Employees of the Month – August ’16

Congratulations to our seven employees of the month. Your hard work and dedication makes you true ambassadors of “The Spinato’s Experience”.

Juliette Villagomez

Tempe Location

Juliette is a breath of fresh air every time you see her! She always has a great smile and the best laugh! You can hear her “smile” when she engages our guests on a phone order! Juliette is always quick to show her appreciation, and she always gives the Spinato’s Experience to her guests and her team. Juliette enjoys movies, especially comedies (hence her love of laughter!), and loves to strike up some competition in a friendly game of volleyball. We are so glad that Juliette is part of our family. She enhances our lives with her heartfelt enthusiasm. Thanks for always being there for us, your kindness and courtesy is second to none!

Congratulations, Juliette!

Kayci Riggs

North Phoenix Location

Kayci has been welcoming guests in the door with us for almost a year and a half, and we don’t know how we got along without her. She always is there to lend a hand and shows that she cares about each and every one she meets. Kayci is going to school for communications, but in her free time loves to go to the movies. If she answers the phone the next time you call for a pizza, congratulate her on a job well done!

Good job, Kayci!

Conan Zimmerman

Central Phoenix Location (Front of the House)

Conan has been with the company for over 13 years now! He is the definition of commitment to excellence and he lives and breathes teamwork! Whether he’s serving, bartending, or managing the floor, Conan is here almost every day – but when he’s not, he’ll most likely be playing music with his band, at a concert, or getting down on some sushi with his girlfriend or friends. He always has the backs of anyone he’s working with, his regulars absolutely love him, and he truly is part of the family. I don’t know what we would do without your amazing attitude and stellar work ethic. We appreciate everything you do!

Thanks Conan, you’re the best!

Carmen Martinez

Central Phoenix Location (Heart of the House)

Carmen started working on the pizza line 6 months ago, and quickly worked her way up to a full time family member that makes all of our daily prep items, sandwiches and, of course, is still making beautiful pizzas. It’s safe to say if you have ordered anything from our restaurant lately, Carmen has had a hand in making it! She comes to work every day with a smile on her face and will pick up any shift needed. Carmen has such a caring nature and has even “adopted” some of the younger team members while at work, offering to give others them a ride home, or stay late to make sure no one needs an extra hand. When she is not at work, she is at home with her kids helping them with school work – Carmen is always so selfless! We thank Carmen for all that she does and want to encourage her to continue to grow with us and develop our other family members.

Woo hoo, Go Carmen!

Alex Costello

Scottsdale Location

Alex has been with us for a year and a half working in the heart of the house (kitchen). He is a daytime guy that has mastered prep, salads and sandwiches and due to his great work ethic, has just been promoted to being a lead in the kitchen for us. When he is not at work making it happen, he is an avid gamer! Congrats Alex, we are excited to see even more big things to come!

Keep up the good work, Alex!

Seth Jastrab

Ahwatukee Location (Front of the House)

Seth has been with our family for just over a year. He started off in our heart of the house rolling out pizza shells and getting saucy on our sauté line. Now you can find Seth in our front of the house, either mixing up signature cocktails or out on the floor delivering the “Spinato’s Experience.” Seth radiates positivity and is always willing to help out his team! With his caring nature, commitment to excellence, and desire to grow, we expect great things from this guy!

Keep it up, Seth!

Kristie Searle

Ahwatukee Location (Heart of the House)

In September, Kristie will have been with the company for 1 year. She always shows up to work extra early and with a positive attitude. She is an employee that you can count on to come in and cover a shift if another family member can’t work. Her hard work and commitment to excellence has made her Ahwatukee’s newest lead cook. Keep up the good work.

Thank you for all that you do!

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RockSTAR – August ’16

August 24, 2016

RockSTAR

STAR stands for: Situation.Task.Action.Result!

The Spinato’s RockSTAR Award, implemented in March 2015, is an honor given to one restaurant manager each month that shows exemplary decision-making and leadership skills.

We select a manager who we believe has shown that he/she is able to confront a Situation or Task, take Action to handle the circumstances, and anticipate the impact (Result) of those actions taken. Our RockSTARs not only do what is expected of them, but go above and beyond when making decisions that affect not only themselves and the restaurant, but their employees and our valued guests.

Morgan Curley is another repeat RockSTAR winner – she took home the award in April of last year, and she has blown us away so much lately that we couldn’t NOT give it to her again! Since last year, Morgan accepted a transfer to our Central Phoenix location on 7th St. & Missouri. She has been killing the game as our Front of House manager, handling the position all on her own in the biggest store in the company. She may be small, but she packs a big punch and can definitely get things done!

Morgan recently served on our Onboarding Committee, comprising several Family Members (employees) that spent literally MONTHS coming up with a perfect system of welcoming new Family Members to our restaurants. We were amazed at how much time and effort this group put in, and the ideas that they came up with! Morgan was a huge part of this, and we can’t thank her enough for her participation, even on top of her fulltime management position. Morgan is a shining example of our Core Values, and what we aspire our company to be. There’s no limit to Morgan’s potential, and we look forward to seeing the incredible things we know she can achieve for our company and our family. Thank you thank you THANK YOU Morgan, we are truly blessed to have you!

