Like many Shelby County small business
owners, Tommy and Rose Specter
have adapted to the ever changing
environment the COVID-19 crisis has created.
But in their business as owners and operators
of T/R’s Steak and More, that has not been easy.
Among one of the hardest hit sectors of the
economy impacted by the coronavirus pandemic,
restaurants were literally brought to their knees.
Some have not recovered and remain shuttered.
Others, like Center’s T/R’s Steak and More, have
revamped their entire operations to keep the
doors open, staff employed and customers fed.
While every facet of the restaurant industry
has been hard hit by COVID era restrictions, the
buffet sector was especially impacted.
In mid-March the Specter’s had a strong
inkling of what was coming down the pike as news
of the pandemic grew increasingly dire. Rose says
she called Center City Manager Chad Nehring to
get his take on just how bad the impact might be
on small businesses and restaurants in particular.
“We knew it was coming, but when was it
coming and what are we going to do with this
business if we can’t open up?” Rose says. When
Nehring told her the restaurant was going to have
to close to abide by state mandates, she got with
Tommy.
“The hardest part was to call 35 of our
employees and tell them they don’t have a job,
not because I don’t want to be open, but because
the government tells us we have to close down,”
she says.
For the first two weeks everything was
shutdown.
“We’re sitting at home trying to figure out
what we’re going to do but with neither one of us
talking to one another about it. It was like we were
both scared, and if we said it out loud, it was really
real.”
They both got on the phone to contact
vendors to ask them to work with them on paying
bills.
“Having to call and actually ask ‘how can you
work with us on this,’ is something I never in my
lifetime thought I’d ever have to do,” she says.
Over the years the couple had talked about
easing away from the serve-yourself buffet
concept. The pandemic forced their hand.
Providing curbside pickup service was the
only way TR’s could operate in the early days of
the COVID pandemic. With the service they were
able to serve some customers and bring a handful
of staffers back on the job.
There was no way that revenue stream came
anywhere near what it took to cover overhead.
“We didn’t even make a third of what we
normally did,” Rose says. “When we were doing
curbside, if we had not gotten the breaks we
did from our bank and vendors along with the
government doing the PPP (payroll protection
program) loan there was no way we could have
paid our bills.”
When restaurants were allowed to reopen
their dining rooms there were severe restrictions
on what percent of capacity seating they were
allowed. First it was 25 percent with restrictions
on social distancing; then 50 percent of capacity.
“We didn’t open at 25 percent because we
knew we couldn’t do the buffet at that,” she
said. Tommy said the uncertainty of the whole
pandemic situation resulted in them being overly
cautious.
“Everything has changed so much in how it
was presented — you don’t need to wear masks,
you need to wear masks, it’s on this surface; you
can go outside the heat will kill the virus and
then, no it doesn’t.”
Rose said while sitting out under the canopy
handling takeout orders she would notice the flow
of traffic, or lack of it.
“In Center we have a lot of business people
who are in town during the week, but it was way
down,” she says. “And in the evening, there was
no traffic. People were staying home and eating
at home.”
TR’s shut down on Saturdays and evenings
just because there was not enough traffic to even
sustain the curbside orders.
“We used the time when it was only 25
AT A GLANCE
WHAT:
T/R’s Steaks and
More Grill & Buffet
WHO:
Locally owned and
operated by Tommy
and Rose Specter
WHERE:
832 Hurst Street
Center, TX 75935
WHEN:
Sunday
11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Monday - Saturday
11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
PHONE:
(936) 598-4115
FACEBOOK
@TRS-Steaks-and-
More
Business MATTERS | 2020 Fall Edition 9