sous chef

grill cook

line cook

dishwasher

bartender

JOEY Restaurants

A typical day at work involves navigating a chaotic and toxic environment. Upon arrival, I find the back-of-house in disarray, with dishes and glassware scattered everywhere. I often juggle multiple roles, essentially filling the shoes of five different people. Management tends to offer more criticism than positive reinforcement. However, I’ve learned to manage my workload efficiently in this fast-paced setting. I’m quick on my feet and assertive about prioritizing tasks. Unfortunately, management can be passive and aggressive, displaying narcissistic behaviors that have lead to public humiliation in the past during meetings. These sessions are often more controlling than constructive, detracting from productivity. The job is marked by constant turnover and poor communication from management leading to colleagues blaming each other as well.  Despite these challenges, the most enjoyable aspect is working with some other great colleagues and providing excellent service to customers, even if the overall restaurant service can be too slow and frustrating in high pressure situations. 

Depending upon what shift you were working you could start off by preparing the bar and setting it up. Getting all the juices ready in containers and cutting the fruits to garnish the drinks. Stocking the fridges with backup juices, fruits, beers, and wines. Or it could be cleaning out the fridges and dating the wines and taking the bar down and sending everything through the washer. During shift it was to greet customer and have a drink in front of them within two minutes. Thats for bartenders and servers. As a bartender it is our responsibility to make all drinks for the servers in the lounge and dinning room. When I first started I had an amazing manager who was dependable, on point, didn't play favorites, and enforced great productivity and service. The manager understood that we were as good as our weakest link and would work hard to always improve us the employees and the restaurant. The turn over rate was pretty high so it was hard to remember who everyone was and I was constantly training. There were a few veterans who were amazing at their job and made work life much easier. A huge bonus working there was that they had awesome competitions. I won a trip to Sonoma California for selling the most bottles of a Sonoma-Cutrer wine. I went wine tasting to so many vineyards and stayed at the Korbel Champagne house.

They hire people as “server assistants” with lots of empty promises because you are actually just a busser, dishwasher,  and food runner with no serving involved. We would get a 1% tip out and most days the person wouldn’t even bother to tip you out and if you complained to management they would tell you it is your problem to deal with, so if you didn’t get it too bad. Not to mention the fact that it seems the company only hires the most stuck up, rude people in Los Angeles. Many days I would come home from work crying because I was overworked, underpaid, and I was constantly badly treated by managers and other staff in the form of rude comments, snickers, etc. it felt like being bullied at work and I have always been someone to make a lot of friends so it was especially disheartening. Even though I had serving experience they refused to move me up to server even though they stated they would when they first hired me. Everything about this job was horrible and no matter how hard I tried to make the best of it it just kept getting worse and more unbearable. The only perks were they gave you discounted food and every once in a while a cool celebrity would come in. Bottom line, I wouldn’t even recommend working here to my worst enemy.

I have appreciated working in the dynamic, fast paced, and welcoming work environment that JOEY Sherwood has provided! I acknowledge that my positive experience is related to a management team that has demonstrated their investment to my learning and growth along with dedication to supporting my success as a partner. I have been provided with leadership opportunities and experiences that have surpassed my expectations and that have helped to increase my confidence as an individual and as a partner. I love the warm, upbeat, and energetic vibe that JOEY Sherwood offers to the partners and guests coming into  the restaurant. It always feels very welcoming!  At times It can be incredibly busy but I appreciate how all the partners work together to support each other to create the premium service that us as a team strive for.  Every role at JOEY Sherwood is valued in the unique contribution it offers to create a unique and memorable experience for every guest. 

A typical day can be very fast pace with lots of opportunities to impact and leaded our team by example, while other days can be slower where you can focus on your own development. I’ve learn many skills during my time with Joey, technical training related to cooking as well as leadership skills. Management has been one of my favorite aspects of working with Joey, I’ve had to opportunity to work with many different managers over my career, many of them have become some of my greats mentors not only at work but in life. The culture at Joey is unlike anything I’ve experienced, it’s an environment that values and take people feeling and opinion very seriously. The most challenging aspect of my is job is wanting to be involved with all our partners development but not always having the time. The most enjoyable part of my job is being apart of our partners growth with in the company, nothing brings me more joy but to see Joey change their lives the way it changed mine.

I had a positive experience working with this organization and appreciate the opportunity I was given during my time there. The workplace maintained a professional environment where employees were encouraged to be reliable, respectful, and team-oriented. Management provided clear expectations and support when needed, which helped create a structured and productive work setting.
I valued the chance to develop my skills, work with a diverse group of coworkers, and contribute to the overall goals of the team. The experience also helped strengthen my communication, time management, and problem-solving abilities.
Overall, it was a meaningful professional experience that allowed me to grow and gain valuable insight into the industry. I am grateful for the lessons learned and the connections made during my time with the company. I would recommend this workplace to individuals seeking a structured environment where teamwork and accountability are valued.

Extremely poor communication among other staff and especially management. Felt disrespected by the other staff and overworked compared to people that had been there a long time. Basic questions left unanswered with responses such as “well what do you think”? Because they wanted you to figure it out by yourself instead of giving a simple yes or no. There is a time for this in a workplace - but not when you are simply asking where the extra stock of something is while you’re in a hurry. Went through extensive 3 day training about the history of the restaurant with random worksheets rather than literally teaching us on how to do the job - leaving us to be scoffed at by the older employees when you would ask a question your first few days. Management is extremely poor at responding to emails no matter the topic. Felt like a high-school environment.  

The front of house, back of house, and Office are all treated very differently.  Front of house is overworked but we make more hourly than others.  Back of house is pretty good but not appreciated by management.  The office is treated poorly and not appreciated at all.  The management is immature and doesn't handle conflict well.  

We are constantly promised performance based raises but that never actually happens.  I enjoy my coworkers and we can all get along and joke around with each other but the management is just not good.  

We live in Orange County where the cost of living is very high. Most people working here cannot afford to live off the wages JOEY pays.  Almost everyone I know at this company has a second job to get by.  I think a company as successful as this one needs to pay their employees a livable wage.  

I worked at Joey Bellevue for about 2 years. Ironically enough I first worked at the location in Southcenter then decided to switch over to Bellevue.  Comparing the two very similar places in terms of culture and workplace I found that it was a fun place to work at for the time but near the end, I was happy to leave. The culture is amazing and you work with a lot of beautiful girls, however, the culture is deeply drama-filled and it felt like I was in high school again, no one mindes their business. 

If you're a hard worker you will get noticed. 


There is no work life balance. As a manager, you work 10 - 13 hour days, 50 - 60 hour work weeks. You will receive a little to no recognition or appreciation no matter how hard you work. As a new location, many of the senior managers come from different locations which at times can be helpful to have different perspectives, but from my experience, it made training and managing very inconsistent. Because this is a high stress environment many people can be unprofessional and let emotions take over when speaking. Some of the conversations managers would have behind closed doors about our other team members was disrespectful. Dealing with drunk customers can also be difficult on some days. Leaving this job was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Sous chef 55 salaries reported	$81,841 per year
Grill cook 31 salaries reported	$23.92 per hour
Line cook 25 salaries reported	$23.75 per hour
Dishwasher 32 salaries reported	$21.44 per hour
Bartender 28 salaries reported	$28.61 per hour

Working at JOEY Restaurants: Company Overview and Reviews

JOEY Restaurants

JOEY Restaurants Ratings

Popular jobs at JOEY Restaurants

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected