host/hostess

front of house manager

restaurant general manager

line cook

kitchen manager

Agave & Rye

While this workplace has potential and there are some great team members, high turnover and persistent issues in management undermine the overall experience.

Management Concerns:
Leadership is inconsistent, and decision-making often seems emotion-driven rather than rooted in logic or fairness. There’s noticeable favoritism in scheduling, workload distribution, and compensation. Rules are applied inconsistently, and concerns raised by staff are often dismissed or met with defensiveness. This creates an environment where some employees feel unsupported and marginalized.

Cultural Issues:
Unfortunately, bias and favoritism have a tangible impact here. Work opportunities and assignments often seem to favor certain groups,  (non-POC or non-POC adjacent) which creates tension among staff.  Concerns regarding unfair treatment of POC employees and guests are either gaslit or ignored, leaving us feeling unsafe and undervalued.

Operational Challenges:
The side work expectations are excessive, with employees often staying hours beyond their shifts without adequate compensation. The tip-out structure is disproportionately high for servers, and there is little recognition of the effort they put in, including assisting with bar-related tasks. The solution to this issue when presented was to either work to move up or get behind the bar which was incredibly dismissive and discouraging. 

Communication Issues:
Monthly meetings are held to encourage open dialogue, but the structure often leaves little room for meaningful feedback. Most meetings were spent with the boss lady listening to herself talk leaving about 5-10 minutes for the staff of the entire franchise to voice concerns and  those expressing legitimate concerns were often labeled as “problematic,” which discouraged open communication and attendance to the meetings altogether. 

Work Environment:
The high-stress environment, lack of support during busy times, and management’s reluctance to assist on the floor contribute to consistent burnout. It’s common for employees to feel overwhelmed, and the turnover rate reflects this reality.

Overall, while there are some positive aspects, the challenges in management, equity, and work environment make it a difficult place to recommend without significant changes.


A typical day involved prepping the restaurant, taking care of guests, and completing a heavy amount of sidework before and after shifts. There was a lot of behind-the-scenes stress that came from communication gaps between front-of-house and back-of-house, as well as inconsistent support from management.

From my experience, the culture often felt chaotic and unstructured. It seemed like employee feedback wasn’t acknowledged much, which created frustration among the team. The turnover rate is high—most staff don’t stay long, and I believe that’s because it takes a lot of patience and flexibility to thrive here.

I personally learned a lot about liquor, teamwork, and how to keep my cool in high-stress environments. However, leadership didn’t always feel professional or responsive, and in my opinion, the external hiring practices contributed to a lack of cohesion.

The hardest part of the job was the closing work. With limited staff—no bussers or food runners—it wasn’t uncommon to stay up to two hours past close. On the flip side, the location near the convention center meant very high earning potential during busy events. I’ve made over $35/hour during good weeks, though slower weeks could be drastically different despite working similar hours.

This is a revised submission that hopes to meet Indeed's review guidelines.

What's not to say? Do you want a toxic and hostile work environment? Do you want to be micro managed? Do you want to have multiple tasks assigned on holidays? Want to have no say or guidance when asking for help? If you answered yes to any or all of these then this is the place for you. Never have I felt so disrespected, alone, and left hanging out to dry by my management. I had a couple of servers/bartenders causing a lot of issues for myself and all the other "Family". I was working on changing the culture of the store which had become toxic due to previous leadership being friends with said severs/bartenders and allowing the toxic behavior to occur and continue. I was told I couldn't let them go but rather "get them on my side". When asking for ideas and asking for guidance on this I was told to "think outside the box". When reaching out to my district I got zero help and was told "You're LOH now". They say they have 6 core values but really they don't. The company does not embody or live by those core values at all. The money seems nice until they slam you with at least 3 meetings a week, videos to watch, daily reports, "homework", multiple time sensitive tasks and more. This company left me with little time to spend with my family. The fact many of the serves/bartenders are calling me to tell me they are going to quit speaks volumes. To be told that I was "the last hope for this store" once again speaks volumes.

There are a lot of things to unpack about this company, the first being the militant management. The entire management team is miserable and intentionally unhelpful. It’s completely apparent that the upper management/owners micro manage and have no sense of trust for the staff they have hired and placed in “leadership” roles.
 The company makes promises that they don’t uphold. They call their staff “family” (red flag) yet they don’t protect their “family members” from harmful situations (i.e. harmful assault allegations being swept under the rug.) When the entire management team and over half of the staff quits/walks out on the same day; there are bigger issues at hand. 

Aside from that; the money isn’t there, the day shift bartenders are required to come in 1.5 hours before opening to juice, prep and batch all of the mixes for the day while being paid less than minimum wage for the extra work. The tips do not make up for the lack of hourly pay. They overstaff shifts and then cut staff early on because there isn’t enough business. Therefore, leaving you to wonder how you will pay your bills. 
The faux corporate vibe of this company is less than desirable. It’s an EPIC disaster to say the least. 

