26/11/2024
A message from Tony, the owner:
Thank you for your patience and understanding of yesterday's all-restaurant closure. We spent the day together, reconnecting and planning for the future. Yesterday was the first of several steps to make permanent changes in how we operate and how we will care for our team.
Seventeen years ago, when I opened my first business—a humble gas station with a kitchen in Eagan—I set out to do things differently. My team and I aspired to be the world's greatest gas station. We didn’t care about taking the easy route or following the crowd. From fresh-cut fries and hand-pattied burgers to slow-cooked prime rib, we were dedicated to being remarkable.
Somewhere along the way, amidst the chaos of the pandemic, opening new restaurants, staffing shortages, and rising costs, we lost that spark. We made compromises that didn’t align with our vision. This fall, our leadership team created a plan to get us back on track. A commitment to returning to what made us special, a dedication to doing things right. Yesterday, we had the opportunity to share our plan with our entire hospitality team and share a meal together.
Today, I’m excited to share our progress and the journey ahead as we rededicate ourselves to excellence. If you have a few minutes, I would love to share our plan:
Transparency and trust are at the core of what we do. That’s why we’ve decided to remove service charges from our menus. While they were intended to help offset rising costs, we felt they could be perceived as deceptive, and that’s not who we are. Instead, we’re committed to straightforward pricing that reflects the quality and care we put into every meal and drink we serve.
Our food and beverage teams have been working around the clock to improve processes and quality standards across the company. Our culinary team is focused on using high-quality, fresh ingredients and improving consistency in food quality, presentation, and taste. We are working to restore the quality we became known for, from the return of fresh-cut fries to offering BBQ straight from the smokers. Our beverage team is focused on service and showmanship at the bar top and improvements to our cocktail programs, including adding an abundance of freshness to both the drinks and the garnishes.
We have been on a quest to add to our team of amazingly talented leaders, chefs, bartenders, and servers and offer them a platform for personal expression and creativity. A role that allows for an artistic outlet to manifest their visions in tangible, enjoyable forms. By giving more space for creativity, we hope to build a community of like-minded individuals who share similar passions and challenges. For you, this means a return to the creative, forward-thinking, innovative menus you have come to expect from our group.
Finding the right people is essential, but we believe we are responsible for caring for the amazing people who come to work with us every day. From now on, we will share our success by sharing our profits. Starting now, we will be sharing our earnings with our incredible employees.
Our team is the heart and soul of what we do, and their dedication and passion make every guest experience extraordinary. This profit-sharing initiative is our way of giving back to those who make our hospitality family so special. By caring for our people, I believe we strengthen the culture that defines us and create an even better environment for our team and guests.
One of the best ways to grow our organization's talent is to upskill our team by giving them the tools needed to learn and grow. For this, we will be partnering with The Mutiny Project. The Mutiny Project is dedicated to advancing Minnesota's hospitality industry through education, training, and essential resources. Mutiny fosters inclusivity, integrity, and curiosity, empowering professionals to elevate their craft and drive the industry forward.
With a renewed focus on quality, innovation, and taking care of our team, we decided our old hospitality group name didn't quite hit the mark. We will be marking these changes with a renaming of our hospitality group. From now on, we will be known as The Wondrous Collective.
As the Wondrous Collective, we will embody a spirit of exploration and curiosity. Our journey begins with a bold vision: to create spaces where adventure, creativity, and a touch of madness come together to craft unforgettable experiences, redefining what hospitality can be. Here, hospitality meets innovation, and every experience is an invitation to explore new possibilities.
At the store level, our Apple Valley campus of restaurants will see the most significant change. After several years of experimentation and innovation in Apple Valley, we have learned much about this community and what works and what doesn't. In the coming weeks, we will apply everything we have learned to bring long-term stability to our Apple Valley restaurants.
Our larger building in Apple Valley, which currently houses Pizzeria Social and Curiouser Coffee, will become Apple Valley's first food hall. From now on, it will be known as Revolve Hall. Our mission is to create a vibrant, community-driven space that offers diverse culinary experiences under one roof. Revolve Hall will feature several food and beverage experiences, each offering a distinct flavor and atmosphere.
Opening soon in Apple Valley!
www.revolvehall.com
While we are on the subject of new restaurants opening, I am thrilled to announce we have recently taken over the Amoco gas station, currently called The Outpost, in southern Lakeville and are opening our group's second restaurant that sells gas: Farmer's Grandson Eatery. Expanding on what we built over the past 17 years in Eagan, Farmer's Grandson Eatery was a "food hall" long before the term became trendy, offering not just gas but a culinary experience with our handcrafted, high-quality meals, all quickly made-to-order.
While each of our restaurants will always have its own unique identity, under The Wondrous Collective, we are uniting them in several new ways:
We’ve recently introduced our 8's Happy Hour across the entire restaurant group, where every food and drink item is just $8. At The Wondrous Collective, we believe that the transition from work to home should be celebrated with intention and connection. Our 8's Happy Hour is designed to bring you and your tribe together each Monday through Friday from 2 PM to 5:30 PM.
We’ve also recently made our restaurants the go-to late-night spots in the South Metro with an exciting new special late-night happy hour from 9 PM to close at each location. We offer select half-priced food and half-priced beverage items each night of the week after 9 pm.
To thank you for all of your support, we’re thrilled to introduce the Wondrous Rewards Program, which is a way to earn points every time you dine or shop with us across all Wondrous Collective restaurants and convenience stores. Your points unlock exciting rewards, from free menu items to exclusive perks. Start earning points today by signing up for free at www.wondrouscollective.com
We are also kicking off our Holiday Gift Card Sale today with the best offer we have ever made. This year, when you buy a $100 gift card, you get $35 in Holiday Bonus Bucks! The gift cards come in a special Wondrous Collective adventure map fold-out, allowing your gift recipient to have fun exploring our various concepts. Visit any of our restaurants for more details.
The final new initiative I want to share with you is about giving back to our communities. At the Wondrous Collective group of restaurants, we cherish the moments spent with our guests, whether it's a family dinner, a work lunch, or a post-game celebration. Now, it's our turn to give back with the launch of The Wondrous Collective's Giving program. Give-back events are hosted on any date and time that works for both the organization and the restaurant. They are easy to arrange, and best of all, 15% of sales generated by supporters of your organization will be donated back to you. If your group seeks fundraising opportunities, we’d love to hear from you—reach out today.
Although we have a lot of work to do, we are excited to embark on a new journey, uniting our restaurants and focusing on improving, supporting our communities, and delivering more value to you, our guests.
Thank you for taking the time to read about the changes we have in store for our organization. We look forward to welcoming you in soon.
Tony Donatell
Founder and visionary for the Wondrous Collective.
