Wil’s Grill as a sole proprietorship

For the exclusive use of K. Liu, 2019.

This document is authorized for use only by Krystal Liu in BA3103 Summer I 2019 taught by MICHAEL SCHIRMER, Temple University from May 2019 to Jun 2019.

Wil’s Grill 3

In May 2014, Karl decided to relocate to Bellingham, WA to be closer to his family. The breakup was amicable. John reestablished Wil’s Grill as a sole proprietorship. Without his partner, at first John relied on “gut instinct” to run his business. Summer 2014 was tough, especially interviewing and hiring people. John felt this “was challenging. I didn’t know what I was looking for.” To hire temporary employees for street events he posted ads and networked with local bar owners. In June John hired what he referred to as “my first permanent part-time employee, Cody McCrae, a Hotel and Restaurant Management student.” Cody had also “grown up in the kitchen.” On his first day John gave him some instructions and left for another commitment. Working alone, Cody prepared sliders and coleslaw and proved himself. John placed a lot of trust in Cody, his first assistant manager. Cody flexed his hours and worked as business levels demanded.

Preparation and cooking was fast paced, whether in a leased kitchen or on the grill at an event. There were many 18 to 20 hour work days. John believed that he treated his temporary employees fairly, and therefore they were customer focused and wanted to work for him again. John also learned that he needed to define routines and flow- chart responsibilities for some job positions, and to calculate staffing based on the estimated number of plates/day to be served.