Becoming a Second Chance Employer: A New Opportunity for Your Hire and Your Restaurant
This article originally appeared on Foodable Network, where arfoodjobs.com founder Christie Ison is an Industry Expert contributor.
Edwin’s, a French fine dining restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio, buzzes each day with plenty of hardworking cooks, servers and other workers. Their secret: an open hiring model that hires on qualifications and motivation rather than criminal history.
While they don’t do a criminal background check, a questionnaire places about 95 percent of their employees as having an “experience with the criminal justice system.”
With 160 covers on Saturdays and annual revenue of nearly $1.3 million, Edwin’s business hasn’t hurt a bit due to their open hiring policy. In fact, founder Brandon Chrostowski said that giving these employees a second chance has added to the heart — and to the bottom line — of the restaurant and to the pride of the community.
Edwin’s operates as a social enterprise with a 6-month training program, campus-style housing, and other support for its employees and students. But Chrostowski, who has recently stepped away from operations at Edwin’s while running for mayor of Cleveland, said that the principles of second-chance hiring are applicable for any restaurateur.
“You’re not managing the person in front of you; you’re managing their potential,” Chrostowski said. “One out of three people have been arrested or had some sort of brush with the law. With that many people, we shouldn’t be afraid of [hiring them] anymore.”
A National Hiring Problem and Opportunity for Restaurants
Restaurants across the nation are experiencing a shortage of talent willing to work the long hours and often arduous tasks required. At the same time, the formerly incarcerated in the U.S. make up a very large population of underemployed workers who are looking for training and employment opportunities.
