TRA Safety Group Receives $1.4M Dividend from TX Mutual

Texas Mutual Insurance Company announced a $1,387,241 dividend to the Texas Restaurant Association (TRA) safety group. The dividend was based largely on the group’s overall loss ratio.

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Hottest Restaurant Menu Trends in 2012

Children's nutrition and local sourcing top the list of hottest trends according to the "What's Hot in 2012" survey results.

The National Restaurant Association surveyed nearly 1800 professional chefs—members of the American Culinary Federation to learn what trends they expect to see on restaurant menus in the coming year. Also included in the survey were questions about technology trends, food trucks, fruit and vegetables on menus and restaurant gardens.

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TRA Launches New Websites

Welcome to the Texas Restaurant Association's new websites! Our goals in developing a new restaurantville.com for the association and swfoodexpo.com for the Southwest Foodservice Expo were to:

• Inform and educate the industry—position TRA as the go-to resource for the industry and promote the opportunities to be found at Expo
• Identify TRA—who we are and the value we bring to members and the industry at large

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TRA Partners with TXDOT on Holiday Safety Campaign

The holiday season is upon us, and so is the opportunity to participate in the Texas Department of Transportation’s 14th annual holiday campaign to help prevent drunk driving. As you may know, Texas leads the nation in drunk driving deaths. Since traffic crashes spike this time of year, we want to do our part to help curb drunk driving.

For a limited time, and while supplies last, TxDOT is offering all Texas Restaurant Association members FREE holiday-themed coasters, napkins and decals to remind your guests to celebrate safely. This year the interactive coasters include a “QR” code that patrons can scan with their smart phones to watch a festive video starring Santa’s reindeer. Materials are available in English and in Spanish.

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Texas Restaurant Operators Report Stronger Same-Store Sales

Austin, Texas – The Texas Restaurant Association, in partnership with the National Restaurant Association, conducts a monthly Texas Restaurant Industry Tracking Report survey. In November, 60% of Texas restaurant reported higher same-store sales when compared to November 2010 while 20% reported a sales decline. Nationally, 50% of operators report same-store sales increases and 28% report lower same-store sales.

A majority, 60% percent of Texas operators expect sales to improve in the next six months and 30% expect sales to be about the same. The national outlook is  less positive with 41% of operators expecting higher sales and 46% expecting sales to remain about the same.

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Texas Restaurant Association Launches Freedom Is Sweet, Campaign Benefiting Veterans

Washington, DC and Austin, Texas - The National Restaurant Association (www.restaurant.org) and the Texas Restaurant Association (https://restaurantville.com) today announced the launch of “Freedom is Sweet!”, a fundraising campaign to support  rehabilitation for military veterans from all branches of service and their families through housing, medical, athletic, occupational and physical training programs. The pilot program is expected to become a nationwide community affairs initiative of the National Restaurant Association and partner state restaurant associations next year.

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Texas Restaurant Association and UnitedHealthcare Help Improve Health Benefits Access to Texas Restaurant Owners, Employees

Austin, Texas – More than 37,000 Texas restaurant owners and operators now have access to health insurance and related products and services through the Restaurant Health Care Alliance, a joint project of the National Restaurant Association and UnitedHealthcare.

The Alliance, partnering with the Texas Restaurant Association, provides a suite of health care products that will help Texas restaurant employees access lower-cost health care coverage and related products and services. These include individual and small-business Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) and Health Savings Account (HSA) health plans as well as discount programs available through OptumHealth Allies.

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Abilene Restaurant Association Presents Healthcare Reform Law: What it Means for Your Restaurant

Abilene, Texas – The Abilene Restaurant Association, a Texas Restaurant Association chapter, is hosting a meeting Wednesday, August 10 to help restaurateurs prepare for the new healthcare law.  Scott Lea, TRA director of insurance, will be the guest speaker.  Lea will address the healthcare law implementation timeline, who the law applies to and what steps restaurateurs can take to plan for the law’s possible impact on their business.

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New Slate of Leaders Take Office at Texas Restaurant Association

Austin, Texas – The new slate of Texas Restaurant Association (TRA) leaders took office for 2011-2012 at the annual meeting held during the Southwest Foodservice Expo, June 26-28 in Dallas, Texas.

Lisa Perini, Perini Ranch Steakhouse, Buffalo Gap is the new president. Scott Plowman, Parkway Grill & Sports Bar, Wichita Falls is the president-elect. Bernay Sheffield, Zentner’s Daughter Steakhouse, San Angelo, will serve as vice president and Jerry Morales, Gerardo’s Casita Grill, Midland is the secretary-treasurer.

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