ALPINE, Texas — Katherine Parker rushed around Spicewood Bar and Restaurant, bussing dishes and delivering hot plates of fried catfish and burgers to hungry customers.
She was doing a server’s job at the popular eatery with wide-open views of the West Texas foothills and margarita specials on Fridays. But Parker was no ordinary server.
She owns the restaurant. And a hotel. And a cattle ranch.
“I’m always in there working,” she said between the lunch and dinner rushes on a warm weekend in June. “This morning I was in at 6:15 helping with the coffee bar and checking people out (of the hotel). I want to know what’s going on in my business. Plus, there’s the labor shortage.”
