The restaurant Dave and I ran just north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin — an experience packed with stories, stress, and survival.
We dealt with it all: employees freaking out with knives…screaming and waving them around. Calling law enforcement and having a deputy tell me said knife waving/screaming is no big deal.
We spent weeks promoting a concert only to have the band ghost us — despite being booked and paid in advance.
Our grand opening? The expensive, high-tech, computerized order and payment system crashed. Hand-holding freaked out employees and coaching them how to take orders with a pen and paper – OLD STYLE.
Vendors who were nowhere when we needed them, but then barged in during peak lunch hours trying to pitch garbage we didn’t ask for.
Female employees hitting on Dave. Lying, theft, sabotage. Workers who whined for more hours — then called in “sick” 3/4s of the time. When I stopped scheduling them as much, they accused me of harming their children! The drama was constant: emotional meltdowns, petty fights, chaos, backstabbing.
Customers were no better. Parents let their kids run wild — dangerously so. Customers scaling the courtyard walls like it was a jungle gym. Abusing waitresses. Smoking meth in the bathroom.
We had great food though!
We had a bakery — I made everything from scratch: cheesecakes, muffins, cookies, and killer pastries. We served paninis on gourmet breads, 100% Angus beef burgers, custom personal pizzas, crisp salads, and soups I made fresh every day.
We had a gorgeous cherry-red chrome espresso machine from Italy and offered specialty coffee drinks using locally roasted beans. We poured boutique wines, local craft beers, and fancy sodas and juices. We had some regular customers who truly appreciated the good food and helped preserve my sanity.
It was beautiful, exhausting, and often absurd. One thing I learned….I enjoy cooking….I’m good at it, but I would NEVER do another restaurant!