The Best Ways to Create a Family Environment Among Restaurant Staff
Photo Credit: Ellen Yin, founder of High Street Hospitality Group, and Jeffrey Lefcourt, founder & CEO of Corner Table - The Smith, on stage at Skift Restaurants Forum. Skift Table / Dan Loh
Skift Take
Mentorship and support are vital for restaurants looking to develop their own talent from within. Authenticity and passion, though, can be hard to find in markets with competitive wages.
Hiring is a constant challenge for restaurants, particularly in large cities with more competitive labor markets. There's no simple answer to creating an inclusive culture that keeps workers on either side of the house from jumping ship.
Now, growing restaurant chains are turning to building stronger cultures to better meet the needs of workers while creating a compelling support system for those new to the industry.
"It's about finding people who can enjoy what they're doing no matter what it is; if we can find people who really enjoy making other people, happy we know those people will be happy with us," said Jeffrey Lefcourt, founder and CEO of Corner Table - The Smith, at Skift Restaurants Forum in New York. "There's a lot more people in New York, we've been operating restaurants in New York for years. Our challenge is making sure people know who we are, and that we are a great place to work."
Lefcourt is in the midst of launching the first location of The Smith in Chicago, a
