What is the name of the business you are nominating?
The Lodge
Who are the owner(s) and/or principals in this company?
Erica Degrandchamp and Meredith Sherrod
Business Contact Information
10336 Blue Star Highway
South Haven, MI 49090
2698723111
How many people work at the company you are nominating?
43
Tell us the story behind the nominated company. What does it do, and what sets them apart from other companies in the region?
The Lodge is a woman owned business. I met Erica and Meredith when they hired me at Captain Lou’s over 6 years ago! They have such a drive and passion for creating foods, serving the community, and passing their knowledge of this industry to each person they employ. I followed them to The Lodge because they know how to run a business and they treat employees like family. That is what sets them apart from any other company/restaurant around.
In your own words, why do you think this company deserves to be declared to be one of the 20 Best Places to Work in Michigan’s Great Southwest?
The Lodge deserves to be in the top 20 Best Places to Work because they have truly created such a positive and welcoming work environment for our employees. Every employee is treated like family and we are all taught that we are a TEAM, we all help each other out, no matter the task.
What makes workers proud to say they work there, and keeps them a part of the team?
Everybody is positive, welcoming, and all willing to help one another out. Its truely a team environment that you will not find with other employers. Every new employee says they’ve bever worked in such a positive work place. It makes it easy to come to work in such a tough industry.
Let’s pretend you’re writing a review for Google or Indeed. Give us your best recommendation for the nominated company that would make the rest of us wish we worked there, too.
I cannot say enough about this place! The Lodge of South Haven is a fantastic restaurant just a few minutes from downtown. The social media pictures of all the food and drinks really draws people in! The Lodge covers all your needs & cravings! Whether it be sweet or salty; vegan or vegetarian; or a little bit of everything! The Lodge has you covered with a wide variety menu including their specials board that rotates new creations every Monday!
What three key words best describe why this company is a Best Places to Work caliber company?
1. Positive
2. Fast Pace
3. Inclusive
As a Best Places to Work company “Super Hero,” what are the two most magical “Super Powers” this company seems to have on a day-to-day basis? (i.e., Ability to read minds, fly, invisibility, etc) And why?
– Super Speed because from day 1 of training, employees are taught that no drink goes empty, we move as fast and effectively as possible to provide prompt and amazing service!
– Ability to Fly because we fly out so many take out food orders per day its like a well oiled machine at this point. It has come a long way since the first day of opening 2 years ago…and we are now proudly one of the only restaurants in town that offer takeout all day everyday all year, open to close. THAT is impressive.
Tell us about the leadership of the nominated company and what they do in order to:
A] Keep spirits and motivation high? Always offer assistance to employees, and try their best to cator to each employees sxheduling needs.
B] Keep innovation and fresh ideas advancing? They often ask us as bartenders to help come up with upcoming drink lists, to try to make beverages that fit the season we are currently in. They do the same with a lot of the cooks, asking them to help come up with one of the specials for specials board that week.
C] Keep communications open? We have a groupchat for the workplace where our schedule is sent out 2 weeks in advance. It gives us all a place to communicate whether it be trading a shift, saying happy birthday to a coworker, or even just sending a funny picture to everyone.
Explain a specific “wow!” moment in this company’s history that is virtually “Hall of Fame” or “Best Practices” worthy, as an example to other companies in the region.
I have worked at The Lodge since Day 1. My WOW moment would have to be breaking our sales record out of the park this past July 4th weekend. We worked our tails off endlessly 4 days straight and kept service quality high, food quality high, and helped each other through it along the way!
Best Places to Work have a reputation for not only working hard, but also for playing hard.
A] How does the nominated company honor or reward success? A lot of the time a raise is often offered for employees who do the overtime and put in the extra work/effort. Other times we celebrate a lot of in and out of work successes with cake brought in by the bosses!
B] How does the nominated company socialize as a team? The Lodge has an employee appreciation party at the bowling alley or right at The Lodge itself and we cater in food and have karaoka so everyone can have time off for one day to hangout as regular people! We also have an employee christmas party as well!
C] How does the nominated company get involved in community events? The Lodge often does fundraisers for local charities, giveback days, we also did a “thank you to our veterans” day where each vet gets a free meal that day!
D] How does the nominated company celebrate life? The Lodge is, like I’ve said, so supportive and positive. One of our employees who is now pregnant had all of our staff over for her baby shower! This company is supportive and welcoming of life and living it to the fullest, and teaches us to work as hard as we can to live the life we want to live
What one thing is special about your nominated company that most people in the community have no idea actually happens there, but should be shouted from the rooftops because it’s that cool?
I think it’s pretty cool that one of our owners is at The Lodge working at all times along with a manage. They help with the dishes, cooking, and running food when needed. You couldn’t ask for more involved bosses than we have at The Lodge!
Give us three employee perks or benefits that you think make the company you have nominated worthy of a Best Places to Work trophy?
1. Apparel Discounts
2. Amazing coworkers who turn into friends
3. Regulars that come in every single day
Anything else you’d like to mention about this company, its’ leadership, etc?
I think it is an awesome achievement for these two women, Erica and Meredith, to have bought a run down bar and turned it into such a successful business in just over a year. We grow each day and learn new things from each other and I don’t think that goes unnoticed. Knowing the two for awhile, I know the kind of people they are, and how amazing their drive and work ethic is…it’s just great to see to amazing women conquering this industry and always wanting to be better and wanting their employees to grow and be better!
