cashier

cook

front of house team member

food runner

shift leader

Torchys Tacos

I used to love working here. Over time I realized that what has kept me going is knowing that I can get jobs done that most could not in a timely manner, while still being highly accurate with handling orders. It fed the competitive side of my nature, and most likely is what has gotten me as far as I have with Torchys. Overall, I think my experience here has been great. It has given me experience in things I didn't know I needed, however the negatives of this place are truly draining physically and mentally. After years of service, it was just simply my time to go. This review is from the perspective of a leadership role, promoted from within, starting as a regular employee.

Reliability of staff has been low for years now, and not just because of COVID. Call outs/no call no shows/tardiness have been so common that over time, service and guest experience has absolutely tanked with it, leading to sales drops which removed the ability to schedule enough staff to cushion the blow of days where we expected to be busier. It means that shuffling employees around to optimally adjust for the [lack of] attendance often occurred, several times to the point that management would have to step in to fill staff roles. This has put us in quite a viscous circle. When a busy day happened, we didn't have the staff needed for the level of business. Staff members are expected to keep up as best they can, however this comes at the cost of morale. When the school season starts, which Torchys at Waco heavily relies on for sales, management are expected to continue to save labor costs over guest experience, or at least by the time the message from upper levels of management gets to us, that's what it sounds like. HQ has been preaching more and more about hospitality and guest experience however, so hopefully this changes soon.

I have learned a lot over the years working here, but mostly from personal experience rather than training. As a younger person it has taken a lot of development to be where I have been with the company, and for that I am proud. However my progress as a person has not gotten me much progress in terms of knowledge of business. Upon promotion, I have been simply running shifts, and told to "watch this number" or do "x when y happens" without knowing much true meaning behind my actions. Now I like to think I do an overall okay job with what I do, but I wish that more time would have been taken to teach me more behind the scenes information. I never went to school for business or have had much experience in the field other than this, so the lack of support there is something that I feel is needed.

Culture is definitely one of Torchys stronger points. The "be yourself" attitude is something that has never been an issue between employees or management. I have found that the character of people is what makes this place great. You will definitely get along with people here, it really makes the experience here bearable and arguably it is the most enjoyable part of this job.

Pay and benefits are overall a plus side here too: For leadership, it definitely pays fair. Know your worth and you will probably get what you ask for. As for regular staff, Torchys offers typically a higher rate of pay compared to other local restaurants. They also tip share a rather large pool (most of the time adding whole dollars to your pay rate), so even if you are in the kitchen, you receive tips, however only after your position training shifts are completed. After a year of service you receive benefits, which are pretty good in my opinion, covering medical, dental, and vision, and even mental health! You also receive PTO after that year, which increase as the years go by.

TL;DR: If you are looking for a service industry role without expecting yourself to move up into leadership (though opportunities are there if you want to advance), I would recommend it off of pay, benefits, and the coworkers. Torchys pays pretty well compared to other local restaurants, a standard rate plus a rather large tip share, and if you are there for over a year the benefits are pretty good too. Beware, it is definitely a fast paced job. The people are nice and easy to get along with. If you are looking for a leadership role with Torchys, I would say it is quite the challenge because of sales/staffing, but the opportunity for advancement is definitely there. New stores are opening constantly and positions are always needing filled.

Like the title says it's a cool place to work if you like tacos. Kinda laid back environment with dress code and appearances. All you have to wear is one of the torchy's t-shirts and jeans / shorts with non-slip shoes. They give you 50% off all food and shirts with a max limit of 21 dollars. This restaurant is a training store so don't get used to managers they are constantly getting sent to different stores. Employees are super cool and friendly, management on the other hand not so much. Very sarcastic and have favorites, especially when being promoted. One example is trying to move up from a cashier. You are pretty much punished for doing too good of a job. I have felt this as well as many others. You can easily exceed expectations compared to the rest of the staff and they will notice eventually and instead of rewarding you with promotions or raises. They try to keep you in that position as long as possible because they cant afford to lose you. They're supposed to do evaluations every 6 months and after almost three years they only did it twice.  Schedules are pretty much gridlocked since they play favorites and believe any reason you cant work shifts. For example my personal favorite "I cant close because I cant see well at night" but proceed to leave right at closing very well past sunset every night. Outdated way of requesting days offs, first come first serve. Pretty much guaranteed to work major holidays/breaks. You have to find the calendar book and write the date and the reason and keep up with it because they will throw out the old book and get a new book without transferring over the requested days, had that happened twice.
Things to expect would be standing for 8-9 hours taking constant orders with little to no time between customers. Constantly answering phone calls and angry customers with wrong orders.

