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Catch of the DayA restauranteur who's reeling in customers
By Lisa Asher
Best Seafood Restaurant in the United States. Restauranteur of the
Year. One of the top-ten Best New Chefs in the country. The accolades
keep rolling in for Reef, a restaurant located in midtown Houston. But
what does co-owner Bill Floyd '75, MBA '76, think of the acclaim? "I
don't think we're that good!" he says with a laugh.
 Actually, no one—not even Floyd—can deny the success of the two-year-old establishment that's been praised by Food & Wine Magazine, Bon Appetit,
and just about every food-related magazine, organization, and festival
there is. Add to that a growing empire of hamburger joints Floyd
co-owns, and you understand why he says, "Things couldn't be much
better; life is good."
Floyd (pictured with his children Bill Floyd Jr. ’07, Libby Floyd Starr
’03, Lauren Floyd Zboril ’04, and Leslie Floyd Pegram ’04) knows how
hard it is to be successful and profitable in the notoriously fickle
restaurant business. As he says, "I'm an overnight success—after
twenty-five years in the business."
Floyd's restaurant career began in Waco, where it also looked like it
would end. The San Antonio native came to Baylor for a business degree,
and while pursuing an MBA he worked at Water Works restaurant for a
year and a half. "That gave me the bug," he says.
But once bitten, he left restaurants behind for his original goal of
working in securities. His twelve-year financial career included a
stint at Rauscher Pierce and a position as head of retail operations at
a small boutique firm.
After two buyouts and plenty of burnout, Floyd was ready for something
different. "I thought that I might as well change everything," he says.
"I had always had this passion for food, so I got into the restaurant
business. And in retrospect, it's the best thing I could have ever
done."
The next two decades were a blur for Floyd as he moved from one
successful restaurant group to another. From his role as chief
operations officer for Cordua Restaurants, Floyd partnered with master
chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten to open Bank restaurant in Houston's
Icon Hotel.
Bank achieved near-instant success, in part, Floyd says, because of the
influx of traffic to the downtown area in the wake of the 2004 Super
Bowl. "For about six months, downtown was booming," Floyd says. And
then, the buzz died down, and traffic thinned—a lot.
So in 2007, Floyd left downtown behind and joined forces with Bryan
Caswell, another of Bank's partners and a classically trained chef.
Both had been involved in high-end fine dining, but they were
interested in something different, "with great food, great environment,
great service," Floyd says, "but not with the maitre d' standing over
your shoulder making sure you're eating with the right fork."
The men bought what was once a midtown car dealership, keeping the
concrete floors while renovating just about everything else. The
atmosphere is casual, and the food is serious—jumbo lump crab
"lollipops," snapper carpaccio, and roasted grouper are just some of
the inventive seafood offerings.
Floyd gives much of the credit for Reef's success to Caswell, who is
fast becoming a celebrity chef. "We have a good partnership," says
Floyd, who handles customers and finances, usually from 10 a.m. to 10
p.m. "It's a lot of hours, but it's self-inflicted," he admits. "But
it's so hard to call it work because it's my passion."
Both men agree that duplicating the one-of-a-kind Reef would be next to
impossible. But that doesn't mean they're content with just the one
venture. Floyd and Caswell provide food for Continental Airlines'
international flights, including six million burgers for one year.
And speaking of burgers, let's not forget Little Bigs, which boasts
sliders, milkshakes, and double-fried french fries, or as Floyd
describes them, "truly the best french fries you'll ever eat." Caswell
and Floyd opened the first Little Bigs in the Westheimer area of
Houston in January 2009, and Floyd says they'll have five in operation
by the beginning of next year. And he hints at further expansion into
Austin, Waco, and beyond.
So when does Floyd enjoy the fruits of his labors? Sunday is both his,
and Reef's, day of rest, so he and his wife, Charlene, often drive to
Waco on Sundays, where they visit Floyd's daughter, Libby, and his two
granddaughters. And his Waco restaurant of choice? "Health Camp," he
says, "a holdover from my Baylor days."
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