Jillian’s is FUN! Community Blog

Measuring your P-Mix

Working on a side project for Jake on how the new menu is working for us, I have been using our P-Mix to find out and this what I have found out for using our new menu for a year….

In one year, we have used 13,388 lbs. of ground beef we sold in burgers that is an equivalent of 2 school buses.

In one year, we have created 196 gallons of chili that is 20 full tanks of gas for an average car.

For the amount of burgers sold, we have sold 52,170 that is 26,085 feet of burgers if you were to line the burgers up side by side, which is almost the size of 3 golden gate bridges, 72 Rose Bowl Football fields and is the distance of 4.94 miles.
 

Jaime

Jake’s making a monster opportunity out of a hand sized monster!!!!

You probably have seen those crazy eating competitions on the food network and tv, from huge pie eating contest or to eating hot dogs till you explode. At Jake’s, we try to bring that same kind of commroidtry and competition with the flare of our burgers. Speaking with Jake last  “Wow, its great to see how much attention we get with our Monster Burger displayed on our window I have been only standing here watching for no more than 2 minutes and 25 guests walking by had to stop and simply look at the burger. There were many people who even stood, posed, and took pictures with the massive burger.” said Jake. Jake and I agreed using the monster burger display we generate an extra $200 in food sales because it looks so good! So, the following day Ray and I were discussing club ideas and our two servers Jason an Lincoln, came to us saying, “Someone has accepted the Jake’s challenge.” His name was Jeremy he said ” That burger looks pretty good I think I could eat it.” I replied, “All right you got it! If your able to finish this challenge you will be the first!” He accepted the Jake’s Challenge. The parameters of this challenge is that you must complete the entire burger of 5 patties 5 pieces of american cheese, and 10 pieces of bacon on a standard Jake’s Burger build in 10 minutes. Jeremy had started on a good pace eating meat first in quarters then eating the bread. ” Wow! this burger is so good but, its fresh its burning my mouth from mouth for being so hot.” He said laughing. His friends shouting “Shut up and eat you only have four minutes left!” At exactly 9:59 he ate his last piece of the Monster he was the pioneer of the Jake Challenge. He ate about 2.35 # of mouth watering goodness! “I never knew something so good can make you so full!” Jeremy laughed. As his reward we bought his burger and gave him a filled up Lucky Seven card stamped for another burger. Already, word of mouth has started and people wanting to break Jeremy’s record! That’s why at Jake’s we can take something as simple and a delicious traditional hamburger into a monster of free advertising of word of mouth!

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Jaime

Jake’s Cooks make it their own…Making perfection…

The warmth of Southern California has come once again to the street of Colorado.  You can see the many new faces and visitors of Pasadena walking up and down Colorado looking for a quick bite to eat. Then the smell finally hits them, the intense stong smell of the best burger of Pasadena Jake’s! It has been great to see such a turn around I’ve had with my cooks. We had a very strong amount of food sales in December around 9K a week but with their hard work, dedication to small detail, helping each other out, and most importantly passion for the love of the food they make we are averaging just short of 15k. “It takes a lot of time and planning to work in our kitchen.” say Everado Patino. “At first we use to laugh at Jaime about how much we should plan ahead and organize ourselves in the kitchen like office work or the military like it wouldn’t pay off but, when you have the cafe filled with customers wanting to eat “my” burger we have to keep our guard up and give them our best.” I have them constantly working with the tools I used in my training we have become legends when we use our Lettuce system we love the p-mix because we have the correct gauge on how much we need to prep and order. We also love the Kitchen Financials because we all sit together and organize the best times to fit the schedule and how much to prep. Yet I may have shown them a few tricks here and there with the Lettuce program, they impressed me with what they gave me this following week. My cooks have made their own daily cleaning program. They worked on what was the best time to get the kitchen clean to “our” standards. I was very impressed what they came up with and how dedicated they have been on getting it done; especially with our new dish machine and the installation of Butler Chemicals. Their doubled efforts have carried on another trend another perfect score from the Health Department. Now their next goal is to be the best burger in Southern California. And I believe to the fullest they will do it and do so much more!