Morgan with our boss-man Ken Spinato

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Quality Ingredients Straight from the Source

August 17, 2016

Uncategorized

Quality Ingredients Straight from the Source

Every year we trek to California to visit our mozzarella provider’s cheese plant to personally make sure it’s of the highest quality. The best cheese starts with the best milk, which we believe comes from happy, healthy cows.

Like Spinato’s, our cheese company and its employees respect all living creatures, so they ensure all cows are comfortable, well fed and well cared for. They have a zero tolerance policy for willful animal cruelty and are not afraid to end relationships with any dairies or farms that do so. It’s good for business to have happy cows that produce healthy milk, but it’s also just the right thing to do.

The quality and integrity of animal care also crosses over into the cheese-making process. By personally visiting the cheese plant, our Spinato’s team can ensure the mozzarella on your pizza is as healthy and delicious as possible. We inspect for pathogens, unnecessary additives and food safety. We also taste test the cheese (we know, it’s a tough job) so we can stand behind what we serve in our restaurants.

Our cheese plant visits are always a fun time, but they do play an important role in our process. We believe in providing our guests with the best ingredients possible and never want to serve you anything we deem less than the best. It’s how we’ve been operating for more than 40 years, and it’s how we’ll operate for at least 40 more.

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Turning an Oops into an Opportunity

August 17, 2016

Uncategorized

Turning an Oops into an Opportunity

Last month, we had an order mix up at our Tempe location and ended up with 15 large pizzas and no one to eat them. Rather than toss so much extra food, we sent out a few extra pizzas with each order and dropped them off to feed the homeless along the way.

We ended up giving away all the pizzas to grateful, hungry people. It brought the whole team joy to provide a meal for someone in need, and our delivery driver Lexi said she was proud she could make someone’s day just a little brighter.

We too are proud of our Tempe family members for finding a creative solution to a mistake. Instead of focusing on the bad, they turned it into something good. The team has truly embodied our core value of serving and supporting our local community and the belief that we exist to enhance the lives of others.

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Employees of the Month – July ’16

August 5, 2016

Employees of the Month

Employees of the Month – July ’16

Congratulations to our seven employees of the month. Your hard work and dedication makes you true ambassadors of “The Spinato’s Experience”.

KJ Schaff

Tempe Location

KJ has been with our company for four years, and knows how to work every position in our kitchen – he even helped to open the new kitchen at our largest location, Central Phoenix! He is always on his toes, running around and getting everything done – and ALWAYS with a smile! During his time off, he loves to play disc golf and hang out with his puppy Kiba. We love you KJ, thanks for always being positive & productive!

Thanks for all you do, KJ!

Darin Shepherd

North Phoenix Location

Darin left his Midwest roots in Michigan to come to Phoenix, and we are so glad he made the move! Almost immediately, he became an integral part of our Spinato’s family. He is responsible for all of the fantastic pizzas at our Bell Rd. location and has quickly established himself as one of our hardest workers. Darin devotes himself wholeheartedly to the Spinato’s commitment to excellence.

Thanks for your commitment, Darin!

Madison Roman

Central Phoenix Location (Front of the House)

Madison is a very familiar face around here – she has been with the company over 10 years and has literally done just about every position you can think of! Her extremely bubbly personality and commitment to excellence can be seen in everything she does. Whether she is running around the dining room taking care of tables or mixing up some signature cocktails behind the bar, she can be found here almost any day of the week. She has countless regulars that have followed her from store to store over the years, and they have become like family. We appreciate everything she does for us!

Thanks for your positive energy, Madison!

Anthony Huerta

Central Phoenix Location (Heart of the House)

Anthony has only been a part of our Spinato’s Central Phoenix location for 3 months and has already made a huge impression on us! He comes in every shift eager to get work done. He is one of our all-star dish staff here, and his hard work and dedication has not gone unnoticed. Anthony will soon be training to work on the salad/sandwich station, and we look forward to enjoying one of the delicious sandwiches he will be making. Thank you for all you do!

Keep up the good work, Anthony!

Adam Lefever

Scottsdale Location

Adam has only been with us on our pizza station for a few short months but he is tearing it up! He is very quick to learn, and is a constant example of positivity and teamwork. We know we can expect great things from Adam in the future, and we are fortunate to have him in our family!

Great job, Adam!

Ian Dawson

Ahwatukee Location (Front of the House)

Ian will celebrate one year with us in October! He has mastered all Front of House positions, and excels in all that he does. He takes great care of our guests and always serves up a smile with your food. Ian is a great role model to his coworkers, and is always creating great memories with staff and guests alike. Thanks for being a wonderful part of our family!

Congratulations on a job well done, Ian!

Cody Rogers

Ahwatukee Location (Heart of the House)

Cody has been with us since March, and we have enjoyed watching him grow in his roles. He started out as a dishwasher, but now helps us in our prep area, rolling out pizza shell after pizza shell! Cody is very respectful, energetic, and always comes in to work with a smile on his face. We love his commitment to excellence and his pride in assuring our guests get the quality of food they deserve.

Awesome job, Cody, we’re so proud of you!

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Monthly Archive for: "August, 2016"