- Coming up on "Austin InSight:" a conversation with the co-founder of P. Terry's Burger Stand.

What's next for this local favorite?

"Austin InSight" starts right now.

- [Announcer] Support for "Austin InSight" comes from: Sally & James Gavin, and also from Daniel L. Skret.

(tranquil lively upbeat music) (tranquil lively upbeat music continues) - Hi there, and thanks for joining us, I'm Laura Laughead.

Right now, we're at P. Terry's on North Lamar, the second ever location, not for lunch, but to introduce you to Patrick Terry, the co-founder and namesake of iconic Austin burger joint P. Terry's.

We're speaking with about what inspired him, why they place such an emphasis on healthier ingredients, and why they won't be expanding outside of Texas anytime soon.

All that and more in our upcoming in-depth interview.

(slicer clacking) But, first, a few facts about their people, potatoes, and more.

20 years after a humble start at their first location at South Lamar in Barton Springs, P. Terry's has grown in scale as a business, and in the affection of loyal customers.

- We go to P. Terry's pretty often.

I like that it's organic, I like the brand as well, they do so much for the community, they have their spirit days where they fundraise for non-profits.

So it's a good, local brand.

And then I also don't feel as bad about him having a cheeseburger and french fries when it's organic and you know that it's locally sourced.

- P. Terry's employs about 1,300 people, and about a third of the company's leadership team actually comes from burger stand team members, that's promoting from within.

And, fun fact, people love more than just their burgers.

Last year, they made more than 700,000 cookies, and each year, they go through about 6,000-pounds of potatoes, that's a lot of their famously fresh cut french fries.

(basket clacking) (machines whirring) P. Terry's has 27 locations in Austin, seven in the San Antonio area, plus three in Houston, but none outside of Texas.

Why is that?

That's just one of the questions we put to Patrick Terry.

More now in our interview.

(tranquil lively upbeat music) And joining us now is Patrick Terry, the Co-Founder of the iconic Austin chain P. Terry's.

Mr.

Terry, it is so great to have you with us today.

- It's great to be here, thanks for having me.

- So 20 years is a big deal, especially if you think about the number of restaurants in Austin that have come and gone in that time.

And yours is not only still around, but it's thriving, and people who love P. Terry's, they really love P. Terry's.

We wanna show you, I don't know if you've seen this, but someone even got a tattoo.

- Oh.

(chuckles) Yeah, I've seen that.

- Yes, this did the rounds a few years ago.

You know you're beloved when someone like tattoos them on their skin.

- True.

It was the ultimate compliment, I won't argue that.

- Did you ever imagine that one day you would get this popular?

- Oh, no.

No, of course not.

I'd like to think that we would hit what we did and what we're doing, but, really, when we opened at Lamar in Barton Springs in Austin down from Zilker Park, the idea was to build a restaurant with expanding the park.

We wanted to bring the park all the way to our restaurant, so all the landscaping kind of generated that.

And what we were looking for was to open one and maybe two.

And if I could open two, I kind of felt like I had succeeded.

- Well, there is certainly no shortage of competition in the burger scene in Texas, so to open two is a huge accomplishment in and of itself, and now look at you.

- Right.

- But let's go back to the beginning.

You're from Abilene, and we read that you grew up going to Mack Eplen's Drivateria- - Right.

- An iconic burger joint there.

It's one thing to love eating burgers, who doesn't?

- Right.

- But what inspired you to want to make burgers for a living?

- Well, I think it was the positive experience that I had going to Mack's.

And, you know, my memories of being with my family, eating a kids' burger and a order of fries, they had hot apple pies with frosting on it, you know, how they put that on it.

- Ooh.

- And my experience was so positive that I think it had a profound effect on me.

And the idea of a burger stand and fries and shakes, it's really hard to argue that.

And I get great satisfaction, to this day, I was at a store this afternoon handing out cookies to the customers as they were eating at the dining room, to this day to see the satisfaction of particularly kids in your restaurant eating that food and feeling great, and hopefully having a rapport either with their friends or their parents, amazingly satisfying.

