Men's Club

Upcoming Events

Sunday, August 28th Annual Paid Membership BBQ,

Sunday, September 18th Angels Baseball Outing,

Sunday, November 6th Bid N Buy Auction. More details will follow.

BUILDING SOMETHING FROM NOTHING

We will be gathering insights from the TV show Restaurant Impossible on the Food Network. The basic premise of the show is for Chef and restauranteur Robert Irvine in two days and a $10,000 budget for materials and equipment to return a declining restaurant to respectability and profitability. To assist him in his task he employs a HGTV designer and a general contractor named Tom Bury to retrofit the restaurant. It is understandable when a restaurant is in a downward spiral, maintenance and upgrades to furniture and equipment are a low priority.

One of Robert Irvine’s assets is his military service background. His mission is twofold. First to reestablish the theme of the restaurant. His and the restaurant’s staff clear all furniture and wall coverings from the interior, essentially gutting the restaurant. The remake of the physical appearance of the restaurant has the goal of making the restaurant a destination site in the community. To create a unique atmosphere of ambiance, that is inviting and comfortable for customers to dine.

The second and most important part of the mission is to restore the wholesomeness of the human psyche of the owner(s). A failing restaurant has accumulated a mountain of debt. The owners carry the weight of an overwhelming burden, which has a serious negative impact on their interpersonal relationships with the spouse, children, and the restaurant staff. The owners are like walking zombies, working long hours, little time to devote to a home life. Robert Irvine uses an interview technique to learn about the origins of the restaurant, and the personal life history of the owner(s), to find a path to encourage the owner(s) to make necessary behavioral changes for the sustainable success of the business. This is not an easy task to accomplish in two days. The owner(s) have sunk into the deepest recesses of the depths of despair. Many times they lack basic restaurant management skills, and are only in the business to carry on the generational transfer of the dreams of their parents and grandparents. Robert Irvine gives the owner(s) a crash course in the proper staffing levels in the kitchen and dining room, to insure customers are served hot food in a timely manner. He spruces up the menu with signature dishes, that can’t be found elsewhere in the community. He stresses discipline to the owner(s) to insure staff are always doing their job. He emphasizes the trust factor that must be established with the staff, to have open lines of communication that generate feedback to constantly improve the restaurant.

A most vivid example of lifting and supporting people can be drawn from the Broadway musical “Cats”. In Act II, the tribe of the Jellicle Cats must decide who will be selected to take the journey to the Heaviside Layer. Grizabella a former Glamour Cat has lost her luster and has become downtrodden being clothed in tattered rags. She ascends in a cage to the singing of the signature song Memory.

At some point in everyone’s life, they can use a lift up. A commonality exists between Robert Irvine and the TBE congregants. Blessed of the Lord are the people who have the ability to lift up fellow human beings.