server

kitchen manager

pizza cook

assistant general manager

bartender

Mellow-Mushroom-Pizza-Bakers

I've been debating putting this review out for years because I have been scared that I would be 'punished' for speaking up about what I went through, but I feel like I should, even if I'm the only person who has experienced it.

First off, during the interview I spoke with the owner and asked him about health insurance if I were to become an employee. I was both a hostess and server and worked around 12 hour shifts with an hour break between lunch and dinner service. He told me, "I don't care about my employees." That was the first red flag I should've paid attention to, but I was really desperate for a job at the time. When I told him I'll take the job, it seemed like he really didn't want to hire me, but did anyway.

After I started, I felt like he treated me differently compared to the rest of the staff. He was always so positive towards them, but when it came to me I got really bad energy from him.

The first thing was after I told him my exact school schedule, he scheduled me to work on those days or during those hours anyway. I had to try and get someone to pick up my shift, which some days I had to beg people to do in order to keep my job.

One morning I came in, saw him in the office, and asked him a question, being as friendly as possible about it. He slammed the money drawer on the counter and screamed a curse word. I felt scared after that, and don't really remember what I did afterwards. I think I just left him alone. I have worked with many other managers who have NEVER done that when I have tried talking to them while they were in the office.

Then another instance was when I was at the pickup counter and the phone started ringing. He was standing right beside me practically breathing down my neck which left me feeling very fearful, then when I didn't pick up the phone, he slammed his fist down on the counter in front of the entire restaurant and employees right beside me, inches away from me. Just typing this all out is making me shake right now thinking about it.

After those instances, there was another. I had forgotten to put in a couple of orders, which I've been told is perfectly normal as a server when you're extremely busy, but one of the parties I just happened to do this with was a party of 8-12 people who, for some reason, thought it would be a good idea to stop at a restaurant before they had to leave for a flight... One of the men at the table yelled at me and then the owner stepped in and took care of him, but just talked down to me and later fired me because I was "costing him money".

Also, one of the managers, who flirted with almost every single server, said I was a dumba** behind my back but where I could hear it. Just one of the people there who would take their anger out on me.

I'd like to mention that after this, I got a job someplace else and I eventually became a manager and was constantly given positive feedback by my boss, coworkers and the customers. I was in an environment where my boss actually wanted me to succeed, not fail, like the owner and certain employees at Mellow Mushroom.

I have worked at Mellow Mushroom for the past year and a half now having experience at 3 different locations. I started working in the Suwanee location, overall the best one I have worked at. The management and ownership could be a mixed bag, but being a server there and having direct control over how much I'm paid depending on my quality of service I didn't have to deal with the pitfalls of being underpaid on a mediocre hourly wage. The customer base at Mellow is overall pretty good with the main demographic being families. The full bar allowed me to rack up decently sized bills and I could pretty consistently make 400 a week while still having plenty of time to focus on school. The next store I worked at was the Vinnings store. This store had its moments but there were periods were there was virtually no management as the owners had to reach out to managers at their other stores just to keep the place afloat. I soon found myself getting less hours every week without any indication as to why as communication was nonexistent. The Vinnings store closed down for renovations and I decided to go to the downtown store it was there were I saw how bad a work environment could get. While some of the customers there are nice and genuine people, many don't even attempt to leave a reasonable tip and the store is constantly running out of vital ingredients. 
Moral of all this seemingly incoherent complaints and compliments is that every Mellow will give you something different. There are a few amazing managers I have worked under and at times it is a very rewarding experience. Overall I have enjoyed my experience and I would have said I have no regrets if I never decided to join the downtown store. You are going to come across a lot of different personalities and are going to have to find a way to handle all of them.

My position with the Mellow is one that closely relates to a double edge sword. It gave my wife and I the extra boost to our finances where we could seriously consider starting a family. We both knew the hours would be drastically different compared to my previous job with Starbucks, but we in no way anticipated how much it would completely dominate my life. Work days on average start at 10AM and go until 11PM-12AM (and that's just standard hours of operation). By the time the staff is done closing down the restaurant and my paper work is done, it usually ends up being right around 2AM before I'm stepping out of the building. My wife leaves for work at 6AM so this leaves us with very little (if any) time together.