And I think that's what drew it to me.

For a long, long time, I had wanted to open up a burger stand, before we actually did.

- Well, it's a quintessential childhood experience.

And what I find interesting about your story is, being from a small town, the lore is kind of like kids dream of getting out because they don't wanna "flip burgers."

- Right.

- That's like what they say.

But your childhood dream was to capitalize on that quintessential childhood experience and make it a dream for other kids.

But you didn't always though work in the burger business, your career has included other things like consulting, marketing, there was an Italian restaurant at one point.

- Right.

- How did that journey then lead you to start your own burger joint instead of joining a big, existing franchise?

- Well, I was never gonna have a franchise, I was never gonna join a big, existing company.

Although I had had jobs out of college and careers out of college, I was in advertising and, like you said, marketing, my soul is being an entrepreneur and being on my own.

And so, I look back, at five years old, I had a Kool-Aid stand in my front yard, and my dad was pretty sharp guy, and he came out one day, and growing up in Abilene, it was always hot, especially in the summers, and he told me, "You know, why don't you put the temperature on your poster?"

So it said "Kool-Aid, 5 cents."

And then I put temperature, "It's 102 out" or something.

And that drew a customer, because it was a reason to stop.

And so, it's always been in my blood, and it's always been who I am, and my parents were always there to provide, you know, those kind of tips and really the pathway that allowed me to go out on my own at some point.

But it was always in my blood.

It was very hard for me to have a real job, you know, a nine to five job, very hard.

My first job was in advertising, I was working for a very large, successful advertising agency, Tracy-Locke, BBDO, in Dallas, and yet, I couldn't just be satisfied with that.

I opened a pizza place at night, and from work at five o'clock drove to my pizza place that was open from five until 10.

And I hired people to work there while I couldn't be there.

So it's always been a part of me, and this is more real of who I am than anything else.

- And selfishly, we're really glad that you left all those other jobs- - Yeah, oh, thank you.

- To create this one.

- Thank you.

- And you mentioned, you know, family has played a big role in your career.

Something interesting that inspired you that people might not know, your Co-Founder and wife, Kathy, read the book "Fast Food Nation," an expose of the negative impacts of so-called big fast food on health and society, it was actually later turned into a movie, of course- - Right.

- Directed by none other than another well-known Austinite- - Right.

- Richard Linklater, and we're gonna play a clip.

(tense dramatic thudding) (worker imitates firearm banging) - Wow, tastes like it's right off the grill.

- You don't think it needs like liquid smokes- - No.

No, no, no, I think it's perfect.

(tense upbeat rock music) (horn honking) - The book mentions specifically, quote, "The industrialization of the restaurant kitchen," something that concerned Kathy.

Can you talk about that, and how those concerns shaped the way you built P. Terry's?

- Well, it became the cornerstone.

And I can still remember Kathy handing me the book and said, "Well, if you're gonna open up a hamburger stand, you need to read this first," I literally to this day can remember those words.

And, of course, what it did was give us a pathway of what not to do and what not to become.

And we got very lucky.

You know, you don't do this for 20 years without luck, and there were points in time where that luck just stood out.

And as we were trying to open, you know, we were visiting with different food vendors, and one of them, and I kept saying, you know, "I'm trying to do this differently," and I didn't know really what it was that I wanted to do differently, but I knew I didn't wanna do the same thing as the guys across the street.

And he said, "Well, we just happened to be in contact with a cattle company out of Fresno, California, and they have an all-natural, antibiotic, hormone-free vegetarian-fed, black Angus beef."

And I didn't know what half those words meant.

I mean, today, it's kind of in the vernacular, but back then, it wasn't.

And so, we figured out that this was going to be the freshest, cleanest meat that we were gonna be able to find.

And, frankly, I don't think anyone in Austin was selling this quality of beef, maybe not even Whole Foods.