Jaime�

Award winning karaoke at its finest……only at Jake’s

On these chilly nights we have been having in Pasadena only the warmth of our fiery and hearty old fashion chilly could keep up with the daily travelers of Pasadena until one night. All the lights were lit, the stage was set and people were ready to party like no other. It was a Thursday night, one to remember, one night to start for a brighter future our guests. The suspense was like no other for our first Karaoke Competition night. What started to be only one or two names wanting to join turned out to be 32 people. Jimmy B. was on fire getting the crowd going and the emphatic cheers of their favorite songs being sung by Karaoke Heroes. You can hear the latest hits from Chris Brown and No Doubt to Smokey Robinson and Blondie it was intense. Even Simon couldnt cut a knife into our crowd for being so energetic and singing along. Plus, great drinks made by our infamous Jake’s bartenders kept the crowd wanting more. Even our famous Paddy-O came out to sing “Comedown” by Bush. With the patient waiting we had our winner, he was from the newly founded Pasadena Karaoke group who were looking for a place to perform. They said’ ” We have to thank Ray and all the Jake’s staff for putting together such a great event. We think we found our home, Jake’s is our place to be!” Ever since that night Karaoke has been the place to be in Pasadena and I thinks its going to be that way for quite awhile.

Jaime

Jake’s making it their own again….

Jake and I are very passionate with what organizational systems goes in the cafe and how it operates. There are times that we may disagree on some matters but, our passions keep us with our main goal, making the best burger in Pasadena. Jake and I sat down couple of months ago planning and organizing how we should make the FOH and BOH operate when it gets busy in such times of December with events, parties, X-mas shoppers and finally the mother and father of them all the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl. While Jake and Ray discussing plans on how we should do our acts of service for the FOH when it gets busy, I was already breaking down the lettuce program with the BOH piece by piece. I made it clear knowlege how important it was as well as their prep list. I also focused on how important it is to know every station on building on your own burger. A cook may not be the best at cooking but, maybe better at prepping so, its important to know than it is to act. My cooks also worked hard on their competing with each other on food time races. They call it making the best the fastest! Jake and Ray refined our counter service which our servers got down to it! They worked as a team and putting the guest first at every possible chance. So, with all the practice made perfect just these past three days we made $11,000 in food alone not counting our beverages in the cafe! My hat goes off to our Cafe FOH and Jake and Ray working with them daily to improve our fast pace system. Also, thanks to our cooks because without them we wouldnt have our best burger!!!

Sleepless in Seattle

My GM deserves some recognition for flying under the radar during the holiday rush, and really “owning” it - we had 3 snowstorms hit in one week, and Seattle has no clue on how to clear streets (We don’t use salt on the roads here, but that’s for another blog site) - so he stayed next door at a hotel for three nights in a row to make sure we could keep running - and while he was camped out there away from his family he got to know the team at the Marriott - and we got a large walk-in group sent over to us on a referral because of it. Rookie of the year this year in MLB went to Dustin Pedroia as it should have - but in the JBC league maybe Rick “Make it your own” Coleman should get the nod!

MEMPHIS “WOW’s” THE LIBERTY BOWL TEAM WELCOME PARTY!!

On Monday, December 29, 2008,  Jillian’s had the honor of sponsoring the University of Kentucky and East Carolina in the Official Liberty Bowl Team Welcome Party!

Things were so “off the chain” with us feeding 800 guest in 20 minutes that we had a visit by Memphis’s finest!

Our staff was waiting at the door to hand out or VIP Passes to the 800 expected guests! The VIP Passes were outfitted with a bounce back incentive on the back to ensure that they were welcome back to be our guests while visiting our great city!

Check out Wade, our fearless GM, ready to greet the teams!

To get the teams ready for their big game, we have several competitions all over the building. They could choose from bowling, billiards or one of the many Wii’s or Xboxes on our big screens. At one point they got each other going with an impromptu rap off on the microphone!

Who will win the coveted Liberty Bowl? We will know on Jan 2nd!

I must give a HUGE applause to Wade and all of Team Memphis for their flawless execution of such a big event!! Our building was beautiful with ice sculptures of the Team Logos on each buffet and each floor decorated with team colors! There was live entertainment and pleanty of food and drink for everyone!

The top of the night was when the head of the Liberty Bowl came up to me and said, I quote “This was the best welcome party EVER!!!

Jake’s Cooks making it their own….

