As construction wraps up on a small shopping center at the corner of Ada Drive SE and Forest Hill Ave. SE, one of the new commercial tenants has plans to fill 25 job positions in the next week.
Manna Café is "a family-oriented, faith-based breakfast and lunch place," which has created some 30 full- and part-time jobs, says General Manager Mike McKay. Twenty-five of those positions are still open and the new eatery's leaders plan a job fair on Dec. 9 and 10 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the restaurant, 820 Forest Hill Ave. SE.
Job openings include chef positions, hosts/hostesses, servers, and dishwashers. Interested individuals should bring a résumé and be prepared for an onsite interview. Anyone interested in a job but unable to attend the job fare should send a résumé and cover letter to
[email protected].
"Manna Café will be a little more upscale than the general breakfast places in town," McKay says. McKay, a veteran restaurateur, got his experience working at Uccello's, followed by five years in management at Charlie's Crab. "Manna Café will be a fairly classy place, but will be very family friendly."
Local entrepreneurs Craig and Julie Witcher own the restaurant. The name "Manna Café" is biblically based and coincides with their Christian outreach organization,
Manna Ministries.
The menu features traditional breakfast fare such as eggs benedict, pancakes, omelets, French toast, fresh-out-of-the-oven English muffins, and bacon and sausage -- but with a twist: Manna Café will smoke its own meats in-house and will make its own sausages. As much as possible, meats, fruits, and vegetables will be sourced from local farms.
Lunch temptations include a variety of fresh salads, pulled pork sandwiches, hamburgers made from house-ground beef, and a selection of soups made fresh daily.
McKay has his eye on a Dec. 19 opening date (6 a.m. for early risers), but says that day could shift a bit depending on construction.
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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