I'm not 100% sure, but 20 years ago, this was very new.

And so, that became the impetus of who we were gonna be, and we were gonna start with the beef, and then we were gonna make sure the french fries were fresh and they came from Idaho, and the buns were gonna have sugar and not fructose corn syrup.

So it was one thing led to another, but it all started with that book.

And, frankly, you know, Kathy is definitely the Co-Founder, but there were times where I had these great ideas, but I don't know how to get there, and Kathy is the one that writes the roadmap for us to get there.

And time and time again, you know, I got my name on the cup and that's great, but we wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for Kathy.

And so, you know, throwing that book was just the beginning of her involvement in this, and, frankly, I'm, you know, forever in debt.

- Hmm, that's beautifully said, what a testament to your partnership.

And P. Terry's isn't just known for fresher, less-processed ingredients, but you also have more inclusive options on the menu, like veggie burgers, or lettuce buns for people who can't eat gluten.

Why was it important to you not just to have healthier ingredients, but also more inclusive options?

- Well, that was Kathy.

I really wanted a hamburger stand, and I wanted to limit it.

We opened in South Austin, and Kathy said, "You know, if you're gonna open in South Austin, you're gonna have to have a veggie burger, and they're gonna be people who want chicken."

And I got very nervous about that, 'cause I was trying to keep the menu simple and- - A hamburger purist.

- Yeah.

The funniest thing, if you go back to the original signage, we had already had the sign painted that didn't include the veggie burger.

And, upon her insistence, and fortunately I caved in and agreed, we added to the menu underneath it, a board that just said "Veggie Burger," because we hadn't made room for it.

And, you know, funny things happen along the way.

We had vegetarians who came and ate our hamburger, and the reason was, they finally found clean beef, that they were comfortable eating, which was the reason they had become vegetarians- - Hmm, sure.

- Is they couldn't find the beef they trusted.

And then we had people who liked hamburgers eat our veggie burger, because our veggie burger, you know, is unique in itself.

And so, you just never know what's gonna happen.

- Well, I've tried them all.

- Oh, thank you.

- I am partial to the chicken one, but they're all very good indeed.

You have this very modern, I would say, approach to food, but at the same time, a very nostalgic design.

Your restaurant has this sort of fun, retro '50s look, some people say like "The Jetsons."

It's so distinctive that you could take the name off the building- - Right.

- But people would still probably know it's a P. Terry's.

What was the thinking behind that?

- Well, that was my idea.

And I wasn't sure what the name was, but my wife and I had spent a lot of time in Southern California, and there are car washes and coffee shops and diners, and they all have this same particular kind of architecture, and it's called Googie architecture.

And there are a couple of books written about it.

And I loved it because it was timeless, it was distinct, you know, and Kathy's rule was, when we were building the P. Terry's, just like you said, is the customers should know it's a P. Terry's before the sign ever goes up.

And so, it became our marketing, it became everything, you know, that look.

And what I really like about it is that you feel comfortable there.

There's the use of stone and wood and glass, natural light and greenery.

It's all very simple, but put together, it can last for a long, long time, and still feel in date, you know, in today's world.

- It's timeless.

- It is, it is.

- P. Terry's clearly seems to be more than just a restaurant in multiple ways.

It's played a role in community giving.

It's clearly a part of your company culture, like, for one, this past July when restaurants gave proceeds to relief after the terrible floods, the lines were around the block.

Take a look.

- The P. Terry's thing was officially a success.

Here's your line going down South Congress, as far as you can see.

(wind whooshing) - [Laura] What did it mean to you to see a response like this?

- Well, that day transformed our company forever.

Those lines at some locations went up to two-miles.

- [Laura] Wow.

- People didn't leave the line, no one was in a hurry, everyone was incredibly patient and courteous to one another.

And what we found, and it was such a compliment to us, we were so humbled by it, is that so many people in central Texas had been affected by the kerrville floods, and no one really knew what to do, there was this, you know, sense of absolute hopelessness.

