WebstaurantStore

“When I started to think about where I had a good year or a bad year, won or lost, had success or failure, I was left asking the more fundamental question, where did I add value? I liked this angle because the outputs are not always in our control, but our personal inputs usually are. It is hard to imagine living with regret if we are confident that we have done our best to add value to the various circles we are involved in.”     Gene Clark, CEO, shares more on where he’s seen the Clark Associates family of companies add value to their coworkers, vendors, customers, and the community. Read his full 2024 letter below. https://lnkd.in/eXc-D4Yp 

Congratulations to Adam Weitzel-Leishman, Director of Operations - Southeast, on his 10-year work anniversary! Learn more about his time with us below.    ▪ What has motivated you to stay at the company for so many years?  Until now, I've never had the same position/title/responsibilities for longer than a few years at Clark. The problem-solving nature of these roles and the company's growth has meant that I have always felt intellectually challenged. The company's growth has provided me with many opportunities, including a couple of relocations – which I am extremely grateful for. I also work with a group of very talented people that I've been fortunate to learn from and build great relationships with over the years, including my own leadership. ▪ What advice would you give to new employees just starting at WebstaurantStore?  I love this question, and I have been asked it dozens of times by new employees in our distribution centers. I tell them to follow the three traits of Patrick Lencioni's "Ideal Team Player.” Be Humble, be Hungry and be Smart (emotionally intelligent). Being growth-oriented, listening to and adapting to feedback, and having the ability to work as a team with anyone is essential for success, regardless of the role or area you are in. ▪ What projects or initiatives have you been involved in that have been particularly meaningful to you?  There are so many to count that I wouldn't feel good about just naming a few. Web truly walks the walk when it comes to "Embracing an Entrepreneurial Spirit.” Since I started as a Forklift operator in Lancaster PA, we have been encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions that have affected much more than our individual roles/departments That sentiment hasn't changed in the years that I have spent here, and it's that engagement that drives us forward. 

Happy National Food Truck Day! Food trucks are a summer staple, and this video gives a behind-the-scenes look into what goes into running one. We sat down with four local food truck owners to get their tips and tricks for starting a successful food truck. The local businesses were Lancaster Burger Co, Dough Heads Waffles (owned and operated by Clark Associates employee Drew Cordell), Lickity Split, and Mara-Leo's. Their key takeaways: ▪ The most important element you’ll need to figure out is funding for your truck with a business plan for a loan and fundraising. ▪ You’ll need to apply for the appropriate licenses, starting by calling your local jurisdiction for directions. ▪ Choosing your truck is the next major hurdle, from transforming a pre-existing vehicle or starting from scratch. ▪ At the end of the day, the food truck community is there to support you instead of competing with you. They can be a valuable resource as you get started. Learn more in our full article here: https://lnkd.in/eauB4_yn

Meet the remainder of our Summer 2024 Interns! These interns are in various departments including Customer Solutions, Logistics, Order Optimization, Content, Warehouse Operations, and IT. We’re excited to see what they accomplish during their time with us.  

David Groff, Chief Operating Officer & President of WebstaurantStore, celebrated his 20th anniversary with the company in May. He has been with the company since the very beginning, as 2024 is the company’s 20th anniversary as well, so he has seen WebstaurantStore evolve from its inception to what it is today. Learn more about him and his thoughts on leadership below. 

Meet our Summer 2024 Development Interns! Clark Associates has a record 161 interns, and 66 of those are specifically working in WebstaurantStore’s Development teams. With the majority of these interns being remote, we’re proud to have them coming from 34 schools across the country. Join us in welcoming these interns to WebstaurantStore!

