baker

barista

food service associate

pastry cook

cashier

Liv Breads

When I started at LivBreads, it was the best job I could’ve ever hoped to find. I felt respected, appreciated, and valued whenever I came in to work. I looked forward to coming in to every shift because I enjoyed the work I was doing, but I also enjoyed the time I spent with my coworkers and managers as we all grew to know each other. Training was very thorough and I rarely felt unprepared to work on a task given to me, if I did I felt comfortable asking for help knowing I would not be judged or made to feel bad for reaching out for help, no matter how stupid the question. Every few months I would be given a raise and that also helped me feel seen and valued as more than an employee, but as a person who needed to make ends meet.

After several months of working, the business began to pick up and days we once considered slow were becoming busy days. Some changes in management were going on, and new locations and managers were being added to the mix. I feel that once the owners realized how busy we were getting and how popular we were becoming, it went to their heads. Higher ups who were usually working out on the front of house with us all day would now pop in to talk to regulars and then spend the rest of the day working in the basement. Hours started to get cut, but no new staff was there to fill in the gaps. There was a lot less support and help for us as front of house employees. Our slowest days would have 3 or 4 counter people, and now our busiest days were having at most 3 counter people. I watched owners and other managers interact with customers, invade the barista station to make a drink for themselves during a rush, and then step to the side to use their phones. Front of house staff had to scramble to keep up with rushes all the while being reprimanded for taking a moment to talk to coworkers or have a drink, while a manager would be sitting at the tables with customers and laughing for the third hour in a row.

Closing sometimes took beyond the scheduled 3:30 time (an entire 90 minutes past closing) because managers would be on their phone or distracting us with conversation while we all tried to guess which trays of which items went where. If we dared to close fast we were given other tasks to do in order to kill time rather than be let free to go home. Often times front of house employees were given tasks to complete that were supposed to be done by managers, like counting stock of retail items. We were expected to do a lot of extra work that started to feel unfairly compensated for.

As a barista, I was also expected to take on a lot of responsibility with very little reward. It is difficult enough to be berated by customers, but we were consistently put down by management for every small detail. Not my fault the breadwinner of your bakery isn’t even the bread itself, but the coffee. As a barista you were not allowed the help of more than 1 coworker at a time. If you were assigned an assistant for the day, that was the only person you could ask to help make drinks, prepare iced coffee and iced tea, restock, and serve drinks top to customers. We were left to fend for ourselves during many rushes, and we quickly adapted to that set up and were able to very reliably and efficiently pass out high quality drinks. I remember many drinks I would proudly serve to customers and take my own pictures of only for a manager to pass me and snidely remark that the contrast of my drink was bad, or my design was unsymmetrical or too foamy or too basic or too small or too large or too off center. Nothing I did was right as a barista and they never let me forget it. If I made a mistake while training I was reminded of it constantly and micromanaged to death. God forbid I did not immediately rinse out a pitcher, I was condescendingly told that I “need to rinse milk pitchers between every use” as thought I had not been a barista for 6 months. 

TLDR; This was once my favorite job, and then greed and poor management got in the way and 5 people quit in one week. And don’t take too much free food at closing or you’ll be accused of being greedy, when the reality is you couldn’t afford to eat that week because your hours were cut so the owners can make a profit.

Liv Breads is a continuously growing business with potential for learning and advancing your skills. The owners are very attentive and available to help in many different ways. They are always striving for the best product and working to make the process smooth. 

This company is still new and learning every day the best ways to do things. With each endeavor, there is a learning curve and can cause some stress/hectic days. But the owners are only trying to do the best they can to enhance the business and their employees experience. Days off are very flexible and PTO is available as you continue with the business. 

Communication can get lost/mixed up, which can cause some delays or incorrect products. Sometimes expectation is higher than what is truly capable, causing very long hours and potential burnout. 

Some days will be tough, especially around holidays or business openings. With a growing business, working hours are constantly changing, which can cause some issues. Managers/owners are available to speak with about concerns and they always try to find a solution. 

Overall, a great business to work for and I would recommend working here. 

