Great place to work, but not sustainable long-term
Pros
This was a very fulfilling restaurant job - the staff are great and are willing to work just as hard as the management team. There are so many resources we had for staff recognition, and that trickles to store-level Management as well. The bonus structure was respectable and easy to achieve, plus lots of cool perks from time to time! This job was FUN! I looked forward to work every day, all the way until the last. You are working with your friends every day in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. You get to dress comfortably and be yourself as an individual. During the pandemic closures, all store level managers kept their employment with great safety precautions in place, plus fun ways to give back to furloughed staff. The culture was great! There was a lot of opportunities for development and growth (at least per-pandemic). A big focus at one time was “500 internal promotions by 2025. There are some great mentors throughout the company, with plenty of opportunities to interact and learn from one another. Time off program is good as well - there was the opportunity for long sabbatical time off at 10 years tenure, with adequate vacation and sick pay along the way.
Cons
There was very little oversight or communication by upper management to ensure consistency throughout the company; things like recipe changes, policy updates, etc weren’t communicated in a timely fashion with no follow through to ensure compliance. The growth and development highlighted during training slows, almost stops, once you certify. There are development and training opportunities for the general management level, but very little for others. Training as a whole was extremely outdated, with little support from upper management in ways of resources. During my time a training website was developed, but few staff viewed this as a useful tool. For an industry that is exceptionally Spanish-friendly, there were little to no resources for ESL employees, specifically with training, orientation, and communication from management. There is very little for managers when it comes to mental health and quality of life. There are some online resources made available for therapy/counseling as well as a “help fund” to support staff in financial need. Despite this, the inevitable burnout will happen and more support at that stage would be beneficial. Like substance abuse/rehab support or personal/“mental health” time off that can be utilized similarly to sick time. Often schedules for managers would be made last minute (sometimes 2-3 days prior). Unnecessarily long stretches of up to 10 days at a time made a work-life balance difficult. The business is open breakfast-late night, so be prepared for quick turn arounds between shifts.
