The Restaurant

The Restaurant
Formal Dining

Sunday, April 13, 2014

About the Author

My name is Kyle. I am from Kansas City, Missouri.
I got my first job when I was sixteen years old in the hospitality industry at an amusement park in the city. I worked there for the summer and then didn't work until the next summer where I got my second job at a fast food burger place. I worked there for over a year then changed jobs a couple times dabbling outside of the industry, but I ultimately came right back, specifically to the exact burger restaurant I worked at before. This time I was trained as an over night manager. I quit that job to take on the thrills of serving tables. As a server I was always recognized as a leader and I was responsible for training the new servers and ensuring the other servers were performing their side jobs. That went well for a while, but I was going to a university at the time and needed more stable, regular pay so I got out of the restaurant world, but only temporarily because I was right back in cooking pizzas in no time. Next, I went from pizzas to burgers again. I dealt with some pretty bad bosses and I have more than one story to tell. I decided this was going to be my career and it was my passion and I always came back to hospitality, so I started Food & Beverage classes at a college, and with my new enrollment status I took a much better job as a cook at a hotel. I worked there for a year progressing from station to station learning the ins and outs. I worked in individual outlet restaurants to fine dining, and even large banquets, but realized if I wanted to ever make better money I needed that manager experience. I took an entry level shift manager position at an ice cream shop. I worked there a while and worked simultaneously at another ice cream restaurant for a while, until I took a position at a country club as a manager. Quickly I was promoted to the Front-Of-House manager and I led all of the clubs banquets. I moved across the state and took the only job I could find in the hospitality industry at the time in a small town at a snow cone place, but dropped it soon after to take on the responsibilities of the general manager of a fried chicken restaurant. This is where I am today. It's been a long journey filled with twists and turns, but every new job has meant a learning experience and exciting opportunity. I've met hundreds of people in my line of work. I love working in the restaurant. I do not know where the future will take me but I look forward to the adventure.

UPDATE:
Since that time I spent about a week doing what I am going to call consulting for an ice cream shop, closed two of our fried chicken stores and decided before my restaurant closed I needed to find something more stable. I took on a new role that combined my vast experience from pizza to banquets with a third party food service contract company for a university. It's been a wild ride, but I am still passionate about the restaurant. I love solving restaurant problems and I am considering a future in restaurant consulting.

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