Not So Grand Opening

My Life as a Kitchen Manager in Nevada

I am so tired and cannot sleep to save my life. I haven't been able to do anything but work for a few weeks now, but I am surviving it. I am employed by an independently run truck stop who is a dealer for a large and well known fuel center. I love my job, honestly, and the company I work for. They have a very unique vibe with most of their holdings, like a burger shop with locally sourced beef from the owner's ranch, or a store who's name is a vagina joke located in a city with a name to match. They really have the same sense of humor and culture that I can buy into. I wish I could say all is well, but it's really not.

I was recruited to run this kitchen, and I was pitched on a concept I believed was brilliant. A true gap in the industry that would be lucrative and unique. I just knew that they would come up with another catchy yet humorous brand for me, when I looked into the holdings they had. I was wrong, and I am writing this blog to discuss the one thing holding me back from putting my all into it: The Name

What's in a name anyway? Well, in branding and marketing, a lot. If you were named Spaghetti Shop and you didn't sell spaghetti, you would have some angry customers who showed up for it. I'm dealing with that now. The images on my wall include products we don't sell. The name they ran with implies a very specific menu item I am specifically not allowed to sell. The food is amazing, but I am strugging with people missing the idea due to the lack of marketing or development of the brand. I know we can do better, I know I personally can do better. I'm not allowed to, but I could.

I find this one element of what seemed to be exactly what I wanted career wise to be eating me alive. I asked for permission to post job openings in October, back when we were supposed to open, and they just never responded. I was told to just do it anyway, as it will save the restaurant, but I can't get my head around it, and especially not for the low doller they are compensating me.

I should be grateful to finally be doing something I want to and care to, and I am. I just wish I could fix it for them, and make us all a ton of money. Instead I'm trying to manage an understaffed kitchen with a franchise AND a new restaurant AND a third product group. It's gonna do well, but I have to get over my disappointment and start running.

So there, without naming anything out loud, it's off my chest. Time to move on and go train some new employees this morning. I still haven't slept, so I probably wont work very long this morning. Once I get the new hire trained on breakfast, I'll go home and sleep.

Training Materials

I am writing the operational materials for this new concept, restaurant, whatever it is. The company I work for may not be interested, but maybe you are. Check it out by clicking below.