I started out at a different location at first. I just came back home after my freshmen year of college. I never had a job before this, so this was my first. They pay more than minimum wage so that was a plus. Half of the staff was LGBTQ+ so I felt safe to be myself and I made a lot of friends with fellow employees. Had problems with management at times but nothing too serious and it’s a retail job so it’s not the best in the world. I transferred schools to a different part of the state so I transferred over to a location in my new college town. I had a good experience at my second location at first, bonded with a few employees and one of the managers. But as soon as that manager transferred to a different location, the workplace became toxic. Then the lay offs and furloughs started because of the pandemic. I noticed I wasn’t scheduled for a while, and I just thought it’s cause less people are coming in and ordering so it required less labor. After picking up a shift for not working for 2 weeks, the atmosphere was so different. I was actually furloughed at that point but none of the managers bothered to tell me, so I was kept in the dark. I eventually called in asking what was up and a manager finally told me i was furloughed. When things started opening back up again I noticed all my other coworkers were getting hours and I was still getting none at all, once again I had to call and see what was up only to be told I’m still furloughed. The manager said he’d call back soon for some hours, it’s been a couple months and still no call, still the only one furloughed, for no reason. I’ve always worked hard for this company, if I was late it was 1 or 5 minutes and I would always call and let them know, and after a year I still haven’t gotten any advancements or recognition. I am still currently in the dark on whether they even care to bring me back or not.

Being a cashier at Torchy's was the most rewarding job I've ever had. It takes a little bit to get into the groove when you first start out because it can get fast paced, especially in a college town after football games. However, every time I saw a customer smile or come back and tell me the taco I suggested was the best taco they ever had, I knew my work made a difference. Everyone working there truly cares about making quality food and providing exceptional customer service. You will never work at a place that serves as fresh of food and has as good of a work ethic as Torchy's does. The hardest part of the job is when it gets busy but everyone works well as a team and they've got your back so don't worry if you mess up or it gets stressful, I promise you'll be able to handle it. They give you great discounts on food and the paycheck is really good especially if you're a student. I don't know about anywhere else but at the College Station store, the managers are top notch and care so much about their job and their team. I had to leave because I needed to focus on school but I would go back in a heartbeat. I'm so thankful I disregarded the negative reviews because they were for other cities and this location was awesome! I encourage anyone thinking about applying to go for it because it's a great experience and one of the best businesses to work for!

A regular day at work could be either relaxed or intense depending on the days of the year. Because of this, I learned to work better under high stress situations as well as communicate effectively to my peers. On the job, I was taught to find any changes or errors in orders to make sure customers would always receive the correct meal. The co-workers were each friendly in their own way, expressing themselves in ways they see fit. In turn, they made the workplace enjoyable and diverse. Management was good, keeping workers in line as well as giving them time to recharge and come back into work. The managers were team-oriented, always including everyone as well as encouraging them to work hard and never give up. They communicated with employees constantly and would also work with them to show them how the job was to be done.
The hardest part of the job often came when there was an unexpectedly large amount of customers showing up when our prepared supplies were already low. However, with quick critical thinking and decision making, we were able to serve each and every customer that would come in. It was at the end of the day and during times just before the lunch and dinner rushes that became enjoyable times. It was then that the employees would talk and converse among each other, building bonds or causing the whole work area to laugh and enjoy themselves.

Management shows blatant favoritism to some, mostly the family members they have hired against company "policy", and bully the employees they dont like personally to force them to quit.  Our managers create a work environment based on threatening our jobs constantly, assuming we are all lazy, abusive language and tone (calling employees "stupid", for example.  Also mocking an employee's weight and sexual orientation in Spanish right in front of her assuming she couldn't understand - she could), always criticizing us but never coaching or positive direction, etc. 
At first I was wary about giving the company a bad review based on one store, but realized the company is accountable for management and culture of every store.  This store is allowed to operate opposite to the vision and workplace culture outlined by the brand and in the handbook, allowed to pick and choose which policies to follow or enforce, allowed to show favoritism to some and bully others for personal reasons, and so on.   This is a much larger and pervasive problem not isolated to one GM, one manager or one store.  

