Good Morning!! Hand Breaded Chicken Fried Steak is our #1 food item we serve. On a slow day, we hand bread and fry at least 90 plus and on a Friday....Oh Mylanta is all I can say. The Chicken fry steak is only 1 of many items that we fry.....a lot of our menu is hand breaded and made right when ordered so yall can imagine what a crazy stressful area the fry station is when 500 to 600 guest will pass through the doors on any given day. Needless to say it is the hardest job at the CIG & it is a position that is hard to fill. We lost our fry guy a while back & Shelby has been fryin up the CIG favorite's while we find someone that is qualified to take over. I hired a guy a while back, Stephen. He is prob my age or a little younger and he has become a great asset to the kitchen over the last few weeks but he was not hired to man the breading & fry station. The time between 10:30 & 11:00 is always pretty stressful for everyone, the girls are changing into lunch stations & the kitchen is trying to set up the line for lunch while still cooking breakfast, it is my least favorite time of day because this is when mistakes happen. Yesterday I hear through the CIG grapevine that Stephen was going to try to learn to fry......I was at first shocked, why would anyone volunteer for the worst job back there....OR was he being bullied by his co-workers, I make my way back & talked with Shelby & he was ok with it (of course no frying for Shelby makes him a happy camper....oh j/k).....We start lunch and Stephen is in my mind......my thoughts leave him as the line builds and the food start flowing, the cook time's where never over 10 minutes....the CIG kitchen crew did an amazing job. Happy Beautiful Friday yall.....gosh the reason for the long story about really nothing was to share what Stephen said to me yesterday when I went to find him.......The crazy lunch rush was over and I make my way to the kitchen, I find Stephen at the hand sink cleaning up. "Geez Stephen, I am so proud of you, you did a great job today, what made you want to fry or do you want to fry?" as he pulls the towels to dry his hand, his words stop me in my tracks...."Thanks, I had a lot of help...... no not that I really wanted to but what I want to do is be what you need Teresa.....so if that is what you need this is what I want to do."WOW" is all I can say......isn't this how we are suppose to answer our heavenly father......I may not want to: ....work with children, cut hair, deliver food, be a cashier, a garbage man/women,a missionary but if this is what you need I will......Have a beautiful blessed Friday yall!!
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Click Good Morning!! Words are powerful sometimes mightier than any weapon......... Yesterday my heart was broken as one of my friend's (regular) proclaimed loudly, not once but 4 times, that one of the items s*cked.......many of my guest were looking at him & then me. I was completely humiliated and embarrassed. I went to the kitchen with tears streaming down my face.....I was shocked that he thought is was ok to talk that way, not shocked that he did not like one of my food items. As much as I would like to, I know I will never please all the people all the time. I made my rounds during lunch scared to ask how everything was and plates were licked clean of this particular item and the words.. " absolutely delicious" were used when asked..... Happy Beautiful Thursday ya'll .....Yesterday afternoon I had a food vendor meeting set-up.....these guys bring different items in, we cook them, taste test them and then we have another meeting so they can find out what we thought. I was not wanting to meet with anyone....I was blah.....they arrived promptly on time & they sat in the faith room with great anticipation written across their faces....."surely I liked their product, because they believed in it"........ I was dreading the meeting, these guys are great guys & I have an amazing relationship with them but I did not enjoy their food items they brought me.....with the events from lunch still swirling in my head I sat down in the meeting.......and by the grace of God my words came out kind and apologetic that their items just were not for me......and it hit me......lesson learned on words to others...they are so powerful & I do not want to make anyone feel the way my guest made me feel. When I went to the kitchen with tears streaming down my face Shelby left the fryers to see what was wrong......I describe the events and told him who...."I thought we were friends.....and his words hurt" Shelby then reminds me its business &. Gosh he is right....but I want to be kind in business also and I am not always. I was interviewed a couple of days ago and one of the questions asked to me was .."What is the toughest challenge you face everyday?" & ironically my answer was" to be kind and nice in everything on a daily basis." I love our guest's every hug, every giggle, every moment shared and I also love the truth about their experience at the grill because I take everything to heart to make things better.... I want people to like us and I have learned there is a fine line between the honest truth and being rude.......WOW I love what I learned yesterday.......Gods grace and life's lessons........through a broken heart and tears shed I have learned how I want to talk to others.......put the broken heart aside ya'll and learn the lesson God is giving you!!! to edit.
