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For Sara, the dreams of food began at age five, when she surprised her parents with breakfast in bed served on a silver tray at dawn. While the coffee was "putrid" and the eggs "just okay," the young girl's yearning to 'serve' began to stew inside. Sara spent her formal years of education honing a double major in Communications and Psychology (Western Michigan University, BAS, 1992). Today Sara is recognized as the 'ever in control' girl who 'always has a plan and sticks to it.'
After college, Sara found herself idling away the afternoon in a third-generation family-owned restaurant in Nantucket, entitled Vincent's Family Italian. After watching the ebb and flow of the dining room and meticulously taking notes on what was wrong, Sara (with no formal restaurant training or experience) approached the owner and offered her service as a hostess.
Owner John Arno reluctantly 'allowed' Sara a trial run, only to find her back a month later requesting a position in the kitchen. According to John, "No women are allowed in my kitchen – never have been, never will be!" Sara was intrigued and, as always, finagled her way back there and, after a grueling two-day test period, became the first woman cook. The rest is history...
As her friend, boss and mentor, John took Sara under his wing and brought her with him to open his seasonal restaurant in Mt. Snow, VT, where she handled both kitchen and front of house responsibilities. So impressed with her work, John encouraged Sara to attend the Culinary Institute of America, where she graduated with an Associates Degree of Culinary Arts in 1996. During her program, Sara worked nights at the four-star La Cremaillere in Bedford, CT.
In October 1996, Sara started with Lettuce Entertain You's (LEYE), Shaw's Crab House as the number four Manager. Sara was named General Manager of Shaw's Chicago in June 2000; and Divisional Supervisor of Shaw's Division in December 2003, overseeing two Shaw's, and VTK.
When asked what she enjoys most about working with the Shaw's Division, this tireless workaholic responds by asking, "Do you have enough paper?" Pinned down to the 'top five' reasons, she cites, "Dedication to our people; The marketing of the brand; The sourcing out of food; Large volume; and Creating a dining experience customers will not forget."
A native of Kalamazoo, MI, Sara and her family divide their time between their homes in Chicago and Michigan. | 