Ron Weiss has been a restaurateur in Austin since 1975. He is a founding partner of Jeffrey’s Restaurant and Cipollina West Austin Bistro, and has been the operating partner of both. He is also the operating partner of O’s Campus Café (currently with ten locations) on the University of Texas at Austin campus, jointly owned with his wife Peggy. Jeffrey’s was inducted into the Fine Dining Hall of Fame by Nations Restaurant News and received the Distinguished Restaurants of North America award. Peggy and Ron were named to Who’s Who in Food and Wine in Texas by Texas Monthly and the Texas Department of Agriculture. In 2000, Ron collaborated with David Garrido to establish a branch of Jeffrey’s at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.

A native Texan, Ron grew up in Galveston. He attended the University of Texas at Austin, earning an undergraduate degree in Biology, Chemistry & Physics. He then received a Master’s Degree in Communication and went on to do further post-graduate work in the American Studies department.

In recent years, Ron has served as Chair of the Texas Book Festival and on the advisory board of Explore Austin, an organization that mentors and provides outdoor adventures for underserved teenage youth. He also served on the University of Texas Libraries Advisory Council. Ron lives in Austin, Texas with his wife, children and grandchildren. Over the past ten years, Ron has been an avid rower, competing in local, regional and national regattas.