Jobs in the food industry are dynamic and busy. When you work for a restaurant that's dead all the time, it means the business isn't doing well! Liv Breads is constantly growing and staff is kept  busy. This job isn't for you if you're looking for boring retail work. There's downtime, but there's always something to do. Weekends are very busy, but if you like this atmosphere it's fun, and the time goes by quickly! The retail associate role is a mix between a cashier and food service. The owners put a high level of focus on customer service and training. It's a smaller, family-run, business, so the service level isn't super corporate. But, if you like a dynamic atmosphere where there's room to train (great barista training, possibility to move into a key holder or even floor manager role). There's a mix of college students and 'career' service staff working here. 


The tasks and recipes given are simply laid out, and somewhat easy to follow. 
For a typical shift:
only half that time work is actually being done. A task sheet is provided for each day, but is printed typically 2+ hours into each shift. Losing time each day causes certain major and minor tasks to get mixed up, missed, or done incorrectly because of a lack of communication between team members and management. 

Nobody manages the timeliness of coworkers.

There is also a very constant waste of food, baked items, etc, because of the mismanagement of the daily task sheet. Continuous miscommunication between workers that don’t speak the same languages also make for completing the proper tasks at hand more challenging.

Worked there not too long ago. I recommend avoiding Liv Breads if you are looking for a supportive and comfortable work environment. Managers are in abundance but are mostly hired from within (with a few exceptions) and have no idea how to communicate with each other or their employees. The owners are not involved in the day to day operations and expect their young and immature managers to relay information (aka big game of telephone). The owners and managers also have their clear favorite employees who can get away with anything (including not showing up for multiple shifts in a row). If you're looking for a place just to make money and keep your head down, you might actually have a chance at Liv Breads. If not, you'll most likely just end up joining everyone else in their high employee turnover rate.

No room for growth after a certain point and promotions are more based on who you know than how well you work. Management has no ability to find fault with themselves or their favorites and there is leash of guilt compelling everyone to be silent. Why even try to speak up when you only draw attention to yourself? looking back at my time there from my new job of almost the same time I see how much liv really is a "family" and they think that's a good thing. One of my coworkers said he didn't even remember the names of new people because they wouldnt last.

I worked here for a few months in early 2000, and even though it was a very tough job, it was a good experience. It ended up not being the right fit for me, as baking is more of a hobby, but I am grateful for my time at Liv. It was a challenging experience where I was able to implement the experience I learned into my own person skill set. The management is friendly and I made some friends along the way. The food quality is absolutely phenomenal as well—they don’t cut corners here.

Like I said, even though it was short “lived”, I am grateful for the time there and the skills that I learned. 

Unfortunately, much of the management lacks a clear understanding of the work processes and often assigns tasks that are meaningless and do not contribute to the business. This approach seems aimed at keeping employees busy, even when there is nothing substantive to accomplish. As a result, the workplace can be quite stressful, with noticeable biases making it an unfriendly environment. This does not foster an equal opportunity for all employees.

On a positive note, the staff food discount is generous, but it is the only benefit that makes working here worthwhile.

Liv Breads is a busy growing business. It is an engaging environment best suited for motivated, energetic individuals who like to move around and stay busy throughout their workday. The products are great and there are always new items to try and experiment with. Liv Breads prides itself on quality of products and service. It is a positive work place and the owners at Liv Breads are lovely, approachable people. They are very involved with the day to day processes  and are very passionate about their business and it shows. For me, it is a great place to work. 

Liv Breads is a busy dynamic bakery. The owners are very hands on and nice to work for. I have worked in the food industry for a long time, always for independent businesses such as this one, and this has been my favorite. 

Weekends and holidays are required but thus is the nature of the food business. There is a lot of flexibility for personal needs and time should they arise. Lots of hard work but again thus is the nature of the business.

Pleasant teams and positive energy. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Baker 3 salaries reported	$16.25 per hour
Barista 6 salaries reported	$17.71 per hour
Food service associate 6 salaries reported	$16.00 per hour
Pastry cook 1 salary reported	$16.88 per hour
Cashier 5 salaries reported	$14.65 per hour

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