This was actually my first restaurant job. I moved to Maui when I was 21 and had worked in retail all my life. In Northern California I was the general manager of Guess brand clothing stores. I felt too much stress and when I moved to Maui I needed a change.
When I first arrived everyone I met worked in restaurants so I decided to give it a try. I started at Outback as a hostess and worked my way up to “take away,” then to server, up to head server and finally bartender.
There are a lot of restaurants in which you can’t work your way up to a higher position. I feel like I have been given an incredible opportunity to learn and grow within this company and I owe a lot to the proprietor of the Kahana Steakhouse. He showed me the ropes of working in a restaurant and gave me a chance to prove myself. He gave me a chance to learn something new.
After my wedding I will be starting the training for my own proprietorship. The whole training process takes about one year. There is a lot of book-work and studying. During training you have to work in the kitchen and learn the more difficult parts of the trade.
I have heard that it is really tough to work in the back of the house because there is so much food that goes through the kitchen at night. For many trainees it’s too difficult to continue the idea of owning their own restaurant. I guess I will see how things go.
I love Maui and I definitely don’t want to go back to living anywhere usual. I have met many great people at my work. During the four years I have worked here I have become close to many people. There is a core group that have grown together through the company and have gotten to know one other as a family. I feel really appreciated at my work and have recently received the employee of the year award.
I now hold the position of key manager and with that comes more benefits and responsibility. I feel proud of my position and proud of the people who helped me get there. MTW
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