“It’s hard to make it in a small
town but we’ve done really well. If
we can last until this (COVID) dies
down I really think we’ll be fine.
— Tommy Specter / Owner
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic T/R’s Steak and More temporarily shifted
operations to all take out with curb side pick up service. In restaurant dining has returned.
bacteria, the temperatures and be sanitary
but yet they’re sitting at home and we’re
left out here to fend for ourselves and that’s
very frustrating to me.”
The Texas Restaurant Association and
Gov. Greg Abbott’s office offered guidelines
and TR’s staff followed those rules.
“We had to make decisions if we
wanted to stay in business and make sure
our customers felt safe coming here,” Rose
says. “We all wear masks and I wear a mask
when I go anywhere. It’s not just about
protecting you and your family, it’s about
protecting your co-workers and customers.”
Years of experience
Tommy said as a young man he did not
have the opportunity of getting a college
education.
“My parents couldn’t afford it, I
couldn’t afford it,” he says. “I felt the food
business was an area I felt I could do well.”
He went to work for a chain operation
where he worked his way to assistant
manager, then manager and district
manager. He went to work to work at the
corporate office for a vice president for
several years before taking a position with
Golden Corral as a supervisor.
“Golden Corral was originally a small
town budget steak house,” Tommy says.
Then the buffet concept became popular
and the chain headed in that direction.
“They ended up selling all the olds
stores and franchising them,” he says. The
buffet sector of the restaurant business
relies on volume to get the desired
profit margins and as the chain moved
in that direction it started only targeting
communities with 50,000 population or
larger.
Center was one of the Golden Corral
operations he was familiar with while
working with the corporation as a district
manager.
They purchased franchise operations
in Center and Crockett and have been in
Center since 1991. The restaurants did well
enough that Rose was able to be a stayat-home
mom while their children were
growing up.
The couple closed down the Crockett
Golden Corral store in August 2003. In 2004
they had the opportunity to let the franchise
go and did so.
“We’ve been on our own ever since,”
Tommy says. “It’s hard to make it in a small
town but we’ve done really well. If we can
last until this (COVID) dies down I really
think we’ll be fine.
“It’s just a question, and it’s not just for
us, but for all small businesses — can we
last until then?” Tommy says. Aside from
their own income, the Specters know a lot
of staffers, including several who have been
with them for years, are counting on them.
Prior to the pandemic about 10-12
staffers were full time.
“But even for our part-timers, this is
income they need to help make ends meet,
to maybe put themselves or their kids
through college,” Rose says. “They’re all
like family and it broke my heart when we
had to lay them off when this started.
Tommy adds that one of the most
rewarding aspects of being able to provide
jobs is seeing employees use their income
to better themselves. While there are a
number of examples, one which many
residents may be familiar with is former
TR’s staffer Mario Osby, who is now the
principal at Shelbyville High School,
he says.
“We work hard and take a lot of pride
in what we do,” he says. The Specters hope
they are able to continue that 30-plusyear
tradition well past the coronavirus
pandemic and into the future.
Rose says the couple appreciate all the
support they have received.
“Thank you to those that helped us to
stay open, and to those local businesses
who helped us with this remodel,” she says.
Those include Center Glass, Covington
Lumber, Emi-Tech, Tommy Moody, French
Electric, Isch Plumbing, Spratley Floors,
Intelligent Concepts and American State
Bank.
“Along with our customers who kept
us going during the curbside, and the local
businesses who came by and fed their
employees,” Rose says. “Moving to Shelby
County was one of the blessed things that
God has directed us to.”
Business MATTERS | 2020 Fall Edition 11