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Mar 6

Corporate dining facility offers healthier options for employees

Diets that Work Comments Off on Corporate dining facility offers healthier options for employees

Sharon Stewart doesn't mind telling you she was a heavy smoker who didn't eat well or exercise before suffering a heart attack three years ago, and then months later finding out she had diabetes.She's since given up the cigarettes and slimmed down by sticking to diets recommended by the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association. Among the biggest payoffs, Stewart says, is she feels better. "It sounds funny to say, but because of all these health problems, I actually feel better today than I used to," she adds.

Stewart, who became director of U.S. Cellular's customer care center in Knoxville in 2010, wanted the center's 450 employees to feel as good as she did. That wasn't going to happen if they rushed out to grab fast food during their 30-minute lunch breaks or ate cold sandwiches and canned soup from the center's cafeteria.

"We expect our associates to give their best care to our customers, so it's important we treat our associates well so that they will feel like delivering the best care," she says.

She approached Robby Vann, the center's facilities manager, with the challenge, and he identified Knoxville restaurateur Deron Little as willing to offer better alternatives at affordable prices.

Little, owner of Seasons Cafe, Sequoyah Grille and a partner in Echo Bistro and Wine Bar, says he's brought the same philosophy from his restaurants to U.S. Cellular high-quality fresh food. Indeed, Little eschews calling the facility a cafeteria because it evokes images of traditional Southern fare, and instead prefers to describe it as a corporate dining facility that he plans to name the Cornerstone Bistro.

The facility is open 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. Entrees and soups change daily. A salad bar is set up for lunch and dinner. He expected to make much of the food at his Farragut restaurant, but demand has been so high since the January opening that he and culinary school-trained employees are cooking on site.

The menu isn't limited to strictly healthy options a fryer is still being used and a pastry chef is at work but those options are always available. One day, for example, waffles may be the breakfast special, but oatmeal, yogurt and fruit are on hand, as well.

"When you have 450 people, you have 450 tastes," Stewart says. "But for those of us who are following heart healthy diets, there are options. And the food is good and affordable. I am eating there every day."

Stewart says that besides the availability of healthier foods, portion sizes are more reasonable than what employees might grab on the run.

She says she was impressed that Little embraced the same servant leadership style that U.S. Cellular trumpets. When she told him the company usually caters meals for employees on Thanksgiving and Christmas the center is open 24/7 year-round he immediately offered to stay open those days.

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Corporate dining facility offers healthier options for employees

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