Somebody knew somebody who has tragically died or injured or narrowly escaped, there was a story, everyone had their own story.

And so, what I think on that Thursday, almost a week after the flooding, was people were looking for a place to meet, a place to grieve with others, and yet make some kind of contribution.

And so, when all the proceeds, all the profits went to those victims, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

I was at one of the locations for four or five hours, I've never experienced anything like it in my life, we've been doing this for a long time.

And what was really wonderful was, you know, I get complimented all the time, people will come up to me and say, "Thanks for what you do for the community," and it's great, but the people behind the counter don't hear that, and they heard it that day.

- Hmm.

- Customers were thanking them for their hard work.

Because I can tell you, no one took a break that day.

It was a long, long day, and absolutely wonderful, absolutely great.

- We heard it was all hands on deck that even maybe executives stepped in to fill a role.

Is that true?

- Oh, yeah.

You know, no, the Senior Vice President was on french fries, one of the guys that's in charge of overseeing all the buildings ran the cash register, and we could have used a lot more bodies.

We ended up, as you probably read or heard, that, you know, we ran out of food, and we couldn't maintain our hours, but we made the contribution based on what we would have brought in, had we been able to do that.

- And this is just one of many days of giving back that you've had.

Fast food restaurants aren't typically known for being charitable institutions.

Why is that such a priority for you?

- Well, you're gonna hear this, you've heard this before, this was Kathy.

You know, we were so in over our head when we first opened the first location, it was really challenging for us, and the people, the customers, just kept coming back, it was just remarkable.

I think they saw how hard we were working and how hard we were trying, and there's probably some pity in there, (Laura chuckles) but they kept coming back.

And, at one point, Kathy said, "We've gotta do something for this community.

This is amazing.

They keep putting up with us in our mistakes."

And thank God we got better as the months went on, but the idea that we needed to give back to the community never changed.

And we really do feel like the success of our business would not have been in any other place but Austin, at least from the beginning.

And so, being a part of the community and giving back is just natural for us.

- Now let's talk about the future of P. Terry's.

You stepped away from the CEO position for a time, and now you've stepped back into it.

- Right?

- Why?

- Well, I think there is a place for everyone.

And what I found was I am best suited to run the business just from the standpoint that I always have known where we needed to be tomorrow.

And so, I could see that if we were going to really grow, and not necessarily that we had to grow, that's never been a thing for us.

We don't have to have a thousand restaurants, or a hundred restaurants.

If we wanted to do that, we could have already franchised and been there.

That wasn't the goal.

But if we wanted to just go get better every day, grow a little bit more, giving our people an opportunity to get promoted and expand with the business, I just felt like I knew what needed to be done.

And so, you know, it is different when your name's on the sign, it just is.

And so, whether I like it or not, this is just my calling, (chuckles) and I do like it, I do love it.

- Well, you mentioned growth, and you famously said before, you don't want to expand outside of Texas, but, like you said, you could.

I'm sure people in other states would eat this up, no pun intended.

- Yeah, yeah.

- But why are you not focused on expanding outside of Texas?

- Well, first of all, 'cause I don't think it's necessary.

You know, we're in Houston right now with, you know, three locations, we could have 50 locations in Houston, right?

We are not even thinking about Dallas right now.

So when you look at, you know, the opportunities in Texas, and, by the way, you know, we're pretty tight-controlled, you know, we take this stuff very seriously.

And the idea that I might have to get on an airplane and get to Denver because, you know, three customers said, "The food's cold," or whatever, you know, that's a nightmare for me.

So, we really stay kind of within it.

The other thing is that we're very proud of our own kitchen.

You know, we supply all of our restaurants with our chicken and our veggie burgers, we make our own banana bread, we make our own cookies.

The commissary is open and run seven days a week, 24 hours a day, trucks go out every morning to all the locations.

That's very hard to replicate if you're going to other states.

