Rosa, Hospitality in Action
I met Rosa during a Workforce One job fair before we opened The Cecil in Harlem. Rosa had moved to NYC from Florida via the Dominican Republic with her family. She’d worked many different jobs, from cashier at Key Food to pool halls. She had a desire to work as a server in a restaurant but there were no opportunities. She couldn’t find a way in to get started.
She was a lovely and eager young woman with no restaurant experience. We hired her as a host/reservationist to answer phones. She told me she had to go home and Google hostess to see what the job was. After the job fair, she’d accepted two different positions at the same time to see which one she would prefer. The first restaurant had no training materials and was very disorganized. Then she arrived at The Cecil, where we had training packets and schedules, menu tastings and practice rounds. She never went back to the other restaurant.
During training, we included all staff members in the menu tastings. At first, Rosa was reluctant to try unknown foods. We encouraged her to just taste, and she learned she loved the food and learning about the ingredients and history. She put her time into asking questions and studying like a server and that showed her drive, ambition, and commitment.
We realized quickly that she was someone to watch and mentor for growth. The opportunities came quickly for Rosa. Within a month she went from reservations to host, seating guests and from there to Maitre’d running the reservation book. By the time we opened Minton’s next door, thirty days after opening The Cecil, Rosa was the head Maitre’d at Minton’s. She knew both menus and concepts and could bounce between the two with ease.
She was promoted to a floor supervisor position, assisting management with daily functions and support. As the holiday season rapidly approached, we trained Rosa on the events software and holiday packages, and she became the go to person for all event sales calls. She also oversaw all her event bookings to make sure they ran smoothly, and her clients had her personalized attention.
She started at $10 per hour and in less than two years, she was earning over $75,000 in salary and commissions. She had a beautiful baby boy. She was able to help support her family including her mother and grandmother. When I recently had the chance to catch up with Rosa, she told me she gained her confidence at The Cecil. Before she was unsure of her abilities as none of her jobs were challenging or fulfilling. Working at The Cecil was life changing because it gave her a job she loved going to every day, gave her focus and goals she never thought she could achieve.
Rosa embodies hospitality and thrives in our industry. Her success is a result of her strong work ethic and drive to learn more. Once we opened that door for her, she excelled.
As for many, the pandemic created huge challenges in Rosa’s life. Her son is asthmatic and that made her even more worried about Covid. She is now a single mom. Her time revolves around her son’s schedule and is not conducive to restaurant life.
When I had a client looking for a daytime manager and event sales, I immediately thought of Rosa. I’m thrilled she has accepted the position and is moving into a management role in addition to overseeing all the events.
Rosa’s success at The Cecil shined a light on my path to creating Hospitality Pathways. The training we offer is the type of training that staff normally only gets after they’ve been hired. We are offering this training to help our students get in the door.
Our goal at Hospitality Pathways is to find more Rosas, who have the desire but not the opportunity. We want to give them the knowledge, training, and mentorship to excel. They will enter a world full of so many opportunities.