director of events

line cook

host/hostess

server

executive chef

Brio Tuscan Grille

I wish I could leave no stars because working for this company was one of the worst experiences I have ever had. Not only is this specific restaurant managed poorly, but it is disgustingly unkept and a toxic work environment. Managers are ticking time bombs that yell at their employees over things that are out of their control, ignore or walk away from you, hang up on employees and guests frequently, and force sick employees to come in, even when the managers are provided with proof of the employees illness. Also, even during a pandemic. As for the cleanliness of the restaurant- there is no such thing. left over food and dirt is caked onto glasses, silverware, and plates and the water for the dishwasher is almost never changed. In addition to that, managers still send out food and drinks in unsanitized glassware and plates. As for how the business is ran, the company itself does not care about their employees and takes the cheapest route they possibly can. This current location has multiple ghost kitchens that they prioritize the quality and amount of time it takes to get out rather than the actual food served within the restaurant for guests that are already dining in. not only does this hurt the company and it's reputation but also this affects the servers income as well. Guests become unhappy with their experience and instead of the managers dealing with it professionally by talking to the table, most times they will have the server go back and deal with them while the manager on duty will discount something and go back to doing nothing. I hope there will be change in the future, but this restaurant is going to need a lot of of work and reform.

At Brio, we like to make our guests feel as if they were eating at home and not so much a public place. We like to serve on our guests and not be so much of a food taker, anyone can take your food taker but it takes a certain person to make you feel as if you were eating at home, like if you've known them for years. We like to explain our menu, just because Brio really isn't a known restaurant. We like to make their experience an unforgettable one. Unforgettable experience would be to get to know what the guest likes, whether it would be to a red or white selection of wine, to a pasta or a Tuscan style pork chop.  We have verity of items on our menu, so we want to make sure you get the perfect one and leave satisfied. The managers are awesome , they make sure our staff is great every shift. For any reason if something goes bad, they make the best our of the solution. My coworkers and I are like family, since its not a really busy restaurant there is only a few of us and we are all so close. The teamwork this restaurant has is unbelievable. The hardest part of the job is probably on the busier days, when you have so many tables and trying to catch up with side work as well, but like I said we are a team and are great at helping each other out. What I enjoy most about my job is making our guests happy, keep them smiling at all times.

Brio Tuscan Grille became my family... 

As at all restaurants / serving jobs, the pay can be hit or miss but it's truly what you make it.  The guests were fairly decent people and often preferred Brio over any other restaurant in town (very loyal.) 
I was able to survive and live a fairly decent life while working at Brio and also finishing my undergraduate degree. The hours are very flexible and the co-workers are very open to swapping shifts.  We share a lot of light-hearted jokes with one another during leisure / break time. The managers are mainly female which is rare yet cool to me because they're easy to talk to, not always trying to assert their authority if you know what I mean. The uniforms are alright,  I won't rate them but I do think they are appropriate based upon the upscale nature of the restaurant, we are often complimented.  The hardest part was rainy or snowy days...because there was no pay, obviously. The most enjoyable part was seeing the smiling faces on the guests who DID leave their happy from their experience. I noticed that I used "We" a lot when describing my old job but that just confirms how apart of a family I felt at Brio Tuscan Grille. If you aren't big on integrity, I don't suggest you work here. We all have each others best interest at heart...very honest folks. 


Xoxo  - Demi

A day at work is a day of surprises. In general a typical day is about:
ordering
creating prep lists
following up with chefs to make sure they are on task
creating schedules
working expo 
making sure that ticket times are within guidelines
making sure that quality standards are in place
adjusting out times to fall within labor standards
complete a detailed line check
make sure all prep was completed
make sure all appropriate breaks were delivered
make sure the line has been cleaned throughly for the next shift
hand the shift over with a brief synopsis of the day and next shift projections.

At Brio I learned to work as a team and I learned a great deal about italian culinary arts. I was also able to adapt to BRIO's approach to management styles and operation etc. The hardest part about working for BRIO is that California is a new market for them and the number of locations are quite far apart so my commute has gone from 20 miles one way to over 50 miles one way in heavy traffic. If it weren't for the heavy commute I would stay with the company. I love that I can be proud of the products and quality of the food that we serve and the environment I work in.

