It’s an Annual Tradition for John & Kathy Morberg on Mother’s Day
One of our restaurant’s values is “Hospitality is fun!” One of the latest example of making hospitality fun was on Mother’s Day when the company’s CEO, John Morberg, and his wife, Kathy, joining the crew at the Lakewood, CA, Souplantation. John and Kathy spent the day working side by side with the crew, engaging guests and simply having fun.
“Each year, Kathy and I spend Mother’s Day at a restaurant working with one of our restaurant teams for a couple reason: First, to get a personal understanding of what it takes to get the job done, and, secondly, as a way to show our appreciation for the hard work our engaged crews do, not only on Mother’s Day, but throughout the year,” John said. “While I try to help in the dining room, baking and even in the dish room, I’m confident that the crew views me as slow and mostly in the way. But I have to tell you it is a great day for me and I come away energized by what I see and learn.”
Rather than “being in the way,” Lakewood General Manager Mark Manolovits said, “John inspired and motivated because he was just so real and genuine. Having John and Kelly here created a buzz and so impressed our guests and crew who see that John is just a normal and hard-working guy who rolled up his sleeves and did everything he could to make guests happy. It was fun and my best day in my nearly two years with Garden Fresh.”
John and Kathy handed out carnations to mothers as they entered the restaurant. From there, they began working different areas of the restaurant. Kathy ended up spending a great deal of the time in the dish room and recalls just how much energy it takes to work a shift in the restaurant.
“It is a lot of work when they store is so busy,” Kathy says. “What I most appreciate is the teamwork and dedication of the crew I see each time I work in a restaurant. At the end of the day I was tired, but with a renewed appreciation for all the people who make Garden Fresh such a great place.”
