Texas Tech opened Shea Payne’s eyes to the breadth and possibilities of the hospitality industry; now she wants to take that home.
Texas Tech opened Shea Payne’s eyes to the breadth and possibilities of the hospitality industry; now she wants to take that home.
Growing up in a small town means everyone knows your name, your family, even your order at the local cafe. It’s a place where driving a few towns over for a fancy sit-down meal is just part of the deal and where serving people isn’t a job, it’s the fabric of life.
For Shea Payne, who grew up in Trent and Westbrook – tiny Texas communities where the population barely breaks 300 – enrolling at Texas Tech University with its 42,000 students was a big change of pace.
But it was worth it when she learned of the university’s program in Restaurant, Hotel & Institutional Management (RHIM) that would allow her to reopen a local restaurant that closed after the pandemic. More than anything, Shea wants to serve the people in her community and drive more visitors to rural Texas.
Ingredients
Shea’s family made their home in Trent before relocating to Westbrook, where Shea attended high school. Her parents were determined that their children should mature within the embrace of community.
Trent and Westbrook are similar in many ways.
“Everyone knows you and there is a rich sense of community,” Shea says. “I love that.”
There weren’t many restaurants to eat at growing up. Shea’s family would have to drive to a larger town to eat, so it was reserved for special occasions. When Shea was a young child, she elevated home dining to a true delicacy. The 6-year-old would play restaurant, seating her parents at the kitchen table and offering them a menu.
“I had them choose a kind of sandwich, chips and a drink,” she recalls.
Shea, in her pink apron and matching chef’s hat, would disappear into the kitchen and reemerge 10 minutes later with, what, in her eyes, was a feast.
This love of serving others with food drove Shea to be quite the successful Girl Scout cookie marketer and apply for a job at a nearby steakhouse when she got to high school. Sportsman’s Restaurant sat on Lake Colorado City and was the go-to gathering spot for several of the nearby towns.
Like many students, Shea and her siblings competed in a variety of sports in high school. Shea played basketball and softball and always looked forward to celebrating a win with her teammates at Sportsman’s.
“Their mesquite grilled steak was my favorite,” she says.
Shea continued to work at Sportsman’s as she started classes at a local junior college. The owner of the restaurant mentored her and began teaching her everything that went into back-of-house management.
Eventually, Shea was trusted to open and close the restaurant on her own, a responsibility she took pride in.
By 2023, though, Shea realized she had learned what she could where she was. She’d earned her basic credits at junior college and wanted to learn more about running a restaurant.
She dreamed of opening her own place one day or being equipped to take a restaurant like Sportsman’s to the next level when the owner retired. Shea considered her options. She could move to a large city and work her way up at popular restaurants. Her brother had relocated to Houston, so there was the potential of living near him. But every time she imagined it, Shea knew the chaos of city life was just not for her.
A cousin was preparing to attend Texas Tech. At first, Shea wondered if she’d like a university with so many students. Texas Tech’s student population alone was 133 times the size of her hometown, and that’s not counting the larger city population of Lubbock which has climbed past 300,000.
Shea’s cousin reasoned that if they roomed together, it wouldn’t feel so overwhelming. The idea felt doable. Shea knew that a city the size of Lubbock may be different, but certainly not as much of a shock as a major metropolitan area.
“Lubbock is a nice sized college town,” she says. “It’s not too small but it’s not too big yet. There are plenty of options for food and entertainment, but you don’t get stuck in traffic for hours.”
But the major selling factor came when Shea discovered that the university offered a bachelor’s degree in Restaurant, Hotel & Institutional Management.
“I knew I wanted to work in restaurants, but there are so many different ways to do that,” Shea explains. “You have the business side and the actual cooking, the human management and the marketing. This whole new world opened up when I came to Texas Tech.”
Prep Work
One of Shea’s courses was professional practices with Assistant Professor of Practice Joseph Kleypas. Each week, Kleypas would bring in a guest speaker who worked in a different element of the industry.
“It’s important to me that we help students build connections,” Kleypas says.
As someone who worked in restaurant management for 20 years before teaching at Texas Tech, Kleypas believes the RHIM program uniquely sets students up for long-term success.
“Data shows that those in restaurant management who earn a degree go on to earn higher salaries and advance more quickly in leadership,” he says.
