The Lagoon amusement park in Farmington, Utah, recently was flooded with patrons all wearing the same white T-shirt that read, “Free Meal”—the everyday slogan for Cafe Rio Mexican Grill, a 16-unit fast-casual chain based in Salt Lake City.
Cafe Rio, with 12 restaurants in Utah, has about 900 employees, but nearly 1,500 showed up for companywide celebration at the amusement park last month. Cafe Rio, which offers a free meal after a customer buys 10, offered a free day at the park to employees and their families.
The chain had help in underwriting the cost—tickets and lunches were about $28 per person—from its corporate sponsor Zion Bank, which also raffled off television sets and iPods. The successful event was one of several efforts by Cafe Rio to retain its work-force, especially in Utah, where the job growth rate is double the unemployment rate, said Tera Sunder, the chain’s chief people officer. Sunder, whose career includes human resources and recruiting positions at Starbucks Coffee Co., T.G.I. Fridays and Brinker International,, reports directly to Bob Nilsen, president and chief executive.
Nilsen, a former Burger King president, purchased the Cafe Rio Mexican Grill chain in 2004 with SKM/Apax Partners.
Why do a free day at the park for so many?
We wanted to do something our employees would not do for themselves and something they would not forget. We had one family that has seven kids, so this was something they might not do. We had people so excited about it. [Employees] were calling, asking, “Can I really bring my family?”I think it was one of the best things we’ve done for them.
What else are you doing to keep employees?
We just completed a recruiting and retention video about why working at Cafe Rio is different. When you are at Cafe Rio, it’s not just a job, it’s a family. We have a scholarship program and an employee assistance loan program. We pay above the minimum wage.
Why the focus on retention?
The employees working for us are the best ever, and we want them to be here a very long time so we have to give them opportunity to grow, to earn more money and to have a great life. And we’re in Utah, which has 2.5-percent unemployment and a 4.4-percent job growth rate. We have to figure something out.