For years, my wife, Anna and I were a two-person team running a Michelin-starred restaurant called Take Root in Brooklyn, New York. I had the rare and only now do I realize, valuable experience to have worked every position in a restaurant solo. The choice to run our restaurant this way was ours alone and I am so grateful we did, because I have a deep understanding of customer service and the work that needs to be done to make customer-employee relations better.
The highs and lows we experienced while owning and operating Take Root were largely due to these customer interactions. There are too many to mention, but a few stand out significantly, and in the wake of restaurant harassment stories, Anna and I recalled many unsettling events that occurred while working at Take Root. None of these were perpetrated by a power-hungry male owner, or a inappropriately behaving chef; the offenders were …