The honor of the Jean Malnati Miller Award is awarded annually to the restaurant and carryout that best models our core values – THE GIFT, and exemplifies the spirit of our Malnati Family matriarch, Jean Malnati Miller.
The 2021 Jean Malnati Miller restaurant award goes to…
Scottsdale!
Our Scottsdale restaurant team is led by District Manager Mike Sterner, General Manager Alexis Burdick, and Managers Kristina Uzdonas, Bill Wright, and Sam Feliciano. Alexis strives to make it a point to connect with each employee in every department, especially through COVID. It has been more important than ever to keep the team connected, so they started having weekly or bi-weekly department zoom meetings. Zoom meetings can be scary at first, but our Scottsdale team was determined to make them fun and engaging. They even have employees join the meetings on their days off!
Along with making extra time to connect with the team, they also find fun ways to celebrate and appreciate each other. They created a special space for employees to hang out after a long shift to go and relax with other team members. This space includes a couch, a coffee maker, treats, as well as a mini fridge as a way to thank and appreciate the team! The entire management team does a great job of making work fun for everyone. One example of this would be the week before Christmas last year, the team made a calendar of holiday theme days to dress up as for work. They did a Pajama Day, a Super Hero Day, and an Ugly Seater Day, just to name a few.
After the award was presented, Sterner, Alexis, and the rest of the managers made breakfast for the team. They had a raffle, speeches, and of course a giant conga line with everyone dancing and singing “We Are The Champions”!
Today, we are recognizing this location and their managers for winning the 2021 Jean Malnati Miller Award, but we also recognize ALL of our managers for their hard work, dedication, care, and love for our people and our company. We see examples of Jean’s spirit in how they serve each other, their teams, and their customers each and every day!
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