restaurant manager

server

kitchen manager

dining room manager

to-go specialist

Lupe Tortilla

Lupe Tortilla has a great sales pitch and truly good benefits. The issue is that most of what you are reading in the management job advertisement is just a sales pitch to get you in the door. This job schedules you about 55-58 hours with the expectation of 60 hours. I've worked a few 65 hour weeks when we only had 3 or 4 managers instead of 5 or 6. Also 6am - 6pm, 10am - 10pm, 2pm - 2am are all regular shifts at Lupe Tortilla and should be the expectation not the exception when applying to work here.
The pay you agree to up front will be your long term pay moving forward. They have lost many multi year management employees because they bring them in on level 2 (46-48K theoretically) but they never allow them to "level up" because pay raises are not based on knowledge, work ethic/ production, team member development or overall contribution to the restaurant but are based on a set of scores that require almost perfect execution for a rolling 13 week period. The reason this is set up is because they can dangle very high pay rates in front of you (100 - 120k for MP) but in actuality can pay you a much lower rate and allows them to bring in outside talent and eventually lose them and begin the same cycle since the pay rates no doubt grabbed your attention. Truth is only 25% of all MP's make the pay rate you have seen and that's because you are not paid based on your position. You are paid based on the level system you agree to in hiring. There are AGM's making 48- 46K, there are multiple MP's who make 54-56k and are paid the same as the rest of the management team. They do penalize you for just about everything to your salary so it's best to to expect about 4k under whatever the "expected salary".

At the end of the day the restaurant is not a bad environment , the food is delicious but the COLD HARD TRUTH IS the pay scale you see is 100% a sales pitch to rope you in and lastly you need to expect nothing less then 60 hours. 

I wouldn't recommend them unless you're running out of options. "Grow your career, not your salary"

Management has lost control lot their servers! One female bartender screamed at the kitchen manager for not sending out tortillas with her tables food and the manager apologized to her! And that girl became a big bully with the rest of the staff; other bartenders complaining about her inability to handle the well on Friday nights, even shouting at them in front of bar guests. Another old male server would dictate which section he wanted and he got it, another male server would also pick his section, rampant favoritism, the managers caring more about being buddy-buddy with staff instead of in control of them. Constant changes in management, new GM came in with the worst esteem of servers. He put a lock on the complimentary children’s ice cream because apparently the servers were stealing it. I honestly only saw 2 servers take ice cream without ringing it in and they were two of the spoiled “trainers”. If you work here, you are going to be treated like a child, given terrible sections, put on the patio in the 100 degree heat and the patio faces west. You will face reprisals if you ever call out! There was a tropical storm in the area and I called in and the manager accused me of lying, saying there was no rain at all and wanted me to go into high water to take “photographic evidence” of the water. So they don’t care about your safety, don’t care about the time you waste there with no tables, get mad at you for not doing anything when there’s no people coming in, it’s so not worth your time and effort to work here. The training takes 2 weeks like calm down, serving isnt hard like this was all the biggest waste of time and I regret not quitting on the very first day.

This is a great place to work overall. Management and staff are very friendly and understanding. Servers' side work is far limited in comparison to other serving jobs I've held. Moreover, management is great about ensuring that servers are prepared for the job prior to hitting the floor. They set high service expectations for each server and set us up for success with customers. Problems are that the management can be bad at communicating, servers' tip share is pretty high, the FOH is usually overstaffed, and servers are limited to three tables at a time (which is a blessing and a curse). All the servers clock in an hour before the rush, which can leave you standing around for an hour before ever getting sat. You can also get screwed with a patio section despite unfavorable weather conditions, leaving your section empty for an extended amount of time. Managers fail to cut servers based upon the pace of the restaurant, which leads to every server having no more than one or two tables at a time rather than allowing a reasonable amount of staff to go home and let the others have a real chance at making money. When the restaurant is busy, however, servers can make bank. Furthermore, the restaurant stays busy and goes on a wait even on weekdays, despite high-priced menu items. 

So let’s just start with the training. Terrible, at least a week long unless you work doubles and could probably get it done within a few days. Quite a few hour long videos to watch so prep for that. As for the management… this is where the real problem is. I’ve never seen such unprofessionalism and rudeness from one of the managers who works here. They are known for yelling at people for no reason, making it hard to address any concerns. You cannot communicate with the kitchen directly, which is standard, but God forbid my table orders tortillas, sour cream, basically any sauce or small item after the food is at the table and during a rush. I understand trying to keep the kitchen organized, but dang my table needs sour cream and doesn’t want to wait 20 min for it. It can be extremely stressful when things are out of your control and your tip can suffer for it. The money can be good sometimes but over the months the tips and business have gone down, probably because people never come back due to bad experiences with the food. Strong pros are that the charro beans are amazing and an unlimited snack during a shift, and also that there is no side work. Simply clean your section, count your money, and you’re outta there.

