Front of the House
Raising the Bar for Service
CHARLIE THE JONES ASSEMBLY
Carlos, or Charlie as he’s known, is the front of house/associate manager for one of the most welcoming restaurants in Oklahoma City, serving people amazing food in a comfortable atmosphere. Charlie seeks to elevate the quality of service provided to The Jones Assembly guests with his charm, approachability, and a warm attitude towards everyone he encounters.
“My management philosophy goes hand-and-hand with hospitality – I grew up religious and one of the main things I took away from it is, ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ so I apply that idea to anything that I can.”
Charlie moved to Oklahoma City from Los Angeles when he was 12 years old. An immigrant to the United States, he’s come to love Oklahoma City.
“I love what Oklahoma is – a lot of people say things like ‘Oh we forgot we were in Oklahoma’ when they are dining with us, and I know they mean it as a compliment, but we want people to know they are in Oklahoma. That this is what Oklahoma dining can be! We want to set the bar very high for this to be what people can expect with hospitality and service. We don’t want you to escape Oklahoma; this is what it is and what it can be.”
Charlie worked at The Melting Pot and Cattleman’s Steakhouse before coming to Jones Assembly.
“When I got the opportunity to wait tables at Cattleman’s, a staple restaurant in Oklahoma, I did that for six months and was given a chance to manage...there I learned a lot of great things like how to handle volume and large staff.”
He was looking for his next move when a friend turned him on to a new restaurant opening in Film Row called The Jones Assembly.
“I applied in person, met the Director of Operations, and just clicked with many of the people that were applying.”
He started as a server, but his personality and hard work helped him move up quickly into his current role now as associate manager.
“Jones Assembly is one of the most progressive companies and restaurant I’ve worked for...they are very accepting and loving.”
It’s easy to see how the concept and philosophies behind the company are carried into the dining room.
“The term we use in the restaurant industry is ‘front-of-house’ as we’re known, we try to emphasize home, people aren’t just customers, they’re guests, they’re people that also work hard for their money and we’re going to treat people that way…come in here, we’ll welcome you, let you put your feet up, relax and give you the attention and experience you came here for, not just food.”
If you are looking for good food, The Jones Assembly certainly has plenty of it, one of Charlie’s favorites being the Sugo, a braised pork ragu with housemade tagliatelle, ricotta, and fresh herbs.
“To me this dish is the definition of comfort food because I’m a sucker for pasta, I love Italian, I love pork more than I do beef…it’s perfection, it’s like eating a poem. If a poem was a dish, it would be Sugo.”
> Find Charlie and very delicious and edible poetry at The Jones Assembly, 901 West Sheridan Avenue, Oklahoma City
JENNA THE PRESS
With its mismatched chairs and comfort foods that range from classic chicken fried steak to vegan nachos, The Press evokes a new Oklahoma standard, one of inclusivity and genuine compassion, a place where everyone can be themselves.
"The general idea in opening The Press was to offer southwest southern comfort food, but like behind it, I think the overall idea for all their [owners Joey Morris, John Harris, Cody Rowan] restaurants are that they want people to have a good time and to make an inclusive space people can hang out in with their friends or their family,” Jenna Lewis, Bar Manager and Associate Manager explained. “The Press is a place of kindness, humanity, and togetherness.”
Jenna Lewis has been an integral part of making people feel welcome at The Press since its opening more than a year ago.
"For me, when I go out to eat or if I go to a bar, it's because of how it makes me feel, not just the food.”
Jenna started working in restaurants at the age of fifteen and didn’t necessarily plan to make a career of it.
"I'm from Southwest Oklahoma and I was working in this little burger place there. It happened to just be what I did, I was involved in like the punk and hardcore scene for a long time, so it was an easy job to have when you want to travel or go places. I ended up working at The Wedge downtown and that's where I met Joey, John, and Cody."
Jenna left The Wedge to work with the team that started The Mule. She worked as a bartender and eventually became a trusted manager, so when they started working on The Press, they asked Jenna to help them open it. Jenna humbly credits her management style to the kind-heartedness of the owners at The Press.
"I'd always felt like other places judged me for my aesthetic and thought that just because I worked for them, I should be giving my life to them – like just because I'm waiting tables. Joey, Cody, and John have always supported me and shown me kindness and how to be a good leader that way."
The restaurant industry can be a gendered environment, and Jenna as manager tries to make sure The Press is a place people can work and feel respected without having to fit into a particular mold.
