Friday, November 11, 2016

Superior Spotlight: Las Casa Restaurant & Patio

                                    
          


Small Business Saturday is on November 26th. This is a great opportunity for small businesses to drive more traffic into their stores, businesses and restaurants.

In honor of the Shop Local Initiative and Small Business Saturday, we are highlighting one of our favorite small businesses, Las Casas Restaurant & Patio in Temple, Texas. 




Meet Ralph Sheffield. Ralph and his wife Debbie have owned Las Casas Restaurant & Patio for the past 34 years! Ralph loves being in charge and has been working in the restaurant business since he was 12 years old. See his success story.






What inspired you to go into the restaurant business?
I went to work at age 12 in the pizza business.  When I was 19, I opened a pizza place in Temple with another guy that I used to work for. In 1977, when I was 21, I opened a pizza by the slice restaurant in the mall. Over the next 4 years I built 40 more pizza shops. I sold that business in 1982, and that year I opened Las Casas and Catering.

How many employees do you have?
35


Do you have any mentors, or have you had any along the way? 
My grandfather was my mentor. He was in the cement business and he taught me about hard work and how to be a people person.

Where do you get your recipes from?
I create all of my own recipes.

Do you offer daily specials? 
Yes

What is the most successful promotion you have ever run for your restaurant? 
White Wing Wednesday. It was a promotion that we ran for 10 years. You could get wings for ½ price when you dine in. It would pack the house and our sales for margaritas and beer tripled. We stopped the promotion about 5 years ago because of the high price of bacon. People still call on Wednesdays to see if we are still doing it.






How often do you change your menu? Do you have a seasonal menu? Do you offer daily specials?
I update our menu about once a year.  We have daily lunch and drink specials on the Patio. And we do offer a children’s menu. We use
Superior Menus for our menu printing.


What is your biggest challenge?
Labor and managing food costs.

What do you love most about owning your own business?
I am in control of what happens.

Do you have any additional achievements?
I was the State President of the Texas Restaurant Association from 2002-2003. I was elected in 2007 to serve as State Representative in the Texas House until I left in 2015.


Would you like to be in our next restaurant spotlight? Email us at CustomerService@SuperiorMenus.com attention Wendy

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