Sydney Grims

Let’s face it, men and women are very different – with different strengths and opportunities. I worked for one corporate company and there was no female representation of women above the GM level. That was pretty upsetting as a young manager at the time. Moreover, the best manager I worked for is a woman, her name is Michelle Delp and she actually is a regional for our company Fearless. She brings a compassionate approach to her team and I have always admired that. Also what’s super cool, I just realized this, all of the regionals for Fearless are women.

Never be afraid to pivot. I know this is what makes great leaders because I have watched as my dad, Marty Grims, has welcomed change throughout his 41 year career in the restaurant industry. He never let up, always re-invited himself and his businesses. Some of our businesses are institutions in Philly, like White Dog Café and Moshulu, or even Tuckers Tavern down in LBI and what I learned from him is to reinvent.

I remember I screwed up in a situation and my boss said, “just fall on the sword Sydney” and ‘til this day the act of owning your mistakes has stuck with me and lets me live with a clear conscience.

For all of our front of house positions I look for personality. Does this person have a positive attitude, are they excited about hospitality, what is his/her/their energy level? I also look for an entrepreneurial spirit and ambition. I want to hire people who want my job, who want to open their own restaurant. Hiring someone who has their own career aspirations or desire to open their own business should never intimidate you. I like hiring people with entrepreneurial spirit because they will treat our business as their own.

I handle all of the Facilities and Maintenance for our collection of restaurants and hotel, it helps me prioritize all of the work orders I need my engineering team to complete, it allows my management team (both FOH/BOH) to communicate with the engineers, and it allows me to communicate and provide to-do lists to all 110 managers on the fly. It’s super handy and a necessity for keeping my brain organized.

The highlight of my career was opening a 400 person circus tent in the parking lot of our restaurant Tuckers Tavern in LBI during the summer of 2020. It was by far the most challenging mentally and physically on myself and my team. Our team had to erect this tent with 42 picnic tables, server stations, décor, operating supplies, power, lights, POS stations, and a full bar with 40 seats – all socially distanced mind you with “distancing police.” It came together because of the entire team chipping in to make every piece of that happen. Without the effort to get the tent not only functional, but also to run it safely and efficiently was a massive team effort.