#restaurant-ownership

#restaurant-ownership

When the Texas Roadhouse off the I-35 Service Road in Austin opened in 2004, it was the first (and only) franchise to be co-owned by the singer himself. Before folks even cross the restaurant's threshold, the South Austin Texas Roadhouse proudly displays signage indicating Nelson's ownership. Above the front door, the glass window is printed with the words "Willie Nelson - Owner," so music-loving epicures know they're in the right place.

"At a certain point we just decided, you know what, we want to take the training we have in Asian cooking, and wok cooking specifically, and put it to use," Grinker said.

Most aspiring chefs break into the biz washing dishes in bustling restaurant kitchens, but for Vinh Nguyen, that education began at home. "My family and I made friends with everybody, mostly because of my mom's cooking," Vinh said during a recent phone interview. "My mom would make food and bring it over unabashedly to neighbors' houses, so being the youngest one, I always followed her in the kitchen like I was her baby sous chef."

This summer, Pizza Oliva, which had been in operation for 23 years, was sold to a local couple, Karina Rosselli and Jonathan Waite, and renamed after their dog, Ellie. In the month since it changed hands, Ellie's Pizzeria has changed the chicken wings recipe, added new menu items, created a 12-flavor hand-scooped ice cream counter and generated a perfect 5-star rating with more than 100 reviews on Google.

Opening a restaurant requires deep soul-searching and a genuine love for the food and beverage industry, not just a romantic notion.

"I thought, well, if I don't go and do it now, I might not ever do it, and I'll just end up working forever and ever," Selby, now 43, said with a laugh.