"We all really want the best for people and that's how I feel about every person that works here. We have so many creative people that work here and I think that we really want to facilitate a place for them to feel comfortable to make a good living and still have time to do things that they can't make a living with yet… and I think that's what makes it feel different here," Jenna says. "Regardless of how long they work here, we want them to be successful."
When Jenna is not helping to run The Press, she takes time to restore herself.
"I'm lucky enough to have family that lives out in the country and I'm a very earth-based person, so on my days off I try to go out and be in nature, that helps me a lot. I also love walking my dogs and just having dogs. I take tinctures to calm myself down after a shift since I don't drink, like lemon balm and Dram Apothecary CBD tinctures...we actually carry their CBD Lemongrass Sparkling Water here now."
As far as dining out goes, even when she’s not at work, Jenna chooses to dine at The Press. The Breakfast Hash sub sweet potatoes and pretty much everything with mashed potatoes are her go-to orders.
"I also love Pho Ca Dao. I end up going there like three times a week and then there's a restaurant that's in Tecumseh called the Farmer's Daughter and it's like a really small little place with cakes, pies, sandwiches, bar-b-que on Fridays and it's run by I think just one woman, but it's very good and it's my favorite place to go."
It’s clear how much Jenna really loves Oklahoma and that she’s proud to be a part of a place that feeds not just the bodies but also the souls of people that live here.
"I have traveled to many other places and I think that there's something to be said for staying here and trying as much as you can to make it better and make it a kinder place to live...the most important things in the world to me are my community and being kind. I think that regardless of what you do and what your line of work is, you have to implement that into everything."
> Find Jenna and the soul in southwestern food at The Press, 1610 North Gatewood Avenue, Oklahoma City
ANDY SUSHI NEKO
Sushi Neko is one of the premier sushi restaurants in Oklahoma, established in 1997. They have been serving sushi for more than twenty years now. Since then, Oklahomans have come to embrace sushi and with that, the richness of other cultures.
Andy, relief manager, head trainer, and head waiter at Sushi Neko, is familiar with bringing excellent service and explains that Sushi Neko provides an inviting atmosphere for guests by training their employees well. They are equipped with knowledge of their menu items and have high standards for service.
“A multitude of dining areas also help to make guests comfortable,” Andy explains. “With options that have a different feel to accommodate customers’ different preferences, we have regular tables, booths, a sushi bar, a liquor bar, a tatami area where you take off your shoes and sit on special tatami mats, and even a private dining room.”
Andy came to the U.S. in 2002. An industrial engineer from Indonesia, he started looking at other options here after realizing his degree didn’t transfer.
“So either I had to go to back to school again or just make do with what I had at that time. Since my wife and I just moved here, we didn’t want to be in debt right away, in this new frontier, so we chose the latter option.”
“When I was looking for food industry or sales jobs that were closed on Sunday, Sushi Neko was on the top of the list. Even now, there are only a handful of companies who do that. It gives their employees a day off for the Lord’s day.”
Both Andy and his wife became U.S. citizens in 2007 and are both proud to be Americans and Oklahomans benefitting from a better quality of life here. For him and his family, the church is an important part of Andy’s life, and he feels it continues to lead him to good things in his life and to be a more joyful and appreciative person.
“There are a few groups of people and places that taught me to be joyful and share that joy, and also to be strong and keep moving forward the best we can. Places like the churches we’ve gone to, FPC Edmond, Stonegate Church, Family Fun and Fitness,” Andy says. “I have friends who are genuinely kind and passionate at what they do and willing to help others all the time, even though they are facing hardship too, in life. All those people truly inspire me and made me who I am and help me do what I do right now.”
Certainly joy and generosity is a trait Andy tries to share with all the guests he meets at Sushi Neko as well as the employees he works with.
“So the key for customers’ true joy and happiness is that we listen, process the information properly, then give our best suggestion genuinely or passionately just like as if we are giving the suggestion to our good friend, honorable guest, boss, etc.”
He takes much care in giving guests recommendations and asking them a series of questions. After about thirty seconds of conversation, Andy feels sure he’s led them to make selections they’ll be pleased with. If a guest really wants to know what Andy’s favorite dish is, he usually suggests the tasty and crowd-pleasing Cupid Roll.
“It has tempura shrimp and jalapeno inside, wrapped with soy paper outside the rice. We cut the rolls and place them facing up, then we put a pile of roasted scallop and baked crawfish on top, blanket them with crunchy tempura flakes, green onion for freshness, and home-made eel sauce. Boom Shakalaka!”
> Find Andy and a variety of rolls and recommendations at Sushi Neko, 4318 North Western Avenue, Oklahoma City