I cannot be any prouder of our BOH staff then I have been this past month.  With a whole new concept such as the Create Your Own Burger a lot thought it wouldn’t have taken off as fast as it has. I kept the notion at Jake’s that I am here not to train cooks. I have graduated with top honors in a top league culinary school and I refuse to make mediocre cooks. I wanted to train Chefs and Kitchen Managers and I have at Jake’s. Jake’s presented me with this great opportunity. I have been fortunate on taking on these great team members. I have installed the lettuce program into these young men. They are firm believers in our Line Checks and Prep Lists they understand that we alone keep the tradition that has been bestowed on us since 1947. We understand the check and balances of what happens when we are producing waste. We stop and look at the problem, address it, and fix it. In our kitchen unlike many large kitchens we only have no more than 2 cooks at a time. I would love to see any cooking tandems try cooking over 35,000 varieties of burgers in 7 minutes. They are simply the best. I see their passion everyday in their face and work ethics. They are the reason why we average a food cost under 29% these past six months. Ray and I just finished an interview with a large up and coming web site focusing on their food as one of the newest and best burgers internationally and I want to thank them for making it this far.  So they have Lettuce Program down, next BOH Operations, then after that they will run a Jake’s of their own one day…..

Jaime

W.W.J.D.= What would Jason do? Wow people that’s what he would do!

I was helping the café in the mid rush burgers were flying, beers were being poured, orders were being taken and it was Jason’s second day as a party server setting up his first party on his own. On the back of my mind I knew he was going to need help, he would need some guidance, basically structure he would need. Then I had some guests going over some event material we had in the café. They asked me about what would an event would look like. I replied telling them I would love to show them later after the rush. They obliged. Just as soon as I turned around, they were gone. So about 10 minutes later I finally have a second to check on Jason and to my amazement the buffet looked beautiful. Jason was standing sweet talking the guests who were interested in an event who were in the café. So I came over to give some assistance with the guests. Jason swept them off their feet. I gave some ideas on some upgrades and now they are planning to book an event next Tuesday. Great job Jason!!!!!!!!!

Jaime

The blog to beat all blogs…..

When it comes to making it your own, making a difference, embracing opportunity, proving that everything matters, and wowing everybody I can only think of one person at Jake’s. His name is Marcelino Lopez and he is the pride, passion, and heart of Jake’s and JBC. If you can take at a look at your Red Book’s he is the only person to who have worked for the company 15+ years.  Marcelino, I would say is the man responsible of making Jake’s so successful. Unlike many Jillians, Jake’s has that mystique of being a tradition in Pasadena. Marcelino has that aura of tradition when he walks into a work every day. Not many managers or employees can say they are working with a living walking piece of history; I have to say I am very fortunate that I am working with him. Marcelino has worked from billiard tables, to construction, to basic maintenance. Marcelino’s energy, passion, and work ethic beat some employees twice as young as him. I would have to say we all should stand up for him give him a round of applause and give him thanks for being a true pioneer of core beliefs in JBC. 

 Jaime

you think you have an awesome kitchen staff!?!

i need to give team san fran a shout out. i have been with some of these guys since the opening ( almost 10 years  ) and each holiday season seems to get less stressful and more seamless - a well oiled machine pumping out party after party after party after party with add on parties in between ..oh, and slammin convention lunches on top of it. tamayo, our chef actually gave me a hard time that the week of christmas seems slow and why do we only have a few parties - he asked what am i doing to bring more business in? that is where our core values really hit home…he is making his food cost his own… always thinking of ways to save money and hold everyone accountable. i feel lucky to be part of the team.

jennifer

Ugly Sweaters at Jake’s

I wasn’t too sure what I was getting myself into 1 year ago this month when I agreed to be on the Board of Directors for the Pasadena Jaycees.  I looked at it as an opportunity to network and spread the word about Jake’s through a very young and social group of professionals.  Then I found out what my position actually was, planning all social events for the chapter, perfect!!!!  I managed to bring Jake’s 2 successful mixers, a huge pub crawl, a guest bartending event, 3 large catering pick-up orders.  Then I found myself planning our Holiday Party not very successfully.  I had no location, and no idea what to do.  My committee and I came up with this fantastic idea of doing an Ugly Sweater theme, and I knew Jake’s would be the perfect setting for that.

The party was a hit!  Jake’s pool tables, guitar hero, yummy food, and super fun staff was perfect for our party!  The Ugly Sweaters and 1 Human Christmas Tree combined with The Santa Clause Pub Crawl that just so happened to be there at the same time was a sight to see!  The Jaycees already love Jake’s but now there’s one more reason. 

Jammin through the Holidays at Jake’s

Jake’s is known for a great burger, a cocktail or beer, watch the game, and play some pool. Between, Friday & Sunday we had six holiday parties. We have taken “banquets” to a new level at Jake’s.  What FUN! What a Staff!  Execution of these events was stupendous!  From the initial guest contact & booking, food preparation, organization, buffet setup, decorations and pre-shift meetings. Team Jake’s Embraced Opportunity! The Café was jamming and the Bar was live.  Managers were cooking, assisting and communicating with staff, interacting with guests and doing what we do as managers to keep it all in line. The staff was on point making sure we made our Guests Fun Our Business! Serving, cleaning, up selling, promoting our New Year’s Eve Party, and fulfilling our guests requests and satisfaction. Team Jake’s has brought out the best in our guests abilities to have FUN, FUN, FUN!  - Ray

Make It Your Own!