If you’re a pm worker you clock in to clean up after the am and stock what they didn’t. You will work all week and hardly make any money because they like to over staff the store when there is very minimal volume. Don’t expect to have the correct glassware or a fork because they are all out of everything;  and the owner has a budget so small that there hasn’t been adequate utensils sense open. The work place drama is unmatched and the servers are the laziest people I’ve ever met (with a few exceptions). Management is over worked (because they can’t keep a GM) and unwilling to control their lazy staff or follow the rules the company is supposed to enforce. 
The company also states that “everything is made fresh” this is a fat lie. The jackfruit is canned, so are the bean, and the mangos and blackberries are frozen and slimy. 
Let’s not forget that they forced their whole team to work through the summer with no functioning ac unit. 
These are just a few of the issues at agave and rye, it’s a melding pot of lies and drama with a couple of really good people who work there… it’s not the location it’s the brand itself that set the bar high but couldn’t keep up. 

Spent a while in the position, managers routinely lied and manipulated people into the host position with promises of serving shifts. With a full staff of servers, no less. The culture is all about reviews. There is a thin veneer of care from most of management. (Only one really cares) the rest are routinely on vacation. Management has very little say in their day to day operations if corporate is involved at all. And corporate interests are quite terrible, even wasteful. The pay for hourlies especially the host stand are ridiculously low for the amount of work one has to do in the position. From normal hosting duties to janitorial duties and sidework. Company regulations pay hosts as if theyre making tips but expect to staff up to five hosts on a shift, splitting the already abyssmal takeout tips between five bodies makes the low pay almost laughable. You should not put time into this company, they'll run you like a dog and keep you in the dirt as long as you let them. All the while promising improvement but not delivering on it, until they find no more use and discard you for the next person easily manipulated into the position.

If you’re looking to waste your time and efforts at a place where there is zero empathy for being a human than this is the best place for you. After going through some of the most rigorous training for a server position the “leadership” here has zero remorse for what they do & how they treat their staff. You’re finished when they allow you to go home. They will pile on work for servers during a rush and expect you to handle the work load without any help. None the less I have never been with such a company that truly cares so little for their employees that they aren’t afraid to get rid of those who don’t meet the expectations of some of the most judgemental people. Expect to be treated like a” family “but not a single person is aware of what this entails. They expect you to make money off of a two table section while rewarding other employees from out of state with bigger sections during a shift. They’ll also fire staff without warning while disregarding any wrongful termination laws. Do not work here. 

Horrible commncation, favoritism, unfair treatment of certian employees! 

There are too many hoops to get through to get one thing approved. There is no organization and there are too many people involved doing the same thing, so work gets done twice. poor communication!!!  is horrible. Company does not care about its employees.

CEO/COO plays favoritism and needs major major major help with their  corporate infrastructure. Too much micromanager and everyone hates their job there ….. they need to go away and have someone else step in to save this company … 
It's a “family” owned business, nothing is standardized be prepared to have constant changes to your daily work life, and if you are salary expect to work at least 50hrs + and work weekends nights holidays with no extra time off or compensation for bending over backwards. Especially working 14 days straight 60hrs a week or more and not get compensated for it. Stay stay clear away. Slimy peoople

What is the best part of working at the company?
Flexibility in scheduling.  Able to work as many or as few hours as wanted

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
No management structure. And no opportunity for growth/ promotion

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Over complicated,  over micro managed,  and very nonsensical.  Example. When opening or closing a section of the store.  You must have 2 different co workers,  check that the section is ready to open/ close.  Then you have to download an app to your personal phone,  and use the app to take pictures of the section, THEN a third person has to look at the pictures to re-re-re verify that it is ready to open/ close.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Pre shift, serve guests,  get cut, clean, then go home

This place sells itself as a loving brand, Not the case at all. Long training periods filled with air for information. Teach servers and bartenders are treated horribly with long hours working long shifts and tips are all over the place. Corporate is an absolute joke. Play favors and create drama at the store levels and then disappear. Unprofessional to say the least. They hire inexperienced  management and children to run the stores. If you don't repeat the script they try to brainwash you with you won't last. Don't be fooled by the smiling faces and friendly voices. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Host/hostess 34 salaries reported	$12.41 per hour
Front of house manager 12 salaries reported	$50,833 per year
Restaurant general manager 13 salaries reported	$72,115 per year
Line cook 36 salaries reported	$16.11 per hour
Kitchen manager 15 salaries reported	$55,333 per year

Working at Agave & Rye: Company Overview and Reviews

Agave & Rye

Agave & Rye Ratings

Popular jobs at Agave & Rye

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected