Since opening in 2015, Patrick’s Grille has been providing its community in Michigan City with good food and ambiance. For staff members, the restaurant has provided opportunities to learn the ins-and-outs of creating a successful business and working in a restaurant.
Throughout the years at Patrick’s Grille, staff members have grown with the establishment, learning more about the industry from the experience and from impressive staff.
The head chef at Patrick’s Grille is Chef Rick Bruggeman. He has been in the restaurant business since he was 14 and has moved up to being an executive chef at multiple restaurants.
As a man who began in lower-level restaurant positions, he is able to understand the inner workings of the entire restaurant. He understands the job of a busser or a server because he has done both tasks them himself. This allows Bruggeman to give appropriate pointers to any trainee or long-time staff member.
Bruggeman’s vast experience as a chef informs his extensive culinary knowledge. Patrick’s Grille’s menus and specials include all of this expertise, which a server would easily pick up. While servers would not be taught how to make the food, they would deeply understand what goes into the dishes and what makes them delicious. The latter is also partially owed to staff meal discounts.
Patrick’s Grille allows for staff to climb the ladder, earning qualifications for management or other parts of the restaurant. If a staff member starts as a server, they can slowly learn bartending and get their license.
Patrick’s Grille trains through experience. This means that new staff is trained on the job, rather than through a program or a pamphlet.
Patrick’s Grille’s Owner, Patrick Wilkins, and General Manager, Julie Krause, possess a wealth of knowledge, just like Bruggeman. Krause has worked in the dining and event planning industry for 20 years. She began in a country club, moved on to casinos, and is now at Patrick’s Grille. She knows how to organize events and work with clients to properly cater a venue.
Patrick himself teaches good business and customer service. With his motto being, “Quality and consistency at a fair price," this is how Wilkins has kept his business successful. Working there is the only way to watch him apply this phrase.
Wilkins has created a fun work environment, with proof that he cares deeply about his staff. Throughout the pandemic, Patrick’s donated 10% of sales to staff members to supplement lost tips and wages from working fewer hours.
Now that Northwest Indiana is revving up again, Patrick’s needs staff to serve customers. Shifts are flexible, especially considering Patrick’s is open during lunch and dinner hours.
Patrick’s is ready to teach how to be a chef, a manager, or a successful business owner.
