Restaurant Revival
Accounts of Restaurants’ Post-Pandemic Evolution
Restaurant Revival: Hen of the Wood + Doc Ponds | Prohibition Pig
“If the staff is enjoying their time here and bringing good energy to their job, that has a trickle-down effect to the customer.” –Eric Warnstedt
HEN OF THE WOOD WATERBURY (FOUNDED 2005)
HEN OF THE WOOD BURLINGTON (FOUNDED 2013)
DOC PONDS (FOUNDED 2015) | PROHIBITION PIG (FOUNDED 2019)
Eric Warnstedt: “Self-worth comes from seeing my employees stick around and thrive.”
I thought we were doing a pretty good job before the pandemic, but Covid blew holes in our organizational structure. We’re a completely different company than we were. We’ve improved our level of organization, how we conduct staff meetings, how we communicate.
Like most restaurants, we lost a fair amount of staff. As a result, we’ve had to reconfigure our business hours. However, I’d rather be closed two days a week and packed with everyone happy than go seven days with a less well-trained staff.
I’m really proud of how we’re rebuilding our staff, although it’s been slower than we had hoped. Our core team is the best we’ve ever had. We’ve become an organized group of professionals, from the general managers to the chefs. We’re even more focused on training, accountability, career paths, wage indexes. Everything is transparent; nothing is subjective. Transparency empowers people to be engaged in the process.
I’m as proud as I’ve ever felt. We’ve grown from a tiny operation in 2005 to a fairly legit hospitality company with four restaurants. We’ve developed a holistic system based on good vision and strong values. Because I’m in the office now and not the chef anymore, my sense of self-worth no longer comes from cooking a steak well. It comes from seeing employees stick around and thrive.
There’s so much crazy stuff in the world, both before the pandemic and now. We can’t control what happens outside the restaurant walls, but I can control to some degree what happens inside here for our staff. If they’re enjoying their time here and bringing good energy to their job, that has a trickle-down effect to the customer. The staff realizes they’re part of a meaningful team that’s larger than themselves. If we can make this little bubble feel good and ensure our staff feels heard and safe, with a path for their future, everything else falls into place.
Cindi Kozak: “It feels like the old days, but healthier.”
I started as a server at Hen of the Wood Burlington when we opened in 2013, worked my way up to general manager of Hen Waterbury in 2018, and became the GM here in Burlington in July 2020.
Covid allowed us to take the boat out of the water and inspect the hull, something you don’t get to do that often. It was daunting but exciting. Because we had that three-month break and put our minds together, we were able to come up with more manageable and healthy ways for staff to do their jobs in terms of scheduling, restructured roles, mentoring, training, and being honest about our limits. We got the boat back in the water with a new crew and sailed on.
I’m super proud of the staff we’ve hired; they’re so dedicated, passionate, and caring. In Burlington, 75 percent of our front-of-house is new, and almost 100 percent in the kitchen is new aside from the managers. But we seem to be finding the right balance of people who can find a home here and grow if they want to take advantage of the opportunities. I’m proud that we never skipped a beat. We’re still here for the community, and they’re here for us. It feels like the old days, but healthier.
COURTESY HEN OF THE WOOD
“Covid allowed us to take the boat out of the water and inspect the hull, something you don’t get to do that often. It was daunting but exciting.” –Cindi Kozak, General Manager, Hen of the Wood Burlington
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