If you can, avoid working here.  It isnt worth it at all, especially not for the very low wages they pay.

I worked with this company for many many years and to this day I can honestly say it was my most favorable job I held. I learned a lot of skills working here that I continue to use today. Great opportunities for everyone. The culture and values with this company run deep and I always appreciated that  when it came to this company. They had an amazing flexibility when it came to scheduling and or PTO. Benefits were honestly one of the best I have had in this industry and was made easy to understand for any one interested. Store transfers were always available and easy whether it be in state or out of state.  
When it comes to the hardest part of this job in general had to do with management. Constant changes that was never held consistent. A lot of managers coming in and out that caused the turnover rate to rise. Poor communication which caused a lot of confusion with associates as well as other managers on the team. While they were very flexible with scheduling and giving desired hours the hourly wage was poor. Working for this company for many years and learning all positions throughout the store the payout was unsatisfactory. Raises and bonuses were very rare to come by. 

Management isn’t clear about what they want because there way to many people in leadership. If you have solid restaurant experience don’t expect to be paid what you are worth or anywhere near it. You will be belittled daily by the GM and the RM when he comes in. I have witnessed 90% turnover in staff since I started here a year ago. I and 3 others are left from the last team. Rotating door of staff and lower management. 
Do not expect even a .25 cent raise after a year. The RM and GM will give you a lecture about their profits and trickledown profit. “The less hours you guys workthe more money we make and in the long run that money trickles down to your pockets.” I was actually told that by a manager. This isn’t the Reagan years. Don’t try that. We may work for peanuts but, 99% are receiving their degrees soon. We know a ruse when we see one. No one in the kitchen with an exception of two others speak fluent English. The rest of the kitchen staff does not. Communication is difficult for the nonspanish speaking staff. Sometimes physical fights will breakout between staff members and management laughs it off. If you get injured on the job Torchy’s will do everything in its power to deny you workers comp. everything.  Don’t work here unless you’re 16 and stupid. T

After working here for more than three months, I would expect that I either get a raise or more hours, because I have explained to them that I do need more money in order to afford to live. They will see that certain people work more than those around them and work them until they are stressed out beyond belief. They would rather work you over 50 hours in a week rather than give you a  50 cent raise. The management is not very great at all. Most of the managers that work here do not help the employees when they are struggling during rush hour times, and the do not care that you are there against your availability. Honestly, the hardest part of this job is getting along with everyone. They hire people with a criminal record and felonies, and if you do not act a certain way you will be shown as weak because you do not stand up for yourself. It is not a good team to work with. 
A typical day here is usually very slow. A rush is bound to happen around 11 and then it ends around 1. After the rushes you are expected to clean, do prep, and dry and line the baskets that are served to guests. There are no benefits of this jobs until you have worked there for  year. I do not recommend this restaurant for a long time job.

I was an expo in the kitchen. I very much loved my team and most of my management. I loved the fast pace of the restaurant and being pushed every week to achieve more. At Torchy's, it is a place where you need to be able to keep up and complete your tasks for the day. The more trained you are over the store the more pay increases. The most difficult part of my job was the drama between coworkers and management. It eventually got to a point where there wasn't a day where my coworkers wouldn't talk about each other and management would join in on it. The workplace became very toxic. My favorite part of this job was also my team. I created awesome connections with my night crew as well as my morning crew. The vibes were amazing and even Friday night rushes were so much fun. My typical day at work was either opening the store or closing it. Mornings are very laid back and just making sure the store is set up for nights, whereas nights are all about making sure the store is cleaned and stocked for the morning. I would say that even if you work long hours you may or may not get a break (especially at night).  Either way, I enjoyed working here, I enjoyed my team and the pay was decent pay for working in the food industry. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Cashier 7 salaries reported	$10.86 per hour
Cook 3 salaries reported	$14.00 per hour
Front of house team member 3 salaries reported	$18.33 per hour
Food runner 5 salaries reported	$9.20 per hour
Shift leader 4 salaries reported	$20.75 per hour

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