The GM of the store never closes, usually has off the weekends, rarely acknowledges a job well done and constantly blames myself and the server manager for virtually anything that goes wrong in the store, even when it can be traced back to him. Considering our location is the largest the company has and we're always topping the companies sales records week after week, a simple "thank you" would be nice to hear every now and then.

The staff is incredible, but they too have been beaten down by the GM. No amount of praise from me can over take the constant ridicule they receive from the GM. I've lost three incredible bartenders because of the way they've been treated by the GM.

This job could be so amazing had the store only had a leader who realized just how hard the staff and other managers worked day in and day out. Other then the GM, the job is perfect, but no job is worth it when it takes you completely away from your family, beliefs and personal values.

My typical day at Mellow Mushroom began with opening the restaurant and preparing the kitchen. The first two hours included creating a daily preparation (prep) list and designating employees to complete the prep list. I would assist in completing the morning duties while making contact, writing checks, or making orders with vendors. 
When I began at Mellow, I had zero experience working in a kitchen and I was not a very good cook at home. I quickly learned every aspect and station in the kitchen (from dish pits to pizzas). As my kitchen skills developed, I grabbed a few serving shifts each week and strengthened both my customer service experience and my knowledge of restaurant operations. When I first became Kitchen Manager, I did not think that my job output and responsibilities would dramatically change. Soon, I realized the abilities that a manager must possess, and I found the learning process both challenging and enjoyable. I learned that a manager must be: calm, but alert in stressful situations; stern, but understanding with employees; able to answer all questions, yet willing to let employees find the answers themselves. 
The hardest part of my job was to get the front-of-house managers and employees on pace with the kitchen. In my term, the kitchen staff transformed into a cross-functional team that was willing to help each other. Conversely, the front-of-house staff was more individual and not committed to the overall process of creating a successful restaurant. I found it difficult to motivate and train them. With that said, the most enjoyable part of my job was my coworkers. Through mutual respect, I have developed many friendships and business relationships through my job at Mellow Mushroom.

Working at Mellow Mushroom is one of the best and coolest places to work. It is an ideal place to start out serving if you do not have any experience. I started as a server and quickly worked my way up to management. My coworkers and upper management have all been incredibly supportive to not only myself, but to the entire staff as well. Corporate is a bit hands off and seems to be out of touch with what is really happening in the restaurants, but are always willing to help if you reach out. It is a family friendly place, and the kids love the unique decor of each restaurant I have worked at within the company. Each Mellow Mushroom is privately owned, but all work underneath a corporate umbrella. This allows flexibility of how each store is ran, and no two stores are ran the same in terms of steps of service requirements, draft beer options, tip out, etc. 
The typical side work is minimal, compared to other restaurants I've worked at. Rolling silver, folding boxes, rotating parms and red pepper flakes, etc are the norm and no side work is too tedious or time consuming. 
The staff that works at Mellow tend to be more of the high school and young adult type, which can make it difficult at times with call off's and having to pick up slack from some of your coworkers. 
A really great place to work if you are just starting out in the industry, or looking to work somewhere that is willing to work with a flexible schedule. 10/10 would recommend.

Disappointed in this place. When i first arrived everything seemed very nice and chill, but as i continue to work it’s becoming more and more toxic. The pay we receive for our positions, taking on multiple jobs at once, is extremely low. And the “tips” they offer, is like $3-8 every day. It’s extremely overstaffed when it does not need to be, and extremely understaffed when needed. I’ve met some cool people, but most of the staff is kind of cliquey and trying to interact with them is difficult. They allow truancy and last minute call outs, which is extremely annoying to those who actually show up, and never fire people because we are already so short staffed. Sometimes i walk in on a Friday night as the only hostess, while being expected to host/bus/run food/to-go orders/clean. There is a bit of nepotism, some people get away with a lot more than others do, but overall i’d say we are treated quite equally. “The customer is always right” is a golden rule that the managers live by, who will throw you under the bus and talk badly about you to satisfy a rude customer, making you look stupid. They will do anything possible to get a good review, even paying off someone’s meal if they complained enough. I’m quite nervous to have a negative confrontation with a customer, because i feel like my job is literally on the line if i say something wrong. It is quite a toxic workplace, i strongly suggest finding another place of employment.