So we don't do it, we just don't do it.

We've never ever allowed ourselves to get in over our skis, and go, "Oh gosh.

Oh gosh, we got ahead of ourselves."

I'd rather lag a little bit and just be cautious.

- So then what's next for P. Terry's around Texas?

- Well, we'll always grow around Austin, slowly, because we've got a lot of stores here, but Austin continues to grow, and the suburbs continue to expand, so there'll be opportunities down there.

But we're gonna spend most of our time in the Houston area.

As I said, with just a few locations there, I think that's our growth pattern for the next however many years.

- What about any changes to the menu, or are you gonna keep that menu the same?

- Oh gosh, no.

No, no, we are done.

You know, we added the little chicken bites on a couple of years ago, and that was really our customers saying to us, you know, "I wanna get a burger at P. Terry's, my kid wants a chicken bite from one of our competitors.

You would certainly make my life easier if you made your own."

So we did that, and I think we sold six million chicken bites since we started.

- Wow.

- But I think we're done.

We have a lot of fun every month with the shake of the month, and that has become wildly popular.

You know, we can offer a Reese's shake for a month and sell a million and a half milkshakes.

So it can just get crazy with... That's our outlet, right?

We'll do something special for a month and pull back.

- It always makes me laugh whenever I'm in line, when I see, it's an amazing deal, you can get like 60 chicken bites- - Right.

- Like 60 chicken nuggets essentially- - Right.

- For such a great deal.

I don't know who's ordering that, maybe it'll be me next time.

- (chuckles) Might as well.

- But that just makes me smile every time.

- Yeah, yeah.

- And at some point, not now, clearly, you will retire one day.

- Right.

- What do you hope people see as your legacy?

- Oh, gosh.

You know, it's funny, first, the caveat is I don't think about such things, I really am just kind of focused on today, and maybe what we're gonna do tomorrow.

I think what I had always set out to do was to have a place where you would grow up, and then when you either moved back to Austin, or came back from college, or stayed and had your own family, that you took them back to P. Terry's and told your children about the memories you had growing up.

I think that's probably the most special thing.

And in 20 years, we've actually been able to do that and see that, which has been wonderfully satisfying.

But I think that's what I'd like to be remembered most for.

- And we have one last question for you- - Sure.

- Dare I say the most important question of this whole interview, what is your go-to order?

- So, I'm always testing the food.

And if I get a hamburger, then I know I'm more inclined to understand how the meat was prepared as opposed to a cheeseburger, 'cause the cheese will mask any mistakes.

And so, I usually go with a hamburger all the way with everything on it, that way I can see if the proper toppings have been put on.

And I cannot order without getting fries, I just can't.

- It's a sin, it's a cardinal sin.

- It's usually a burger and fries, and I stay away from the shakes because I do it every day.

(Laura chuckles) I am inclined to have a sip of my daughter's every once in a while.

But that's pretty much my go-to order.

- Okay, note to self.

Now I know what I'm having for dinner tonight.

Well, this has been such a great conversation.

- Thank you.

- Congratulations again to you on the 20th anniversary.

Patrick Terry, the CEO of P. Terry's, thanks so much for speaking with us today.

- Thanks for having me.

(tranquil lively upbeat music) - In addition to being known as a generous, community-minded business leader, Terry's reputation for being, well, just a really nice guy is definitely what we experienced with him behind the scenes during our interview.

And by the way, I did go to P. Terry's for dinner that night.

That's our show, thanks so much for watching.

Catch up on full episodes of "Austin InSight" for free in the PBS app, or watch our segments from the show on the Austin PBS YouTube channel.

We'll see you next time.

(tranquil lively upbeat music) (tranquil lively upbeat music continues) (tranquil lively upbeat music continues) (tranquil lively upbeat music continues) - [Announcer] Support for "Austin InSight" comes from: Sally & James Gavin, and also from Daniel L. Skret.

(bright instrumental music)