Bar Louie Unveils Leading-Edge General Manager Benefits Program

Some call it “work hard, play hard,” but Bar Louie's employment philosophy goes a step further—the company believes in balance and that good, hard work should never go unnoticed.

That’s why it announced the launch of a leading-edge "General Manager Benefits Program." Serving as a long-term solution to an evolved employment industry, Bar Louie’s exclusive benefits for general managers focus on retaining current talent for life.

“As a result of the pandemic, people are rethinking what they want to do with their lives,” says Bar Louie CEO Tom Fricke. “Bar Louie understands that our employees have lives outside of work, and we want to address the stigma that restaurants are a labor-intensive industry that leaves little time outside of the day-to-day operations. This isn’t a hiring campaign – this is about transforming the culture of our industry.”

At the time of hire, Bar Louie’s general managers are now eligible for a three-week sabbatical every three years of service, continuing education support, an annual vacation subsidy, performance bonuses, a $500 quarterly wellness allowance to use toward services like gym memberships or childcare and more. As general managers gain tenure with the brand, they’ll accrue more benefits with the ability to choose between profit sharing bonuses or forgo closing shifts that end at 2 a.m. to create more flexibility in their nightly schedules.

Once leaders have either been in the general manager role for three or more years with Bar Louie, or their bar location generates $4.5 million or more in annual sales revenue, they’ll qualify for the executive general manager position. As executive general managers establish themselves as the productive, proficient leaders they’ve worked to become, Bar Louie believes their benefits and work schedule should only continue to reflect that. Further tenure will be rewarded with greater profit sharing opportunities and work schedule flexibility.

“Bar Louie is proud of our eclectic workforce, and we have always embraced the uniqueness of our employees,” Fricke says. “You can already be whoever you want to be at Bar Louie. But for our employees to reach their full potential, we need to provide them with incentives that allow them to be their best selves. General managers can focus on their families with no closing shifts, they can take a sabbatical or work a flex week, and we’re prioritizing their health and wellness by contributing to the associated costs. We’re also covering vacation—not only do we want our general managers to take time off, but we also want to pay for it! We look forward to rewarding the hard work we see day in and day out across our collection of neighborhood bars.”