I have worked at the Powers Ferry location for just coming up to 4 years. I was hired in January 2016 and my first couple of years I felt rather inclusive and decently respected for the work i did. I ended up only getting a 1 dollar raise from cleaning dishes to becoming a prep/line cook. I did have some good times during these years. I didnt start making pizza until earlier this year however i have seen a 2 dollar raise in the last 10 months. However i feel as of late the store gm and managers arent really hiring anything but quantity over quality and the quantity isnt hardly enough. I have inquired about serving and bartending however have been shut down in regards to those positions simply because "but we need you on the line," like its my fault we are so short staffed. Im planning on leaving this company hopefully by the end of December along with another pizza cook because of the lack of respect towards us as very loyal and efficient workers while the lesser line cooks receive praise and overall dull the workplace environment with complaining and zero personality. Enough is enough. The front of house is the best part about this location while the managers, aside from Felix (the GM) promote a passive aggressive environment promoting critique on any small mistake while praising mediocre performance from poor employees.

I very much loved working there. I learned more about myself and how to work with guests and the staff on what they needed and how to approach the situation. I started as a host and worked very hard to get into the management position that I had. On days there was a struggle to get the staff to work together. I would build team games and help moral and cohesiveness. My staff felt as though they could talk to me and come to me with anything. I gained their respect and the worked hard for me in return.
Upper management was not as easy to work with. I felt as though opinions were not heard and the store went through a total of 4 General Managers while I was there. Communication between management departments was not always up to par either. 
One manager and I worked diligently on projects. When we worked together we came out top of our company with contests.
Day by day tasks would usually consist of monitoring the sales and labor, checking the quality of the food, and the guests overall experience. Not only in store guest relations, but marketing and corresponding with customers to suite their needs. Be it a large event, donation, or a large catering order. I also attended the needs of food and alcohol costs. Watching what was being used and wasted. Keeping those numbers down and the sales up was the most important. Overall making sure that all the cogs in the "Mellow Machine" where running smoothly.

I started working at this mellow mushroom as soon as it opened. I was a host and I had been there for a year and a half before I started having problems.  It was great at first, everyone putting on their best faces in order to make lasting good impressions. At the time I was willing to work for less, but as time went on I got less hours and I was being payed 7.25 an hour. I went from working most nights a week, to asking for hours because I was desperate. I made 30 bucks eve two weeks. Not enough to live off of at all. The managers were nice and all but the co worker sass I had to deal with was ridiculous. I was given bad looks and was talked out behind my back by people who I was supposed to seat. This one customer came in and was waiting at the table for 10 min for someone until they finally came up to me and asked why they haven’t been seen. They left but called the restaurant minutes later to make a complaint against me. BUT THE SERVER DIDNT SEE THEM OR ATTEMPT TO GO OVER. They told me before that if I seat them to tell them, so I did, but they ignored me and I got the blame for a servers mistake. Long story short (too late) I ended up, after multiple mishaps, crying to a manager that basically just said, “that’s unfortunate” and left me alone. Let’s just say I did not give my two weeks notice. I left and did not come back. DISCOUNT WASNT WORTH IT.

On a typical day after you clock in, get your window cleaner and table sanitizer bottles, grab a towel and look over your floor plan and server sheets for the night. When guests come in; greet them and ask how many is in their party. You look on your seating chart and see what tables you have available for your next server, mark where you seat them on your floor chart and rotation sheet. After they leave buss their table and have it ready for the next guests. You will check and restock the restrooms every hour and at the end of the night clean the windows on the doors, sweep the front, fold kids menus and straighten up your host stand.
Management is like any other boss their a little more lenient but at the same time they make sure you get the job done.
I learned that the customer is always right and you can't always please everyone. Just do your best and when you make a mistake, simply apologize.
The hardest part of the job is having to seat servers that do not want to be sat. Sometimes you don't need to go on a wait you'll just have to seat your guests in the next available table.
Everyone you meet at mellow will become a part of your family. They treat like you like family here, you'll become friends with everyone. The best part of the job is making people smile.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Server 29 salaries reported	$19.32 per hour
Kitchen manager 29 salaries reported	$49,108 per year
Pizza cook 90 salaries reported	$15.89 per hour
Assistant general manager 30 salaries reported	$49,800 per year
Bartender 32 salaries reported	$20.79 per hour

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