Diego Fiori

Early on in my career, I set for myself a few rules that I tried to never break. (1) Show up early. (2) Do not give up shifts. (3) Know the menus. (4) Follow the rules. (5) Never show when you're weeded. By sticking as close as possible to these practices, I was always a reliable and valuable part of any team I was on, which I think led to my eventual move into a leadership position.

We provide the framework for that through education, and we encourage a sense of curiosity. Our education here is daily. We try to strike a balance between broad topics and advanced details for each topic so that the lesson is relatable to our whole staff, whether they be new or old. This promotes general learning for our new team members, as well as new information for the more seasoned team members. It's an organic system that works over time, bolstered by the team's own curiosity.

This can happen within our own walls, or at another restaurant, but every time I see someone else's great hospitality, it energizes me to continue to hone our team's process, and find ways that we can continue to improve the experience that we offer. I dine out a lot, and after a great experience, I'm always excited to try to bring some of that experience with me, and apply it to the context of our restaurant.

Endless, available, hot coffee. On a less material note, collaborators. High quality collaboration with people I respect is a massive part of my decision making process. I would not be able to do my job without it.

9 Park is dependent on our team. There is no aspect of our service that can be accomplished by a single person. There have been many highlights of my time here, but all of them have only been possible thanks to diligent and intentional teamwork. It's centric to our process.

Especially coming out of the pandemic; hours are long, schedules are erratic, and job descriptions can become quickly blurred. I try to demand the following two things from myself. First, I set aside one day per week for myself. If possible, I try to keep it completely free of appointments, and reserved for leisure activities only (extra bonus if I can spend some time outdoors). Second, I set what time I'm going to wake up every morning before I go to sleep the night before. Taking ownership of my mornings prior to the work day has been essential in being able to perform night in and night out in the workplace.

I get a lot of excitement and inspiration from them. Non-industry, I love “Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend.”