All of us involved with Kellari Taverna are committed to a high level of food quality and hospitality-driven philosophy that is at the core of everything we do.  As in all of our restaurants we do not view the people that come into our restaurant as “customers” or “numbers” but as guests in our home and knock ourselves out to make our guests feel welcome and cared for. 

What we want to create, more specifically at Kellari Taverna is an atmosphere that combines the energy, excitement, entertainment, fun and sophistication of New York.  All combined with a genuine warmth, caring guest service and really terrific food.

At Kellari Taverna we are throwing a party - it’s going to be a very hip and fun party: lots of people coming and going. Yes, we certainly want them to feel at home and to leave feeling really cared for.  During the time our guests are with us, we have to make them feel that they are the only ones at the party that are important to us. Our challenge is to create an individual style of service, so our guests feel genuinely cared for.

Achieving this balance, and making people feel at home in a fast paced, people coming-and-going atmosphere isn’t easy.  We never want our guests to feel ignored, unwelcome or rushed.  This is why we have introduced specific procedures (explained later in this manual) that are designed to help you meet this very challenge: to move people in and out without making them feel rushed and unwelcome.

You are the key.  Regardless of how busy we get or how many other guests are waiting, you have to be the perfect host or hostess: cheery, relaxed, and unflappable.  You set the tone in the way you greet each guest (with a smile and with direct eye contact), the way you take the order (with poise and knowledge), and in the way you move (purposefully but never hurried), and the way you say good-bye. 

In short, you are graceful, sincere, and refined.

We will achieve this if we greet all our guests with a warm and sincere welcome, anticipating guests needs continually through the dining experience, giving a warm fond farewell, and walking our guests to the door the same as you would if you were entertaining in your own home.

As management we embrace our responsibilities to support all staff members and guests equally.  The goal of our leadership style is to liberate you by removing obstacles so you can deliver a warm, sincere, engaging style of service to our guests.

Our objective as a service team is to insure that each guest feels cared for during their dining experience at Kellari Taverna.  This is a great opportunity for all of us.

We believe in providing exceptional service. Our goal is to provide the kind of unique and genuine sort of personal care and attention that our customers will tell stories about. Over time, our customer service should become legendary.

We believe that good enough is not enough. We never stop trying to do it better, no matter how good we are. We constantly strive to "raise the bar."

We believe in honesty and trust. We work to build trust with others in each and every transaction and interaction. We recognize that honesty and trust form the bond that holds organizations and relationships together.

We believe in the ongoing training and development of our people. We see it as a worthy investment in the future of the restaurant and as a way of enabling our people to achieve their potential in whatever they do.

We believe our continued success depends on teamwork. We know that great achievements are only possible from helping and respecting each other.

We believe in doing business in a professional and orderly manner. We take great pride in having good systems, standardized procedures, and being organized.

We believe in being responsible to others and to ourselves. We do what we say we are going to do when we say we are going to do it. We believe in personal accountability and avoid blaming others when things don’t turn out as planned.

I look forward to working with all of you.

Yours,

Stavros Aktipis