In these times of economic crisis, many local stores and restaurants have slowed down due to everyone trying to save a buck or two. Here in our cafe where burgers start at $5.99 there are no slow times and our BOH staff does an excellent job maintaing!  If there is a broken light bulb or problem in our kitchen I can depend on Lupe to be the first one to fix it. Before I even start my line check at night I have Patino walking down the line, line check in hand, going over all the food taking temps, checking prep and even tasting all the foods to make sure that we keep the tradition started in 1947.  Then I can turn around and see Oscar training our new team member on rotating product, labeling, and introducing the food hierarchy.  And finally we have Hector, helping guests wrap up their food to go with a huge smile on his face which makes the guest he is helping smile. I have never worked with any BOH team that has been so passionate, dedicated, and happy. I tell my BOH team that you shouldn’t wake up saying “It’s time to go to work” but, “It’s time to do something I love to do.”  They clean their hearts out which you can see in pictures.  With their hard work, they have done something I haven’t seen,  they scored a perfect 100 on their health department score, and I have worked with Chefs such as Wolfgang Puck.  Any KM, AKM, and even GM can tell you how hard that is too accomplish. All I have to say is my Christmas present came in September when this great team was created. Thanks Guys!!!!!! - Jaime Gonzalves

Jillian’s of San Francisco gives back in a big way!!!!!

Team San Francisco’s Q4 Community Initiative was headed by AUM Bryan Galope and Supervisor Timor Mobarak and this quarter we donated our time to the World famous Glide Memorial Services Foundation.  

Gilde helps many in need, especially in these hard economic times and is located in a very depressed part if the City. Poverty, drug abuse, violence, and despair persist in San Francisco as they do across the country. By working to combat these problems, Glide serves as an oasis in a desert of hopelessness, marching to the edge where victories for social justice are won. Glide is a place where old, destructive ways of being are thrown out and new ones created. Where names are named and love is celebrated and a simple call goes out to all races, classes, genders, ages, and sexual orientations: its recovery time. It’s time to love unconditionally. 

Our team stepped up in a big way by preparing food, serving food on the front line and offering friendly conversation to those in need. This experience touched our team so deeply that we have committed to Glide that a team from Jillian’s of San Francisco will participate once a month in the meals services program or wherever we may be needed. This is a very moving effort and I encourage all those that read this to visit Glide at http://www.glide.org/. As I reflect on the teams mission this past quarter my emotions choke me up and remain tender.  Helping people to this magnitude speaks volumes and to the entire team both past volunteers and future, thank you for believing in people and being nonjudgmental. Your devotion to our core values, the donation of your time and the passion in which you have dedicated yourself to this cause has Made a Difference, you have Embraced Opportunity to help others, You Made it your own, you WOW’d Everyone and because Everthing Matters you given your time for a year. All I can say is - I’m proud of you all and Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Below you will find a series of photo’s chronicling the team’s day at Glide.

LOOKING UP

 I regularly walk with my head tilted back, trying to get a good look at the high rise buildings in the city. I bump shoulders, step on feet and say “excuse me” during most of my walks. Last week I was out on sales calls- while nearly getting escorted out of a secure building (with no appointment) and was told I needed a contact to access the elevators. I noticed a building directory posted on the wall ,as I stood alone outside- so I pulled out my cell phone and pretended to call “my contact” . After making my fake phone call I realized my phone had a camera and I began to embrace the opportunity.

I walked through the city, collecting as many directories, company names and addresses and as possible…discovering the detective inside of me….When I got back to the office I cold called by introducing myself as a neighbor who noticed their company on a walk. 

Needless to say, my cold call turned into a sale this week!!! $3k later, I found a company in my backyard that was buried in a 27 floor high rise - a company I would have never been able to make contact without… being a ninja. Now, my walks consist of not looking up but looking through glass doors and snapping pictures of directories.

Embrace every effort~

MEMPHIS…HOLIDAY IN A CONSTRUCTION ZONE

With the current transition with our Mall to an up-scale, all suites hotel and a remodel in our near future, we decided that if you can’t beat them…. JOIN THEM!!!!

