Both penny and I feel very strongly the hourly wages of servers. In our community they were terribly low. We felt that offering a low wage meant we weren't investing in them. One thing we decided right off the bat was that we were gonna invest in our team and in return, our hopes were that they would invest back. We started their hourly wage three to four times higher than other local establishments. We have created a culture that nothing is beneath anybody. If a table needs to be cleared anybody will go over and clear it. If the dishwasher needs some hands of getting dishes done, they'll jump in and do those things.
Listen 🎧 : Tanya and Penny say investing in their staff and supporting technologies have helped them scale their business.
is a Menomonie, Wisconsin based cidery started by friends and busines partners Penny Burstad and Tanya Husby. The duo launched a new business in downtown Menomonie hoping to bring some variety with a range of foods and ciders. From managing employees to keeping track of inventory, they’ve jumped at the opportunities to make the business as efficient as possible while giving back to their community. Although the cidery launched during the pandemic, they feel they've been able to thrive during a difficult time without making too many changes.
At the heart of Sixth Avenue’s Cidery’s business has been making its staff and their needs a priority, a decision that has resulted in a strong return on investment. They prioritize paying their staff well and offering flexible hours for employees, many of which also attend the local college. Investing in their staff for Burstad and Husby also means automating certain business functions to help alleviate labor intensive tasks. In addition to competitive wages and flexible hours, they've invested time in cross-training staff.
Automating payroll has helped them feel less stressed knowing the forms they need to submit are streamlined through the software and filed in a timely way. They also use Square's inventory product to make sure they're stocking the items and ciders that are high in demand. "In the restaurant industry, I can't read people's minds and figure out what they want to eat every day. " said Husby, "We have one menu tiem that is really on top and then we'll have another day where a menu item is way down at the botom. It helps me in the long run food ordering process to know what we've been selling a lot of when I do my ordering on Sundays."
Check out 6th Avenue Cidery's website for more
