Local talent and partnerships
To staff the cafeteria's pizza, grill and allergen-friendly and rotating chef's corner stations, Fellows hired a few dozen employees, about a third of which are cooks. "When it comes to culinary talent, I am looking for people who have a great eagerness to learn first," she says. "Then on the second round, I look for skills and background needed." She says Lansing is not a huge pool to draw from, and though there are a number of ways to teach cooking skills, she hasn't figured out a way to teach someone to care.
Fellows also wanted to offer fresh sushi to guests. However, she is not a trained sushi chef and was uncomfortable experimenting with a cuisine that has a lot of food safety nuances. So, she partnered with a local sushi restaurant that sends three sushi chefs per day to Gathering Place. The sushi chefs set up shop with their own ingredients, and if the sushi station meets the minimum revenue for the week—calculated by the POS—Gathering Place is given a percentage of the sales. “We did the sushi tastings, and then sort of let legal handle the logistics,” she says.