![]() Woot woot another day with amazing specials and delicious pies.... Luv luv luv the verse Deni chose to put on the board. You have know idea how it touched my heart the day she asked if she could write a verse on the board, little did she know I use to keep a verse up at the other place but life around here started getting crazy..... Yep back to old school and I it. Thanks Deni for sharing his words with the amazing guest. Come see us y'all, it us a great day in our hood — with Deni Wright. Good Morning y'all!!!.......... Under the blanket of darkness and stars I drive to work every morning, I don't live in town & so I travel farm roads that are deserted and quiet .... A few mornings a week my voice cuts through the darkness as I yell ......"good morning Mr.daniels. I flash my headlights and swerve away from the traveler....... Last year driving in every morning I started seeing a man,I couldn't tell anything about him except he wore a reflective vest like a road worker. At first I thought he was walking to work, but I always thought "where does he work way out here?" Quite a few mornings this stranger became Shelby 's and I topic of conversation...... I wonder where he is if I don't see him & I wonder what his journey is ?"..... Happy beautiful Friday y'all...... A few weeks ago Shelby and I were running late and my walker was turning around at the intersection" now is your chance Teresa , stop and meet him, u know you want too."" No"was my response, I didn't want to scare him or bother him... I drove for a second and then turned my big red truck right around and headed straight back....... I pulled up slowly and Shelby lowered his window and I met this stranger that had been apart of my mornings for so long. His name Mr.Daniels, he retired 3 years ago and was in very poor health, "a heart attack waiting to happen " came from his lips . He started walking.... He now walks 14 miles a day...". Why on these roads ?".."quiet and safe" we're his answer . We both shared a little of our lives and then it was time for me to get going..... How ironic that I met this man on a dark lonely road and Shelby and I now talk of concern when we miss him a few days...." Geez , Teresa, we never should have met him, it just gives us someone else to worry about!!".....we all get so busy that we don't take the time to meet that stranger that gets coffee everyday the same place we do or walks their kids into school the same time you do........ I am thankful Shelby told me to stop ..... Who would have thought just taking a minute out of my day to make a connection would make a difference in my life .... Mr Daniels knows someone on that dark cold road cares about him every morning...... Gosh isn't this really what God wants for us...... Connections with others y'all, it makes a huge difference in your lives & so every morning I flash my headlights, swerve away and greet a man that was once a stranger & yell out "Good morning Mr.Daniels "and my heart smiles with every word..... Yep connection it's good for the soul ...
Good Morning!! A few weeks ago one of my friends on FB posted a story on the CIG wall. It was about a café that has "suspended" coffee and meals. The article talked of when customers would go in to purchase something they would also pay for another one and tell the cashier "they wanted a suspended one"..... the article goes on to explain that the suspended item is for someone in need. A stranger that is hungry or needs a warm up, these suspended items are paid for by these customers and given out by the café.......Happy Beautiful Thursday yall....when I read the article my heart was full that another cafe was doing this for those in need and I was so honored that my friend shared it with me. Ironically, since I read the article I have been called, messaged and approached at the grill about doing something like this here.... if yall have ever wondered if there is still good in the world you need to look no further than the amazing friends and guest of the CIG.....they are always looking for a way to help others in need & most of the "others" are strangers that they will never meet but wanting to help in some way.....This, my sweet friends, is allowing the Lord to use you to make a difference & this is what the grill is about....thank ya'll for inspiring me and stirring my heart to move forward and to figure out a way to make this happen. The CIG has fed the hungry, homeless and working poor for so long and it is an amazing blessing......allowing others to feel this blessing would be awesome.......M wheels are turning.....give me some time and we will start making a difference together!!
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AuthorI opened the Cast Iron Grill in October 2007. Lots of changes have happened in the last 5 1/2 years. The CIG started with 55 seats in an office building located at 18th and K. After five years, we were bursting at the seams with now 167 seats, and 24 wonderful co-workers working on top of eachother to make it happen. 2012 the Lord chose a different journey for the CIG. We relocated the CIG and opened our doors on January 2nd, 2013, just four blocks away from the old location! It has changed my world completely! All of these stories are the happenings of the people and the joy and celebration that make the CIG what it is. Archives
May 2014
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