Five questions with Kerbey Lane's Mason Ayer
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Mason Ayer, CEO of Kerbey Lane Cafe. Photo: Courtesy of Kerbey Lane Cafe
Kerbey Lane Cafe is turning its beloved queso into a way to help pay off local students' school lunch debt.
Driving the news: Kerbey Lane's new Queso for Classrooms initiative directs a portion of queso sales at all 10 locations toward paying off Austin ISD students' outstanding school meal balances.
Zoom in: We caught up with CEO Mason Ayer, whose parents opened the first Kerbey Lane in 1980, about the initiative, Austin's changing restaurant scene and his favorite menu items.
This interview has been lightly condensed and edited for clarity.
1. What inspired Queso for Classrooms, and why did you decide to focus on helping Austin ISD students pay off school meal debt?
"I'm a proud product of AISD, and I credit my public school education with helping set me up for success. ... As a father of young children, the idea that any child might go hungry or lack the nourishment they need to learn, grow, and thrive is heartbreaking to me."
2. Do you have a fundraising goal for the school year?
"Our goal is to make as big an impact as we possibly can, and the success of the program is directly tied to how enthusiastically our guests embrace it. The beauty of Queso for Classrooms is that the more queso we sell, the more money we can contribute toward eliminating school meal debt."
3. Kerbey has been an Austin staple for more than four decades. What's the biggest change you've seen in Austin's restaurant scene, and how has Kerbey Lane adapted as the city has grown?
"One of the biggest changes I've seen is the dramatic decline of traditional full-service casual dining. Austin has an incredible restaurant scene, but increasingly, your choices are fast-casual concepts, expensive full-service restaurants, or well-funded national brands.
- We've evolved tremendously over the past decade, elevating our menu, service model, cocktails, and wine program to meet the expectations of a much more sophisticated dining city. But we've remained committed to being an approachable, affordable, locally and family-owned restaurant."
4. As a longtime Austin restaurant, how do you balance keeping the Kerbey Lane experience for loyal customers while finding ways to attract a new generation of diners?
"Our core purpose has always been to be a place where everybody feels welcome. ... We want you to walk into Kerbey Lane and feel at home. That was true when my parents opened the first restaurant, and it's just as true today."
5. What's your go-to order at Kerbey, and is there an underrated menu item you think more people should try?
"Believe it or not, I eat Kerbey Lane for dinner far more often than breakfast. My family gets dinner from Kerbey Lane probably twice a week, and my two go-to dishes are the coconut curry salmon and the kimchi beef. I also love our burrata as a starter.
- "... As for underrated items, I'd put our chicken tortilla soup and buffalo chicken sandwich up against anyone else's in town. They're both delicious, and I'm convinced they'd hold their own against the very best Austin has to offer."