The current general manager is completely unengaged and may be one of the least committed people in the building.  Unfortunately, his total lack of leadership and presence is sending this longtime Plaza staple on the path to destruction.  He is not even in the building during many of the busiest hours, leaving his overworked assistant managers to handle the many needs of a multi-level restaurant alone.  When he is in the building, he is rarely on the floor offering support.  During a busy lunch rush, expect to find him upstairs putting away liquor or in the office researching old server contests, while the servers sink or swim on their own downstairs.
There are some wonderful hourly employees in both the front and back of the house.  Because the store is constantly understaffed you can always get the hours you want, just don’t expect a work/life balance.  Servers routinely have to offer 20 dollars or more to get a shift covered.  Again, because of understaffing, if you’re a hardworking server or bartender you can make great tips.  Just don’t expect any support or help while you run around taking 8 tables to make your money.  
Without radical changes, I do not see this restaurant surviving.

What is the best part of working at the company?
As a bartender I did very well even during the slow season because the bar was always busy for happy hour 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The general manager was an incompetent bully. He manages through fear. He constantly complained about his employees and often threatened our jobs. For example a few days before thanksgiving he sent a message to all staff that if they didn’t show up for their thanksgiving day shift we would be fired

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It was a toxic work environment. The GM was not a leader at all. He constantly followed employees around and criticized their work. He would call people out on the group message and not give encouragement or ever tell someone they were doing a good job

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Trying to avoid talking to management as they never had any nice to say. No one ever received accolades and I’ve never worked anywhere where management didn’t care to know anything about their employees. There were however 2 servers that were allowed to bring their children to work every day so they didn’t need to get a babysitter.

The turnover rates for all staff, including managers is incredible. Potentially lifelong candidates bring in positive energy and learn how exhausting it is once they realize they do not have the opportunity to make a difference in the company. New managers come in fired up ready to make a change and give up. Teamwork is not stressed enough. Organization is not in the equation. Cleanliness is definitely the biggest issue without a doubt. I am not the kind of person who will treat guests to an atmosphere I wouldn't invite my own family to. It's a shame the potential the company has, what this location cannot offer. You quickly find staff just do not care after the first month. I am on the road to heavy success and I want to be able to earn the rights to be successful. On the other hand, if I want to move up, I would appreciate the opportunity to do so. The food is irresistible. I am proud of that.

Rudest most demeaning management i have ever worked for.  Huge turnover.  if you don't have any respect for your employees they won't have any respect for you.  Everyone hated working there.  When i encounter people who also previously worked there, they all say the same thing, "worst place i ever worked, bizarre"  Management seemed to think the best way to motivate you was to threaten to take away tables from your section, give you less shifts, etc., once telling us in preshift they would give our shifts to the new bunch of hires, all because a couple of servers were not prebussing tables.  So they take it out on the whole crew rather than address it with the problem servers.  Management actually seemed to enjoy doing this with a smile on their face.  Not a great way to treat employees.  Half of the new trainees would quit in a month to month and a half.  Seems like a stupid way to manage, right?  Then they would turn around and complain about how much it cost them to train a new employee.  LOL   Chefs were the rudest i have ever worked with, every single one of them.  Worst restaurant i ever worked at by far.

My experience working for BRIO was not a pleasant one. Management was ill trained and not professional. It was even more difficult to work this job and be rewarded or promoted if you are a woman or person of color. Guests can be exceedingly rude to you with no repercussions, 10 times out of 10 management will blame you for issues gone wrong at a table and when you don't receive a tip that's expended labor that you are eating. Management loves to micromanage and belittle staff. You cant take time off when you're sick because they need your labor, but they don't care if you get guests sick, and you need a doctor's note if you call out even though they don't provide you with healthcare benefits and most restaurant industry workers come from the lower middle class. Management and coworkers gossip and lack the standards of a professional work place causing an extremely stressful and toxic work environment. This corporation and especially this location make it impossible to succeed and make a simple job very difficult.

Before I was hired, it had been my goal to work there for years. I had high expectations for this company after being in the industry for 8 years. Covid forced the original company to go under and had been bought and sold numerous times until ending up where it is. It’s a husk of its former self with supposed leadership who actually have no idea how to dig a failing restaurant out of a hole other than throwing more and more incompetent managers at the problem. 2 years of the same exact issues with no real solutions gets tiring.

Managers and higher ups preach communication and family, but left me in the dark entirely. I heard everything though and eventually it was revealed I was just being lead on. I found out a lot about the company and the people who are running the show and I just couldn’t go on with it anymore. 

I expected better. I had higher standards for what a restaurant of that caliber is capable of. I had higher standards for leadership.  Brio is no where near its predecessor pre-pandemic. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Director of events 35 salaries reported	$65,000 per year
Line cook 13 salaries reported	$18.73 per hour
Host/hostess 8 salaries reported	$15.75 per hour
Server 6 salaries reported	$45,000 per year
Executive chef 1 salary reported	$70,000 per year

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