Congratulations to Sarah Krauter, Training Manager, on her 10-year work anniversary! Learn more about her time with us below. ▪ What has motivated you to stay at the company for so many years?    It feels cliche to say but it’s truly been the people here that make coming to work still so meaningful after all these years. I started at Web with a plan to only be here for the short term while I figured out what I wanted my career to look like after deciding not to pursue teaching in a traditional school setting. After a few months, my goals totally changed. I’ve built incredible working relationships and have had the opportunity to work with quite a few leaders who have invested time and resources into developing me into who I am now. It’s crazy to look back and think about how much I’ve grown and how many individuals played a part in that. What I also love about Web is that many of the pieces of our culture, or resources we lean heavily on within work (Ideal Team Player, Growth Mindset, Radical Candor, etc) have not only impacted me professionally but improved who I am personally.   ▪ What roles and responsibilities have you held over the last 10 years?    I’m so grateful for the journey I’ve had at Web! I started in our Customer Solutions department a week after graduating college in 2014. In my 3 years in CS, I learned so much about the company and products we sell, how to professionally communicate, how to demonstrate grit, and how to problem solve! In 2017, I was promoted to Training Specialist, which was an incredible chance to connect more to my degree in Education and passion for facilitating learning experiences. I’ve since worn the hat of Training Team Leader, and now Training Manager, and feel so grateful I get to continue to help support our onboarding and continued development initiatives.  ▪ WebstaurantStore provides “Anniversary Days” to tenured employees. On your 10-year anniversary, you get an additional 10 days of PTO that must be used in a row! Any big plans for your Anniversary Days?    I am so thrilled that I get to use these days to spend the last 2 weeks of summer vacation with my kids! We’re planning all the playground, mini golf, and summer poolside hangs we can fit in.  I’m so grateful I have this opportunity to focus on them and make these memories together before the school year starts back up again.   

If there is anyone who knows a thing or two about books, it’s our Content Department. Emily Moser, Content Team Development Specialist, recently organized a Bookish Discussion event where team members shared their favorite books, characters, and authors. They had a great time connecting with colleagues and leaving with new additions to their summer reading lists!   

Congratulations to Daniel Roberts, Director of Content Systems, on his 10-year work anniversary! Learn more about his time with us below.    ▪ What has motivated you to stay at the company for so many years? I get asked this question all the time, from friends and family, from prospective employees, and even from my manager! The details might change depending on who’s asking but it really boils down to a few, consistent things. I’m constantly being challenged, I feel supported by my manager, my peers, and my employees, and I’m able to have a work/life balance that works well for me and my family. When I first started my “plan” was to gain a few years’ experience and then look elsewhere for my next opportunity for career growth development. And while that has more or less played out, I’ve been very appreciative that I’ve been able to gain that experience at one place, rather than constantly moving around.    ▪ What roles and responsibilities have you held over the last 10 years?   I’ve had quite a few roles over the years, all within the content department. I started out writing product descriptions as an intern and then full-time before moving into a management role. As a manager, I’ve overseen most of the roles in the department from product writers and photo editors to long-form content writers and digital content specialists. From there, I got more involved with our software development team, acting as a liaison for our department and that grew into the role I’m in now, Director of Web Systems, overseeing multiple teams of product owners. It’s not the trajectory I would have seen for myself when I first started, but I took advantage of each opportunity that came up and I challenged myself to step outside my comfort zone.     ▪ What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen within WebstaurantStore?  The obvious change is the size of the company and everything that comes with that, but I think the most impactful changes I’ve seen, at least to my career and development, are right here within the content department. It’s not that we’ve had drastic changes in culture or values but our sphere of influence and responsibilities is always changing and growing. When I started, our primary focus was writing copy with other occasional responsibilities on the side. But as the company has grown, we’ve taken on more responsibilities and have created numerous teams and positions that fall outside the realm of a traditional copywriting department. Our employees are well-positioned to have a deep, fundamental understanding of how the website works, so it makes sense and is a testament of the quality of our employees, that the content department gets involved as new responsibilities and opportunities arise. 

Ryan Webster, Software Engineer 1, recently participated as a panel speaker at an AI symposium hosted by his alma mater, Millersville University of Pennsylvania. Learn more about his role at WebstaurantStore and the symposium below.     My role at WebstaurantStore is a Software Engineer 1 on the AI team. We are a newer team (started late last year, really got going in January). We work on a number of projects including image search, product recommendations, image alt text generation, product review summaries, and more. We work with many types of AI but are diving deeper into generative AI and ChatGPT.    The symposium's purpose was to discuss AI and how local businesses are using it, as well as safety, privacy, and legal concerns.   I spoke about the ways we use AI at WebstaurantStore, the concerns with AI in general, and how to inform others about the issues and benefits. Privacy was also discussed, and how to be transparent to employees and customers about how their data is used.