Tezra Bryant

Restaurant Consultant, Private Practice

Jersey City, NJ 07304

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University - MBA Member NYSRA (New York State Restaurant Association)

Her Story

About Tezra

Tezra Bryant is a restaurant operations consultant and award-winning hospitality professional based in the New York City area, including Jersey City, New Jersey. With over 30 years of continuous experience in the full-service restaurant industry, she specializes in helping restaurant owners successfully launch and stabilize operations. She holds a Master of Business Administration in Hospitality Administration and Management from the Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University, combining formal business training with extensive hands-on industry expertise.

Known as “the opener,” Tezra supports restaurateurs from the earliest stages of development through grand opening and beyond. Her work includes site walkthroughs, operational layout design, kitchen and service flow planning, staffing and management hiring, POS system implementation, training programs, and HR compliance. She is recognized for building structured systems that merge the efficiency of corporate operations with the flexibility and culture of independent, mom-and-pop restaurants, helping clients achieve consistent, high-performing service standards regardless of experience level.

Tezra also serves as a consultant, guest lecturer, and leadership trainer focused on team development and service excellence. She partners with industry organizations such as the New York State Restaurant Association to deliver workshops on leadership, accountability, and operational success in hospitality. Her long-term goal is to expand her influence through speaking engagements, published works, and educational programs that elevate restaurant leadership and build stronger, more sustainable hospitality teams nationwide.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Tezra

01What do you attribute your success to?

I'm very influential. I am finding that, for whatever reason, when I speak, I capture and command people's attention. Most of the time when you look out into the audience, you see someone dozing off or whatever, and I hardly ever, ever see that, and I'm like, wow, I didn't see anyone dozing off while I was speaking. And then, being a change agent - I think that's one of my strongest attributes, is just being an influential and a change agent.

02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

The first thing I would say is forget that you're a woman. See yourself as a powerhouse professional, equal to anyone else out there, doesn't matter what their gender is. Really kind of just hone your voice, and don't be afraid to take up your entire square. You're not going to step on anybody else's shoes, you're not going to dim anyone else's light. There's enough for everyone. It's the energy that you bring to your craft and to your profession that determines the outcome of it and your experience of it as well. Be confident in your expertise, go at it as a learner, because there's going to be some challenges, so be a lifelong learner in order to be able to pivot when you need to. Keep your cup empty. Always keep your cup empty, so therefore you can have - you're putting yourself in the position of always being able to learn, so you can pivot when you need to.

03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

I have to remind myself to shut the self-limiting voice up. I tell them to shut the fuck up. Because a lot of the times we are self-defeaters - we tell ourselves the self-limiting stories and start to believe it. I have to learn how not to take things personally. In my role, I'll get a lot of pushback or emotional roller coasters from my team, because I don't compromise the standard, and if I hold them accountable, they want to throw their tantrums. So I had to learn how not to internalize that, and how to maintain my post as the professional, as the person who holds the bar and the standard. When their feelings are ephemeral, when they're done with their little tantrum, I'm still there holding the bar and holding the standard. I don't look at it with an emotional lens - I look at it with a strategical lens, a very logical lens. I tackle things - what is the emergency first, what is the urgency next, and go from there.

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