" When one door closes , another opens ." That best describes my journey to HAC .
staff spotlight
STAFF MEMBER
MICHELE SHAW
" When one door closes , another opens ." That best describes my journey to HAC .
After 19 years of owning the Wings To Go in Pike Creek , my husband and I decided it was time to sell the business . For those 19 years , my husband juggled a full time job in his family-owned printing business as well as the running of Wings . While being a stay-at-home mom to our five children , I pitched in by doing all the accounting end of Wings . Owning Wings helped us to earn a little extra income to help with the tuitions of 5 children in Catholic schools , but it also helped us teach them a valuable lesson in how to work hard and save for the things you wanted in life .
They all worked in the business at a young age and saved for their first cars with the money that they made . After about 12 years , we opened a second location , and that ’ s when I went back to work full time running that location and learning the ins and outs of the food business . When we sold the businesses , we still had children in college so I knew that I would need to look for a new job .
I began a nightly prayer to show me the way , and that prayer led me to contact my good friend , Donna Healy , who worked at HAC . She got me an interview in the café ,
When the café manager left suddenly . . . at the urging of the café staff and others at HAC , I said I would give it a try . It was everything I thought it would be and more . and thus began a new adventure for me .
I was hired as counter help in November 2009 and found it to be a very welcoming environment , even though the majority of the staff was more the ages of my kids . The café manager at the time was a very
Michele has been the manager for the HAC Cafe since 2011 .
creative , fun-loving and talented cook whom I learned a lot from . Soon I was helping to prep for the cooks and wherever else I was needed . When the café manager left suddenly , the café was in a bit of turmoil since it was in the middle of the summer season when the café juggles running the main Café , the Kid ’ s Café , and the Waterside Grille . I never really wanted to get back into a food business that was opened 7 days a week because I knew what a drain it was on your personal life , but at the urging of the café staff and others at HAC , I said I would give it a try . It was everything I thought it would be and more .
I didn ’ t think I would last 6 months , and yet I just celebrated 5 years of managing 25-35 employees in a café that is staffed 16 hours a day from Monday-Friday and 9 hours a day on Saturdays and Sundays . Thanks to the " great " invention of the cell phone , I am available to my employees for any issues that arise during those hours . It does sometimes interfere with my family life , but I try the best I can to juggle both . The words “ no ” and “ can ’ t ” are rarely in my vocabulary . If my family needs me or if there is something important going on , I will be there for them and also find a way to cover my responsibilities at work . enhance magazine | NOVEMBER 2016 27