Craig Gareiss, Ashley Bennett, and I nominated Chris Schwab, FOH Manager in Deer Park, for the Spirit Award winner of Q3 2018. Chris has been with Biaggi’s since February 2007; he started with us as a Host in Naperville, moved into a Serving position, was promoted to a FOH Captain/Bartender and on November 30th, 2011, Chris earned a FOH manager position in Deer Park. Chris is no stranger to the predicaments of a restaurant and is not afraid of adversarial conditions and the difficulties that come along with them. When he joined me in Deer Park in 2011, we were heading into the holiday season at 100 mph and had just turned over the entire management team (partially due to Deerfield’s opening). We tackled that challenge together with our blood, sweat and, yes, a few tears and now the ‘new regime’ in Deer Park has gotten to experience what an amazing manager Chris is.
Deer Park has had many challenges over the last year, again, turning over most of the management team, but Chris has remained the steadfast pillar to this location. Whether it’s bailing out Pizza or Expo, working a shift on Pantry, digging the service well out or keeping the entire dining room bussed during a fluke rush – He’s there to get the job done and he is a power-house, both BOH and FOH. (I walked into Deer Park on Friday to find him scheduled as the closing Sous and slinging pans on Sauté!) Chris works well beyond his title of Front of House Manager on a daily basis, mostly self-taught. He is truly a self-motivator and it is an inspiration to those around him; he sets a precedent for all the managers and Sous that he has helped train in Deer Park over the years.
Chris has participated and led multiple corporate projects through working with Kevin, Ashley and myself over the years: from training materials for food and beverage, to wine list updates and cocktail recipes, from researching liquor laws and helping create banquet menus and manuals; most recently, Chris was integral in testing the Liquor Pricing Model with Kevin Reed – You name it and he’s probably played a role in it!
Chris has never asked for anything and has been the most loyal teammate Ashley, Craig and I could have wished for, I don’t know how we got as lucky as a company that Chris choose us – and that he has stuck with us through some very hard times on the ‘battlefield’. We would like to reward Chris in this small way for his tenure, his fortitude, his passion for our employees, our restaurants and our guests, his patience and his partnership throughout his career with us – We hope it lasts for years to come and look forward to watching his career with us continue to grow!
-Casey Gru