Cactus Restaurants
Number of employees: 1,800
Head office: Vancouver
Quote: “No matter where you’re from, they make you feel like a part of the team, and the leaders are always supportive and helpful”
If my company were a celebrity, it would be: ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
“Because all of our customers say, ‘I’ll be back!’”
Staff say having Canada’s only Iron Chef in the kitchen is a bonus in itself. Rob Feenie joined the organization as food concept architect in 2008, making the food and drinks offered up during menu orientation for new employees even more enjoyable. Other reasons workers rate working at the Cactus Club Café restaurants so highly: the company’s participation in Restaurant Watch, which aims to keep suspected gangsters out of members’ eateries; membership in the Green Table and Ocean Wise sustainability programs; and apprenticeship opportunities for kitchen staff. There were also countless survey responses about the company’s “family feel” and the “can-do” attitude embodied in its “House of yes” core value. “My little cousin wanted Kraft Dinner, so the sous chef went to Save-on-Foods to buy Kraft Dinner,” recalls one pleased employee. And another: “You’re working with managers that really care. For instance, a manager ran all the way to Wal-Mart to get a customer sunscreen.”
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