Fatz Cafe
Fatz Cafe’s Rick “chief” Ward Receives 2008 Hospitality Honor
February 20, 2008
Lexington, S.C. – The Hospitality Association of South Carolina named Rick “Chief” Ward, an associate at Fatz Cafe of Lexington, as the “Front of the House Employee” of the year during the Stars of South Carolina’s Hospitality Industry Awards Luncheon on Monday, Feb. 18, 2008.
Ward joined the Fatz Cafe family three years ago, following a move to the Columbia area at the start of his retirement from Jim Walter Homes, a company he was employed with for 35 years. Enjoying his new retirement, Ward became a regular guest and a familiar, friendly face with an unforgettable personality at Fatz Cafe of Lexington. Fatz Cafe’s operating partner at the time, Brian Hood, knew he wanted Ward’s gift of hospitality to be exemplified in his restaurant, so Ward was invited to join the Fatz Cafe family. Ward now holds the position loosely titled “host,” but more appropriately “public relations ambassador” for Fatz Cafe of Lexington.
Ward’s recognition as a star of the South Carolina hospitality industry is directly related to his philosophy. “There are hundreds of restaurants with great food, but it is the people who make the difference,” said Ward. “My goal is to make everyone feel special.” “At Fatz Cafe, our associates strive to make our guests feel right at home,” said Steve Bruce, president of Cafe Enterprises. “Chief is the gold standard of hospitality. He’s a valuable asset to the Lexington team, a favorite among our guests and is very deserving of this honor.”
Cafe Enterprises, the parent company of Fatz Cafe, operates restaurants in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee and will open its first restaurant in Virginia in March 2008. Home to World Famous Calabash Chicken®, Fatz Cafe serves classic American fare with a southern influence and boasts a relaxed, attractive atmosphere to complement friendly service and genuine hospitality.
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About Cafe Enterprises:
The first Fatz Cafe opened in a converted fruit shed in Spartanburg, S.C., in November 1988. Cafe Enterprises Inc. was formed to serve as the parent company to the new restaurant and the others that would follow. Headquartered in Taylors, S.C., Cafe Enterprises now owns and operates 41 Fatz Cafe restaurants throughout the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee, and employs more than 3,400 associates. Fatz Cafe, ranked #52 in the 2007 South Carolina 100SM list of the state’s largest privately owned companies, has also been named one of the nation’s top 400 restaurant concepts by Restaurants & Institutions magazine for the past five years, most recently ranking #282. In 2007, Technomic named Fatz Cafe as one of the “Top 100 Emerging Chain Concepts in America.” For more information, visit www.fatzcafe.com.
