The crew at Chestnut dots I’s and crosses T’s like no other, and Samantha is part of the reason why. You’ll know it if you’re lucky enough to have her as your server.
I am currently a server at Chestnut. I ended up here because I was moving to Asheville to be with my partner at the time. I had been considering either Austin or Asheville for a while. I’m very glad to have ended up in Asheville. I wanted to make sure I had a job lined up before I moved. I honestly just walked up and down Biltmore Avenue with resumes. Chestnut was the second place I walked into. The manager at the time offered to hire me the day I Interviewed, but I didn’t move for another month so I kept in touch with him until then. I got incredibly lucky landing this job. I have been here for five years now. It is 100% the best job I have had in my twelve years of serving.
I’m honestly very passionate about food. I love cooking and dining out. I love trying new food and learning about it. My favorite way to treat myself is going out for a nice meal and some wine. Outside of that I would say traveling. Which does involve getting to try new food. I’ve officially been to 21 countries and I intend to go to many more. That’s one reason I got into real estate. I wanted to transfer my service industry skills to something that made sense while adding to my income. I’m hoping my work at Chestnut plus extra commissions will allow me more financial security, and an allowance to travel when I want.
Accountability is a big one. I have learned that so many jobs in this world have a complete lack of accountability, but not in a restaurant. I’m held accountable for everything with my guests. I am the face of the table. Even if things are going wrong something out of my control, I don’t throw my teammates under the bus. I also have to admit to peoples faces when I am the one who messed up. No one is perfect all the time. But being able to admit it, apologize, and move forward is humbling. I think it has helped me with other conflicts in my life. I am more able to look at myself and see or admit when I have done wrong. Then grow from that and move forward.
HA! It is honestly difficult. But I didn’t expect it to be easy. I am just getting started so there is going to be a learning curve in finding my groove doing both. Balance is incredibly hard in all aspects of life, and I just added a new career. But, I am lucky enough to have some things making it significantly easier. I genuinely enjoy working at Chestnut and I really care about our team. So, coming to work is not hard. Chestnut also allows me enough security, benefits, and a flexible schedule for me to work both jobs with much less stress. Plus, the love and support I get from everyone associated with Chestnut has really made me feel like I can do this.
