A resume can tell you where someone has been. It cannot tell you who they are when the kitchen printer jams during a 300-cover night and the sous chef just walked out. I have been reading resumes in this industry for over three decades now. First as an operator, hiring roughly a thousand people across five restaurants my husband AJ and I owned together. Then as a recruiter, placing senior leaders into restaurant groups and luxury hotels across the country. And the single bigg

When you open a restaurant, you get one shot at it. One night. One first impression. And the people standing on that floor, running that kitchen, greeting guests at the door are not just filling positions. They are deciding what your restaurant’s personality is going to be. I think about this constantly. After 32 years in this industry and having opened restaurants myself alongside my husband AJ, I know what that first week feels like from the inside. The electricity running