On Wednesday, November 12 we hosted an Open House called “Jilllian’s Holiday in a Construction Zone”.

Our staff was looking sharp with Santa hats, hard hats and construction aprons……

We decorated our building with Holiday Flair!

Guest enjoyed  **EAT**DRINK**PLAY** and everyone was having a great time! Thanks to our kitchen staff, compliments were pouring out about the beautiful and very tasty food! And of course the bartenders were spreading plenty of holiday cheer!

Team Memphis pulled out all the stops and created a HUGE buzz for the Holidays and has everyone very excited about our future remodel.

Oh, and did I mention… several leads were generated for Holiday Parties!

Thank you to Wade, our Fearless GM, and the rest of Team Memphis for their very hard work!

Lights, Camera, “Actors”!

The phone rings….it’s the Obama Campaign office….they want to know if we have availability for a small campaign event.  I gather some information and book them in our private room.  During our conversation, it’s mentioned that there will be a couple of celebrities speaking on behalf of the Obama Campaign for a Change.  I get excited and ask if she can tell me who they are….

Moving on to the evening of the event….the room looks fantastic…red, white and blue linen and balloons make the room burst with color.  The buffet looks amazing…and the crowd is growing…there’s a buzz about who is on the way.

Brian, Shawn and I are outside…anxiously waiting to greet our guests.  With each car that arrives we wonder if it’s them.  Then, finally….they are there.  The car door opens….and they step out one by one and head toward the news crew waiting to get a quick interview.

We’re just inside the door now….their interview is finished…casually, they walk in….Kal Penn and Olivia Wilde from the Fox show House…and Justin Long the Mac guy…along with his list of hit movies….Live Free or Die Hard, Jeepers Creepers, The Breakup, Dodgeball, etc.

Kal Penn grabs my hand and shakes it as I welcome them.  He seems so gracious to be at our Club.  Justin stops by the ATM to get money before they all head for a quick bathroom break….

Now in the private room…they each take their turn talking to Young Professionals of Manchester about the importance of this year’s election and why it’s important that they get out there and vote.  Kal is first…..then he’s followed by Olivia….Justin wraps it up and then ends with a “Go Red Sox!”…..that got the crowd really excited.

It’s meet and greet time…I make my way over to introduce myself and Brian…what a rush it was to be up close and personal with people that we both watch on tv…not to mention a big star like Justin.  We pose for some pictures and get autographs…Justin writes a message for my 6 year old daughter on the cover of a dvd I brought.  We tell them how much we appreciate them coming.  They tell us that THEY are excited to be there….that it’s their best event so far!

Before leaving…they pose with our whole staff for pictures….it’s an event and an experience that none of us will soon forget.

Food Quality….

Impacting Food Quality

To all Jillian’s Kitchen Managers and General Managers,

First of all, let us congratulate all of you for the hard work you have put in recently.  Our new Banquet Packages have thrown some challenges at our staff and our kitchens.  We have introduced new menu items that are doing very well.  The new Café Menu is getting close!!!  Obviously our guests are ready for better selections and variety of items. As Kitchen Managers it is imperative that you all take the time to make sure your food is the best it can be at all times. When your kitchen is producing great food – the word of mouth advertising with our guests spreads quickly!  Your first priority is to ensure Great Food Quality on every shift. This is a huge task and does not happen without proper planning and follow up. We wanted to review some topics and give you some direction that we feel will help your team continue to improve food quality. Please take the time to review this information with your GM. Also team up with your GM to identify areas to improve and put a plan together that addresses how your team will impact these areas. Be ready to share the plan with your GM and Regional.

Continue reading Food Quality…….

Microsoft - a WOW in Seattle!

This past Monday Seattle hosted another Microsoft buyout. The host was blown away with all the little details and touches - colored themes for the divisions spread throughout the club including balloons, wristbands, and framed signs, as well as buffet decorations, food and service. Most impressive to the group was the ice sculpture placed at the front door in which the guests were taking pictures with all evening. The host even requested pictures of this to be sent to her so she could show her senior leaders the added touch that was created for them.

The best part of the evening was the host explaining that they are currently hiring 15,000 more people over the year and will be an even bigger convention next February. They were already talking about securing Jillian’s of Seattle for the next convention before the event was even half way over!

Cidnee and Lauren really blew these guests away beginning with their heartfelt hospitality while planning this event all the way down to perfect execution of the event including many small little touches. This is a relationship that will continue to grow with this property for years to come! Thanks to Victor, our KM, our superstar ESM team, Cidnee and Lauren and the service team also who made this evening go off exactly as planned!