurants and featuring how the Texas Restaurant Association has affected their business. These are featured in our digital magazine, Restaurantville Monthly and can be found below.
Zentner's Daughter Steakhouse, San Angelo | Betty Zentner
Betty Zentner started her illustrious career in the restaurant industry at age eight, bussing tables at her father’s restaurant, the Lowake Inn in Rowena, Texas. John Zentner, her father, was a celebrated West Texas restaurateur known for great food at a great price. People traveled hundreds of miles to enjoy a great steak and outstanding hospitality... read more
The County Line BBQ, Austin | Skeeter Miller
Don “Skeeter” Miller got his start in the restaurant industry as many do – in the dish room. After spending three seasons playing baseball for the University of Arkansas on a scholarship, he decided to leave and take his chances working in the oil fields. When that didn’t work out, he heard from his best friend, Randy Goss, who had opened The County Line in Austin. Skeeter was their first dishwasher at the Bee Caves location... read more
Kloesel's Steakhouse & Bar, Moulton | Harvey & Diana Kloesel
For Harvey and Diana Kloesel, the decision to get into the restaurant industry was simple—they loved going out to eat. When they moved back to Moulton from the big city of Houston and discovered there wasn’t a restaurant that caught their attention, they decided to open their own. Harvey, who began cooking in the kitchen with his mom at age 12, fine-tuned his skills in the Army Reserve as a Mess Sergeant... read more
Mi Tierra Cafe, San Antonio | The Cortez Family
The Cortez Family will be celebrating their 71st anniversary of being the restaurant business this year. Our founder Pete Cortez an immigrant from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico opened his first restaurant a 3 table cafe (Jamaica # 5) in San Antonio’s Market Square in 1941. He was young energetic man who had a vision of offering a restaurant that the community would be proud of. He was the first restaurateur at Market Square to use a cash register and the first to add air conditioning. His landlord was very impressed with Pete’s creativity and offered him a second location in 1951—which he named Mi Tierra Cafe...
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If you are interested in having your restaurant featured or for questions or comments, please contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at TRA.
