A Closer Look Partners with Texas Restaurant Association and Dallas College to Launch New Health & Hygiene Training Certification Program

ATLANTA, June 29, 2020 NOTE TO EDITORS: A Closer Look, in partnership with the Texas Restaurant Association (TRA) and Dallas College, announce the launch of the new Texas Restaurant Promise Certification Program that will train, inspect, and certify restaurants on the additional precautions that must be followed per the Texas Governor's minimum standard health protocols.

The Texas Restaurant Promise Certification Program is the only program of its kind that trains, inspects, and certifies restaurants on the new health and safety protocols. The goal of the Program is to build trust between restaurants and their guests by ensuring employees and owners understand the necessary safety protocols of operating in a COVID-19 environment. The Texas Restaurant Promise Certification decal will be visible on the doors of restaurants that graduate from the program to let guests and patrons know that those businesses are focused on their health and safety.

As part of the Certification Program, A Closer Look will offer Health and Hygiene evaluations and monitoring. A Closer Look's Health and Hygiene Satisfaction Program is a three-pronged approach to help businesses measure and monitor locations' ability to execute and maintain critical customer-facing health and hygiene standards. The Company's independent field ambassadors utilize A Closer Look's 15-point assessment designed to focus on compliance with key health and hygiene processes recommend by the government for restaurant reopening and customer safety. A Closer Look will partner with restaurant owners to identify potential problem areas to address based on the health and hygiene assessments and direct guest feedback about their customer experience as it relates to health and hygiene. Once restaurants complete the Health & Hygiene Program, they will join A Closer Look's Trusted Partner Program, which will offer customers a way to provide direct feedback about the restaurant's health and hygiene practices via text message on an ongoing basis.

"At A Closer Look, we believe that when customers feel restaurants are taking their health and safety seriously, they are more likely to return and recommend to others. Both are critical components to helping restaurants thrive again," said Chris Gillen, CEO of A Closer Look. "It is our honor and pleasure to help those restaurants impacted by COVID to safely serve their customers again."

The training portion of the Texas Restaurant Promise Certification will include five courses with a focus on each role within the restaurant: New Protocols for Owners and Operators, Take-Out, Delivery, and Food Trucks, Front of House Staff, Back of House Staff, and Cleaning Crew. In order to become certified and earn a decal, employees from a restaurant must complete all five courses. A grant from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is powering the work behind this program, enabling the first 500 restaurants to take advantage of the new program and certification for free.

The first class begins June 25. More information can be found at TXRestaurant.org/TXRestaurantPromiseCertification.

About A Closer Look
For more than 25 years, A Closer Look has partnered with a variety of businesses, including restaurants, hospitality, retail, hotel, senior living, and others, across North America to provide in-depth customer experience feedback. A Closer Look uses qualified, independently contracted evaluators that assess clients' current customer experience operation through detailed stories, which, when paired with data analytics, help identify friction points that provide clarity on how to improve brand loyalty and maximize profitability.

About the Texas Restaurant Association
The Texas Restaurant Association was formed in 1937 to serve as the advocate in Texas and the indispensable resource for the foodservice industry. Today, as a leading business association, TRA represents the state's $70 billion restaurant industry, which is comprised of more than 50,000 locations and a workforce of 1.4 million employees. Along with the Texas Restaurant Association Education Foundation, the Association protects, advances, and educates the growing industry. To learn more about the Texas Restaurant Association, visit: https://www.txrestaurant.org/

About Dallas College
Dallas College, formerly the Dallas County Community College District, was founded in 1965, and comprises seven campuses: Brookhaven, Cedar Valley, Eastfield, El Centro, Mountain View, North Lake and Richland. Dallas College offers online learning, and serves more than 83,000 credit and 25,000 continuing education students during the fall and spring semesters. Dallas College also offers dual credit for students in partner high schools and early college high schools throughout Dallas County. Dr. Joe May, the college's 7th chancellor, has established the Dallas College higher education network in partnership with area school districts, colleges and universities, businesses, community organizations and others to support student success and college completion by removing barriers and providing services that help them earn a college credential and start their professional careers. To learn more about Dallas College, visit: https://www.dcccd.edu/

SOURCE A Closer Look