Restaurant Name: Ricci's Italian Restaurant
Owner: Edith
Location: Bellflower, CA
Number of Seats: Interior seating 60, patio seating 65. Total: 125
Busiest Shift: Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Staff Breakdown: FOH: 2-3 Servers, 1 Cashier/Expediter, 1 Manager, BOH: 3 Line Cooks, 1 Dishwasher
Ricci’s Italian Restaurant is a Downtown Bellflower institution that has been feeding families since 1941. It’s the kind of place where grandparents brought their kids, those kids grew up and brought their own children, and regulars still walk in expecting to be greeted by name. The vibe is casual and homey; an “Italian Cheers,” serving comfort-food staples locals swear by: lasagna, fettuccine Alfredo, pizzas and calzones, along with house-made touches like scratch sauces, dressings, and in-house dough. It’s not just a restaurant; it’s a community landmark with a fiercely loyal customer base that feels like it owns the place, which is sometimes a good thing, and sometimes…not so much.
Two years ago, Edith, a sales and account manager, took a massive leap of faith, leaving her corporate career to pursue a dream of owning a restaurant. A trip to Italy with her husband proved transformative. Inspired by the flavors, aromas, and culture of Italian cuisine, she decided to make the dream a reality. With the help of a business broker, Edith discovered Ricci’s was for sale. Though the product and legacy were strong, the broker strongly advised against the purchase because there were no systems: orders were still being written by hand, with no operational structure in place. Against all professional advice, Edith fell in love with the restaurant and cashed out her 401(k), investing her personal savings into the business. Almost immediately, she realized she hadn’t just bought a restaurant… she’d bought a full-time responsibility.
Running Ricci’s quickly became an all-consuming struggle. Edith implemented the systems she could on her own, but she’s painfully aware that she’s learning on the fly. With no prior restaurant experience, she’s building the plane while flying it, and her kitchen staff isn’t making it any easier. Many don’t respect her authority or adhere to her systems, often ignoring procedures and going rogue with recipes and operations. Chefs, cooks, and servers believe they know better than the owner, and everyone runs the restaurant their own way, creating constant conflict and chaos.
In the kitchen, food inconsistency is rampant. Pizza dough and prep items aren’t made on schedule, leaving the staff unprepared for service. Recipes aren’t followed, inventory isn’t tracked properly, and the fallout hits customers hard. Ticket times regularly stretch past an hour, dishes run out mid-service, and exhausted staff send out subpar food, resulting in bad reviews that undo the night’s successes. Edith finds herself comping meals, discounting checks, and discovering spoiled food thrown away without being logged. At the same time, she personally runs to the store to replace items that the kitchen failed to prep or communicate. Every attempt to scale the business only exposes how fragile the operation truly is.
Out front, the problems continue. Service can be slow and inattentive, side work is ignored, and gossip and drama run rampant. But that’s not even the worst of it, as Edith remains haunted by a past theft ring she uncovered! After noticing suspicious behavior, Edith discovered that money was being manipulated and access was being abused. She made the difficult decision to wipe-house, firing nearly the entire front-of-house staff to protect the business. To this day, Edith remains aware of petty theft, and the fear that her staff might be stealing is a constant worry.
Edith believes Ricci’s becomes an entirely different restaurant the moment she’s not there. When she’s present, staff follow rules and procedures; the second she leaves, standards slip, corners are cut, and the business quietly bleeds. She’s exhausted, frightened, and honest about the toll this has taken on her life and marriage. Her worst-case scenario is terrifyingly real: closing the doors, losing her retirement, and failing publicly in a town that’s watched this restaurant for generations. Edith feels Ricci’s is at a breaking point. Either she takes back control of her kitchen, earns the respect of her staff, and installs the systems needed to survive, or she watches her money, time, and energy evaporate. She desperately needs help to turn the restaurant around and prove to herself, and everyone else, that she has what it takes to save it.
Issues:
No Consistent BOH System: Prep schedules, station setup, closing procedures, and “who does what” aren’t locked in, leading to chaos, mistakes, and confusion.
Recipe Non-compliance (“Going Rogue”): Staff cook from memory or change recipes (pizza dough, Alfredo, pizzas), causing inconsistent food quality. They decide they prefer their recipe and go behind Edith’s back with it.
Inventory & Prep Tracking Gaps: Items aren’t counted/recorded (calamari, produce, chicken, dough), so the restaurant runs out mid-service and guests wait.
Pizza Dough Failures: Dough isn’t made/rested on schedule; staff “patch” dough last minute (combining small dough balls), and product suffers.
Long Ticket Times & Comping: Busy nights push ticket times past an hour; Edith comps/discounts meals, destroying already-thin margins.
Quality Breakdown Under Pressure: Undercooked/dry chicken, burned/soggy pizzas, missing seasoning, especially late in the shift when staff are tired.
Cleanliness & Closing Procedures Ignored: Rags/aprons left improperly (wet towels sealed and mildewing); procedures are explained, then immediately disregarded.
Theft History: Edith discovered a prior theft ring (servers and one manager) manipulating sections, transfers, and permissions, prompting a complete wipe/termination.
Ongoing Small-Scale Comping/Stealing: Beer poured for friends, overpours on wine/tap, “mistakes” that look like skimming, all of which are hard to track in real time.
Weak Management: Patty was hired to relieve the pressure and Burden from Edith. But at this point, Edith hasn’t seen any positive changes resulting from hiring Patty.
Slow Service & Inattentiveness: Guests sometimes have to announce themselves to servers, servers chat instead of running service, and more often than not side work isn’t getting done.
FOH Drama: Scheduling, tip complaints, not doing prep work, resentment between day/night staff, emotional blowups.
Lack Of Respect: Edith feels dismissed because she’s a woman and new to the industry. The staff listen to her husband more than her!
Legacy Pushback, aka “customers own the place!” Regulars resist changes (“What are you doing to Ricci’s?!”), making modernization risky and emotionally loaded.
Turnover Risk: Good chefs leave because the kitchen feels chaotic.
Zero Consequences: Edith is forced into disciplinarian/HR mode (write-ups, policing) but doesn’t have time, so enforcement is inconsistent at best and non-existent at worst.