Year in Review with Brothers Pizza

This is extra long but I have posted lately about my Pollyanna Attitude and now that 2013 is over and 2014 is a new year with a new outlook I thought you might want to read the truth about last year and the struggles and triumphs.  I think I have grown more as a leader and as a person in the past 13 months and may God get all the glory becuase without Him, I can truthfully say I would not have been here today to write this blog. 

In November of 2012, I was having lunch with a single mom at Brothers Pizza. While there I was talking with management.  I wanted to talk with them about creating a partnership where we (Against the Grain's 180 Program) could bring in clients to work and train to help them get back into the world of work.  I was quickly met with "that would be a great idea BUT, the Pizza place is for sale".

I called my husband and he called the owner, (Rob used to work there when the economy had started to tank). The meeting was set.  We started to pray and we sat down with our Board of Directors.

Within 2 months Against the Grain was now the proud owners of a Pizza Restaurant.

December 30th we have a staff meeting and explain what will be taking place on January 1st. One teen is playing on his phone all meeting long and is overheard after the meeting stating "does this mean now we have to work"? He no showed, no called all that week, we figured he quit".

January 1st  came and we walked in.  Staff standing everywhere. No one in the restaurant but a full staff, we quickly explain "you have time to lean, you have time to clean".  The store started to take shape after a week of DEEP cleaning. 

One day we walked in unannounced and had a female who was pregnant doing her community service...she was cleaning and items had to be moved.  There was a very able bodied teenager working also, his back was to the restaurant and he was watching TV.  Needless to say, he did not have a job much longer, he did not like the fact that we told him if he was on the clock he would be working NOT watching TV. 

This last year had many more downs than ups.  I was going through the journal I started keeping 9 days into owning the restaurant.

January 9th says: Lord I am starting this in Jan 9 because the waves are getting harder and faster. I am drowning and I need you to hold me please. I feel like I could quit swimming at anytime, give up and just drown.

January 10.... You covered me with angles so that they took the blows and protected me from the rushing waves.  Any surfer would have been ecstatic to ride the waves that have hit me over the past 10 days. But Lord, You are the Great I Am and You came to my rescue when I finally called.

January 11...Lord did the books yesterday and we need a miracle.  This restaurant actually costing lots of money.  We thought it was a self sustaining restaurant.....this first month is killing me so I lay it down at Your feet and ask for You,my Daddy to take care of it please.

January 12.... Lord thank you for showing us a vision of what can happen at the Pizza place.

January 14... Oh Lord....today I am NOT going to look at the waves. I am going to look at the finished project. ...Lord you are greater than the waves.  Thank you Lord for the waves obeying you.

My prayers everyday were of Help... Lord what did I do.... Also my not so favorite saying became "we'll just figure it out". But then along with I'm drowning, the prayers were thank you for another day.  Thank you for this person or that person being able to get a  job.  Thank you for placing this person at our front door they just needed to feel validated today. 

So fast forward to 2014 and my self reflection of my Pollyanna View of life.  I create most of my drama in my life by not clearly thinking things through all the way.  I see in my head how perfect it should be but I don't allow myself to see the what if this happens or what if that happens.

Running a restaurant is a full time job. The thing is that neither Rob nor I even after putting in Thousands and I mean thousands of hours...have never been paid a penny.  Our staff gets paid, we pay our suppliers and the first year we had to repair:  the air conditioning 3x's (the last time was the biggest expense we had to replace major parts) we had to fix our walk-in refrigerator  3x's ( the first was an easy fix, the second was an all day affair with multiple phone calls and trips to get the parts to make it work). The third time one of the parts under warranty was faulty so we just paid for labor but again very costly. Then two of the three refrigeration units we have up front went out.  We pay over $1000 a month for utilities not including rent.

I say this for a couple of reasons:  one we have had many people say things to us in regards to "we'll you sure are making big bucks now", or "I guess you won't have to worry about getting paid".  I wanted to set that straight first of all.  And second of all we are here to help people find dignity in themselves via the 180 Program and work.  Yes some of the people that come through our doors may not have the best education nor up bringing...but if Jesus can die for them then I can help by giving them job skills and self dignity to start the process of re-entering society.  Last year just at the pizzeria we had 35 people go through the program and 34 have jobs and 4 have promotions and keys to stores. 

We have lost customers and we have heard things like "they employ jail birds so we will NEVER eat there again."  This hurts me because without people giving people a second, third or fourth chance.....we will be a sad excuse for a society.  

We started Against the Grain as a call on our lives to help people right here in the US, starting in Middle TN find dignity and find self worth Jesus style. We are Stateside Missionaries and rely on donations to Against the Grain to provide for salaries and the running of programs. 

Thank you to everyone who have and continue to support the work of AtG via the 180 Program, Brothers Pizza or tutoring a child.

If you would like more information about becoming involved at the Restaurant, teaching the 180 Program, becoming an accountability partner or tutoring a child please contact us:  info@atghope.org

Brothers Pizza 615-791-8383

AtG office 615-791-7885