WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT


Open for Business: Atria Senior Living Employee Café Opens to the Public for Research, Training


By Heather Loveridge T


o the casual observer, it looks like just a restaurant. But looks can be deceiving. Haymarket


Bistro in


Louisville, Ky. is actually a test kitchen and training facility housed on the ground floor of Atria Senior Living’s headquarters. It’s where Atria develops, proves, and refines new concepts; concepts that help their senior living communities run a better business and provide a better experience to residents. For Atria’s leadership team, it’s about


looking ahead, becoming more creative and efficient, and being very intentional and forward thinking about how they approach their culinary program and offerings. Spear- headed by Ronda Watson, Atria’s senior vice president of culinary and Engage Life®


,


Atria now has over 30 buildings with bistros. “The bistro and test kitchen here at our


headquarters are really about cultivating leadership and innovation for our culinary staff in our communities, and ultimately,


providing the best possible food experience for our residents,” Ronda Watson said. “In doing so, that allows our communities to remain competitive at a local level. The bistro and test kitchen help us stay on our ‘A game’, whether it’s creating and testing new recipes, or refining processes to stay efficient—whatever the case might be.” Atria already had a test kitchen planned


for the ground floor and decided to move the cafe, which was originally housed on an-


ISSUE 4 2017 / ARGENTUM.ORG 23


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