Independent vs corporate restaurants
There are all kinds of kitchens, restaurants and food service venues but they usually fall into one of two categories: corporate or independent. It’s hard to say which is better to work at even if it’s like a pirate ship taking on the Royal Navy. Clearly there are some big differences. Let’s take a look.
1. Pay and perks
Corporate: a big restaurant chain isn’t going to bounce your paycheck. They will have more money to pay you but they are also going to be pretty strict about overtime, employee meals, and discounts. You’ll also probably be offered health insurance, but you can’t smoke weed on premises unless you’re really, really sneaky.
Independent: lower pay, but you won’t have to buy groceries for a month because you’ll eat every meal at work, in the back, on the clock. The owner knows this though and you’ll probably not be offered Health Insurance.
Point corporate. Being able to go to the doctor without pawning your X-Box is a good deal.
2. Owners
Corporate: you might see the C.E.O for a few minutes at a meeting once every couple years.
Independent: the owner is on the line with you and just stuck his finger into a pool of liquid by the grease trap and tasted it to see if it was something he needed to worry about. “Pickle juice. We’re good. Don’t need to call a plumber.”
Point independent. I’ll work my ass off for someone in the trenches with me. And that pickle juice story is real. Chris is a ballsy dude.
3. Regulars
Corporate: you become friendly with your regulars and wrap their leftovers for their dog.
Independent: you become friends with your regulars when they accidentally leave their dog at the bar and you take them home for a sleepover with your dogs.
Point Independent. Dogs man, c’mon.
4. Specials
Corporate: developed in an office, it might be around for months or just a few weeks and was designed with a profit point in mind.
Independent: developed in a kitchen, it might be around for a night or just a few hours and was designed with taste in mind (but also what they need to get rid of).
Point Independent. You might roll the dice a little more with a small operation, but real food cooked by real people will always beat something made in any part by a machine. This is of course assuming the mom and pop restaurant isn’t popping Tyson chicken fingers under Prego and string cheese and calling it a Chicken Parm.
5. Standards
Corporate: can afford to pay to live up to its declared standards. Belcampo in California wanted to sell burgers with 100% pasture raised beef…so they bought a farm and raised their own cattle and that’s the only beef they use.
Independent: no one WANTS to use SYSCO, but sometimes they happen to be the cheapest and most convenient game in town. Not everyone can afford to buy their own farm.
Point corporate. That was a damn good burger.
6. Décor
Corporate: “How much money do you think they spent on all this crap?”
Independent: “How much money do you think they spent on all this crap?
Point, draw. So much crap.
7. Human Resources
Corporate: “After you fill out your 15 page application and onboarding packet, we’ll need you to take an online assessment survey. After that you need to download the scheduling app and fill out your availability so we can schedule you for a 3 day, 8 hours a day orientation on workplace harassment, sexual misconduct, mediation procedures, what to do if we’re robbed, how to say hello, how important it is that if you work 8 hours you take 2 breaks of exactly 15 minutes each and when and where not to cry.”
Independent: “This is Connie. She does our paperwork and bills and stuff. Don’t like, harass anybody, I don’t think we have the forms for that yet.”
Point independent. Corporate places have to put you through all that because they’ve been burned sweeping shit under the rug before and had massive payouts for sexual harassment, workers comp, wrongful termination…you name it. Anytime you see a warning label it’s because someone did something stupid and now everyone else has to be told not to do that thing. Same thing.
8. Music
Corporate: no music in the kitchen.
Independent: Sex Pistols, Ice Cube, or Johnny Cash?
Point independent. There is a place in Denver that does Wu-Tang Wednesdays in the dining room. Good luck doing that at P.F. Changs.
9. Uniforms
Corporate: you must dress like every other person who has your job in every other location across the country, every day, and all day. Forever.
Independent: lol. Just try to wear the restaurants shirt on the weekend anyway.
Point independent. You might still have to wear all black clothing but it will be YOUR all black clothing. Some of that Aramark stuff is like wearing cardboard.
10. Equipment
Corporate: every new location opens brand new like Candyland and Christmas rolled into one. When something breaks the Webstaurant Fairy magically brings a new one.
Independent: The scene from Oliver Twist where the kid wants some more gruel but instead of gruel it’s more steel wool and another couple rubber spatulas. “MORE?? I just bought you more steel wool last year!”
Point corporate. I love opening a new restaurant with an unlimited budget. “Oh we need 2 more robo-coupes for the refrigerated vegan prep room? I’ll order them up from the warehouse.”
11. Advancement
Corporate: sky’s the limit. Follow the rules, play well with others and don’t slack off too much and you too can rise into corporate mid-level food service management.
Independent: unless you marry the owner’s daughter you’re probably not going very high up the food chain.
Point corporate. There are a lot more opportunities in a big company, including moving to entirely different departments, like Information Technology, Human Resources, Procurement, etc. Opportunity to grow cannot be underestimated, and that’s hard to do when the owner is dropping fries right next to you.
12. The Food
Corporate: as good as 25% food costs will allow and will be consistent from location to location.
Independent: as good as $10 an hour will allow and will depend on the cooks state of sobriety
Point corporate. The cook is less likely to be drunk.
13. Job Security
Corporate: no one is safe. Everyone is expendable. They will purge as necessary and by the definition of the HR code for termination and downsizing.
Independent: in this market if you come to work sober and on-time every day, do your job, and with no drama, you’ve got a job for life. Until the owner retires or sells out anyway.
Point independent. I once quit and returned to a place like 8 times. Brett Slaughter was fired and came back to work the next day like nothing happened and the G.M. Joe just shook his head.
14. Number of Bosses
Corporate: 17, minimum.
Independent: depending on what you do, like 3? Could be as low as 1. Or none.
Point independent. Fuck your TPS reports.
15. Coworkers
Corporate: usually can’t be THAT bad, unless the standards are slipping or the talent pool sucks.
Independent: Lord of the Flies. On drugs.
Point independent. A tight crew will self-regulate. You know you’re part of the team when someone throws an egg at your face. That won’t happen in a Whole Foods Kitchen, more’s the pity.
Result: Independent 9, Corporate 5. Independent gets the win.
Corporate has its place for sure; better pay and stable hours are nice. But for most of us pirates, degenerates, and mentally modified kitchen freaks, being able to wear what we want, cook what we want, and listen to all the Jethro Tull, O.P.P, and Neil Diamond we want to without somebody with a tie coming in and threatening to take it away will always be worth it.
#independentrestaurantlove #yallareawesome #youcorporateguysworkhardtooJ
