By Jill Nagy
Colleen Holmes, co-owner of Wheatfields Restaurant in Saratoga Springs and Wheatfields Bistro and Wine Bar in Clifton Park, is in her second year as chairwoman of the New York State Restaurant Association, a group of more than 3,000 members representing more than 10,000 restaurants throughout the state.
When elected to her first term, in 2011, Holmes was the first woman to hold that position. Given that the association is 76 years old, “it was about time,” she commented.
Her mission is to focus on the needs of the membership and to build membership.
Among the key functions for the group is to keep the members apprised of new or proposed laws and regulations that affect their businesses.
“We are very adept at reading a 600-page piece of legislation and determining how it will impact our members,” she said. She tries to assure that those in the industry will not be taken by surprise by new requirements.
The association also lobbies on behalf of its members on the local, state and national level. “We have a very strong and refreshing relationship with the governor’s office,” she said.
She called the organization “an association of small business owners,” but “very diverse types of business owners,” ranging from individual owners of small neighborhood restaurants and take-out shops, to franchisees of large chains like McDonald’s or Dunkin’ Donuts, to owners of major restaurants and groups of restaurants.
The restaurant business is one of the state’s largest employers with many different types of employees, Holmes noted.
In addition to keeping members informed of legislative developments and making their views known to government officials, the association “is a tremendous resource” for members, she said.
It provides professional services including legal and accounting services, advice on advertising, and help with practical problems of running a restaurant business. For an individual restaurant owner, such services can be prohibitively expensive.
The restaurant business is “very dynamic,” changing from day to day, Holmes said, and “it is exciting to be part of that.”
Holmes is chairwoman of the association’s board of directors, an unpaid elected position that “takes up quite a bit of my day.”
The association has a paid executive board headed by a president/chief executive officer and a vice president/chief operating officer and paid staff, all under Holmes’ overall direction.
While Wheatfields is the first restaurant Holmes has owned, she has been in the business almost continuously since she was 16 year old and started catering parties. She worked in the restaurant and food service business through her high school and college years. At Michigan State University, she studied horticulture, but worked in food service as a student. After graduation, she worked for a large commercial greenhouse in Indianapolis.
“I was bored,” she said of that experience, “Plants don’t talk that much.”
She eventually joined industry leader Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE) of Chicago. With LEYE, she rose to the position of general manager where she managed several of Chicago’s finest restaurants. Holmes has been responsible for all aspects of operations, having a wide range of experience in a variety of restaurants and banquet/catering facilities. Leading and motivating employees and training one-on-one are among her specialties.
She and her husband, Tim Holmes, have owned Wheatfields on Broadway in Saratoga since 2004. They opened the Clifton park bistro in 2009. They also operate Restaurant Consulting Partners, which they formed in 2001 to provide assistance to restaurant owners.
More information on the association is available at its website, www.nysra.org.