Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Morrison.
Hi Emily, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Mine is a typical Austin story in many ways. I came here to go to college and just never really left! I was working in restaurants through high school, college, and graduate school thinking of it mostly as a lively and fun means to an end. I was pursuing a life in academic film and television studies for a long time, but realized at a fairly advanced level that it just wasn’t for me. It was a strange feeling to be so highly educated at that point but with so few marketable skills. I’m sure more than one reader knows exactly what that feels like! Like many folks in their early thirties, I was faced with the tremendously crushing question of “what do you want to do with your life?” I made a commitment at that point to try and trust the process of life and to really put my focus into doing things that I enjoy and try not worry about “should” for a while. Fast forward a few years, and I had the opportunity to open a restaurant, The Steeping Room, with my partner. I brought to the restaurant my operations and management background and she brought the tea and food background. We both dreamed of making a space where community could flourish and we could provide healthful food and great tea. We really wanted to have a space where everyone is welcome, where everyone could find something that they can eat and enjoy, and where we showcase beautiful teas. It’s now been nearly 15 years that we’ve been doing this!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have to say that in hindsight, maybe the road was smoother than it felt, but it sure as heck felt really bumpy along the way. I honestly had no idea that opening a restaurant really meant that the bulk of my attention would be learning how to manage and lead up to 80 people at a time. Management is extremely difficult – a lot like herding cats. It required of me to do some very deep soul searching over the years and to figure out how and where to ask for help. In my opinion, excellent and effective management really can only come from a deeply grounded place that you have to return to again and again that insists that people are trying their best and that everyone deserves a healthful, fun, and productive workplace. Sounds easy on paper, but when real life in real restaurants appears that’s not always an easy to position to take or to lead from.
As you know, we’re big fans of The Steeping Room. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The Steeping Room is a full-service restaurant and tea lounge located in central Austin. We offer breakfast, lunch, dinner, Sunday brunch and tea service with a focus on healthful options for everyone. We offer 100+ premium and artisanal tea along with a regularly programmed tea classes. We have a sister company, our online tea shop, which offers even more high quality, high value teas (150+) along with monthly clubs and online classes. Brandwise, I am most proud of the kindness of our staff and the inspired offerings that we’re able to consistently provide. Nothing means more to us than the people that come into our space – that’s what it’s all about – whether those people work alongside us or dine and shop with us.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Unfortunately, I’m not sure what the restaurant business is going to look like in the next 5 to 10 years because the effects of this pandemic are so massive on our particular industry. Likely here in Austin, we’ll be protected from the worst of it because our city seems to be a perpetual boom period. I can’t really tell if people will continue to want to cook more for themselves and see the wisdom in eating at home more or if it really will all just “return to normal” business-wise. I do think of course that many more restaurants and hospitality focused businesses will go out of business in the next handful of months all over the country, which is devastating. Opening and running a restaurant is a Herculean feat and I feel so terribly for people who have to make the very hard choice to close up shop. It is so painful to drive by completely empty restaurants at 7:00 at night. That being said, when and if “normal” comes back, we’ll clearly continue to see the trend of take-out and delivery being more and more important. Making that a consistent and user friendly part of your restaurant operation is going to continue to be critical for success.
Contact Info:
- Email: tsronline@thesteepingroom.com
- Website: thesteepingroom.com
- Instagram: @thesteepingroom
- Facebook: facebook.com/TheSteepingRoom
- Twitter: @TheSteepingRoom
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