Randy Garutti: using a combination of brains, heart and courage, this 'wizard' guides NY restaurant to top dining status

Nation's Restaurant News, Jan 26, 2004 by Erica Duecy

Staff turnover hovers at around 25 percent per year, and Garutti attributes that number to the company's commitment to its employees. One example of that is the staff's involvement in making hiring decisions. In the front-of-the-house, a team of senior servers, who are called "trailers," train prospective employees and decide whether they should be hired after a week of training.

"The type of person we're looking for is intelligent, empathetic, self-aware and dying to learn," Garutti says.

Another draw for employees, Garutti says, is the company's commitment to continuing education. All front-of-the-house employees sample wine and food specials daily and attend in-depth wine seminars each month.

With 110 employees, ranging in age from their late teens into their 40s, Garutti says his biggest challenge is creating an atmosphere in which people want to work together, where his employees come first, even before the guest. "Once we've got the team taken care of, we can take better care of our guests," he says.

Most of Garutti's time is spent on the floor of the restaurant, working with his team. "My role with [the staff] is more as a coach, the person driving the vision to continue to move us forward," he says. "I'm the person who helps them see that change and evolution can be a good thing."

Garutti typically works weekdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and takes the weekends off. He is, however, on call during weekend nights. Though he declines to say how much he makes, Garutti says he feels "very fairly compensated" and notes that the company offers many benefits beyond health care, including quarterly bonuses based on preset revenue goals and the opportunity to eat at other USHG restaurants a few times a year. The company also pays for 50 percent of his gym membership.

As a general manager, Garutti says it is important to focus on developing employees rather than jumping in and doing their work when something goes wrong. Positive reinforcement is an important part of Garutti's management strategy. "If a guest says something nice about a server, right away I'll pull that person aside and say, 'I just talked to a guest who was raving about you,' and tell them the great things that were said about them," Garutti says. "That's the best feedback they can get."

Randy Garutti

Union Square Cafe

Union Square Hospitality Group

Concept type: contemporary American with an Italian soul

Company location: New York

Unit location: 21 E. 16th St., New York

Age: 28

Hometown: Hackensack, N.J.

Personal: single

Most rewarding part of your job: having the opportunity to mentor employees and see them grow beyond the opportunities that I can give them

One thing you would like to change about your job: I really can't think of anything.

Tips for other general managers: This job is about finding amazing people and telling them all day long what's important to you. It's also about continually growing yourself and recognizing that your daily attitude is what 110 people are going to feed off of. So if I'm animated and exceed, then everyone else will be.