Kleypas has no doubt Shea will be one of those cases.
“Shea is reserved in her demeanor, but when you get to know her, it’s clear how driven she is,” he says. “She has a strong work ethic, she is coachable and she asks pointed questions in class. I know she’ll be successful in whatever she does.”
From her time in class with Kleypas, Shea recalls hearing stories from boutique hotel managers, winery owners and even a stylist who matched color swatches and jewelry to clients’ skin tones.
“That was definitely a niche career,” Shea says.
Throughout other courses, Shea has visited McPherson Cellars Winery to help sommeliers prepare a tasting for the public. In another instance, she learned how to forecast for large events and order what’s needed to make them successful. Shea even remembers being taught the science of designing a menu – where the customer’s eyes go first – and how to guide the experience.
“Texas Tech has certainly helped me see how many pathways there are for a hospitality career,” Shea says.
One of her favorite experiences has been RHIM 4315, which she’s enrolled in this fall. The course known as the “Dinner Series” partners RHIM students with Skyviews Restaurant adjacent to campus. Led by Stephen LoCascio, students help run the restaurant’s lunch hour in addition to a special dinner series on Wednesday nights that allows them to create a menu and theme, seeing it through to final plating.
Shea led the team toward her vision of a “modern bistro” night in October. Her menu selections included popular choices such as filet mignon, but she also incorporated unlikely dishes such as a Manchego and Herb Crusted Red Snapper.
“Shea has been nothing less than an exceptional student and has a work ethic that will translate to a promising career,” LoCascio says. “She always asks questions but also trusts the systems in place to make sure Skyviews runs at its fullest potential.”
The Simmer
It wasn’t the RHIM program alone that’s helped Texas Tech feel like home to Shea. She’s made friendships with classmates in the College of Health & Human Sciences, but she’s also gotten involved with intramural sports through University Recreation.
Shea put together a co-ed softball and flag football team, often recruiting other Red Raiders who came from six-man (football) high schools like she did.
“I love being part of a team, on the field and in the kitchen,” she says.
Shea has also gotten involved with campus ministries, taken a job at Lubbock’s Adventure Park and enjoys discovering local restaurants for inspiration.
Overall, she’s been surprised by how tight-knit her Texas Tech experience has felt.
“There’s a lot of student involvement and it’s been easy to make connections,” says Shea. “The campus has so many resources too, for instance, I recently discovered the University Career Center.”
A natural introvert, Shea wanted to practice going through the interview process before graduating. She set up a meeting at the career center and worked with one of its staff to polish her skills.
“That was really cool; it was great to practice in a low-stakes situation,” Shea says. “The career center also offers a free StrengthsQuest assessment which has helped me refine the parts of the restaurant industry I know I’ll thrive in.”
Shea enjoys the process of being in the back-of-house. She likes the challenge of forecasting, ordering, preparing materials, inspiring a team and orchestrating the little details. But she can graciously interact with customers when needed.
“I love serving people,” she says. “It’s rewarding to me and it’s what I feel I’ve been called to do in life.”
The Final Plating
Shea expects to work for a while longer at Lubbock’s Adventure Park after graduation. She stays busy there planning cooking camps, character dinners and summer festivals. Eventually, she does plan to return to her hometown where she hopes to open a restaurant in the location where Sportsman’s used to be.
The restaurant shut down last year because there wasn’t enough help. Shea’s hope is to resurrect the spirit of the restaurant, but with her own twist.
“I want to create a sense of community around the table,” she says. “I envision people bringing their kids in after games like we used to do – a place where people know your order by heart.”
While small town growth in Texas is not uniform, some of these quaint communities have grown exponentially in the past 5 to 10 years. The Texas Economic Development Corporation boasts these small towns may be Texas’ best kept secret.
Texas Monthly has recently sung the praise of several up-and-coming restaurants in small towns including Seguin, Aledo and Wolfforth.
For Shea, there’s perhaps never been a better time to make her dream a reality, and with her training at Texas Tech, she feels ready for what comes next.
“Texas Tech has opened up so many doors for me,” she says. “It’s been a great incubator, and I feel confident and excited for whatever comes next.”
Chef’s Note
Texas Tech’s College of Health & Human Sciences offers programs in which students can explore careers in restaurant, hotel, retail and event management, in addition to fashion merchandising.