After being in the company for years, I will say I am appreciative of the opportunity I was given at Lupe. Unfortunately Mission Statement of people first is  inaccurate. The company has been changing rapidly, constant adjustments with little communication, to penalizing management commission every chance they get. From overtimes hours being directly deducted, to trash overfill charges. The company is currently in a pretty substantial manager turnover, including Managing Partners. In my couple years with Lupe Tortilla I worked under 10 different Managing Partners, More than half of which quit the company. If you work with a good MP then everything will be wonderful, but they are rare and few in the company nowadays. Fight for a high base pay, biweekly bonuses are not as thrilling as they sound, or as achievable. 
Be prepared to fight for promotions and advancement, I have seen many managers be strung along for years at the promises of becoming MP some stuck it out and were rewarded after 2 years or doing the work without the pay. Others passed and moved on to other opportunities.
You have two choices, Bleed Lupe, or ride it out until something better comes along.

The good:
Pay is slightly better than some other restaurants, and you can learn different stations which helps you build skills. The morning Lead Cook is very supportive — he guides, teaches, and helps new employees.

The bad:
Raises for learning stations are not consistent, and the workload is heavy for the pay. Schedules change often, and employees are sometimes asked to stay late with no notice. It’s important to check your hours carefully since overtime or shifts are not always recorded correctly. There is also a very high turnover of managers, and communication can be confusing since each one gives different instructions. The work environment is very toxic — long-time employees support each other but make life difficult for new hires, and the evening kitchen manager often shows disrespect with his attitude.

General description:
Decent pay and supportive morning leadership, but toxic environment, poor management organization, and heavy workload make it hard to stay long term.


The worst restaurant I’ve ever worked at. Management is disorganized and constantly makes decisions that hurt both employees and the guest experience. Bussers are underpaid and understaffed, so servers are expected to clean and reset most of their own tables while also managing a full section.

Managers regularly prioritize bussing empty tables over taking care of paying guests. I’ve seen servers told to leave waiting customers without drinks so they could clean tables that had already been vacated. In some cases, servers are even sent home for choosing to prioritize their guests instead of bussing tables.

The result is frustrated employees, poor service, and an environment where taking care of customers isn’t treated as the top priority. If you’re considering working here as a server, be prepared for unrealistic expectations, poor management, and a workplace where you’ll likely be doing multiple jobs without the support you should have.

the managers do not care about you, they don’t respect your time, and they definitely hate doing their jobs. the food is overpriced, so the tips are good sometimes, bad other times. their method of record keeping is also very confusing. there is absolutely no consistency in how things are managed. one manager will have rules that others do not. if the kitchen messed something up, they would immediately throw it away, extremely wasteful. they do not provide you with the correct tools to complete your job i.e. dustpans that are warped so they dont pick up anything, tiny little brooms, constantly having several items out of stock or machines out of order, and always understaffed (usually at the bar and to-go) or overstaffed. the foh managers love to chat and gossip but when employees to talk to coworkers they are scolded. its just rules whenever they are convenient and they do not lead by example. come work here if you constantly want to be confused, stressed, underpaid, and unbelievably sore the next few days. im leaving this company asap

A regular shift at Lupe Tortilla will always have a complication, something always goes wrong, someone always gets mad, someone always argues, and believe me if I say it's the staff, not the guest. I learned that the work environment at Lupe Tortilla was not to be there to make friends but to be your own person and mind your own business, as wells as stay out of people's way. I was never able to grow within the company, I never felt safe, or secured there. The management was not as poorly as many people would imagine. They listen to you, they hear you out, and they help you in any way they can. The hardest part of the job is having to comfort co workers that bring their personal feelings into the work. Your personal business should never affect your skills in a job. The most enjoyable part of Lupe Tortilla is being able to interact with customers that love our food and appreciate the hard work many people put to satisfy their needs and make them feel like coming three times a week is perfectly fine.

Like any serving job, the sky's the limit on what you can make. Of course, that comes with the cons too. There is tip share, and if you're only raking 10% to 15% off your tabs, then you're going to feel it. The place is heavy on pushing specials and their loyalty rewards program, and rewards servers for making sales, and getting sign ups. The hardest part of the job, was the attention to detail when it came to cleaning and breaking things down for the night, and the next day. You were expected to be meticulous. If it didn't look like your section was about to be seated for the first time since the store opened, it wasn't done properly. That, and learning the birthday song. If you aren't team worked oriented when you apply here, you will learn to be. You will also learn the importance of being able to say "yes" to your guests. The best part however, had to be the people. I met some amazing people through that job. Guests mostly, and some of the higher ups, and gained a great deal of insight from them.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Restaurant manager 166 salaries reported	$63,401 per year
Server 14 salaries reported	$30.00 per hour
Kitchen manager 15 salaries reported	$61,967 per year
Dining room manager 4 salaries reported	$16.50 per hour
To-go specialist 3 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour

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