Restauranteur has something to sing about

By Ginny Privitar
CHESTER — An inspiring teacher at Trinity College led Mike Garver to pursue a degree in music.

"Like so many of us, we meet somebody who makes a strong impression on us," said Garver, who lives in Chester. "He was the chair of the music department, and I ended up getting involved in everything music at Trinity through this mentor."

And so, he asked, rhetorically: "What do you do with a degree in music? You move to New York City.”

For more than 10 years, Garver sang in musicals off-Broadway and in regional theaters. He played Finch in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and Tony in "West Side Story." All the while, he worked in the Olive Garden restaurant at Times Square.

“I played good roles in smaller theaters, and there was some success,” Garver said. "But I really didn’t want to spend the rest of my life doing that.”

Fast-forward to the present, and you'll see he's found his true calling. He's celebrating his 20th year as the general manager of the Olive Garden, the same Times Square restaurant that supported his youthful artistic aspirations.

Garver has no regrets. He loves his job.

“Being of service is all about taking care of people," he said. "It’s not about getting people what they need, it’s about being enthusiastic about taking care of other people."

Garver grew up in western New York State. He lived in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, and learned good work habits at an early age.

“I had four paper routes from ages 10 to 16, and 250 Sunday papers to deliver,” Garver said. “My mom said if I wanted it, I had to pay for it.”

A gift for management
Garver started as a server at Olive Garden in 1994, when the restaurant first opened. And then he found a new inspiration.

“I started getting really interested in communication and management and how to motivate people, including myself," he said. "I would discover something and wanted to share my discoveries with other people and thought, 'This is what a manager does.'"

He was waiting tables and doing theater at the same time when he told his boss, the general manager, that he wanted to be a manager himself.

“I wanted to help people find healthier ways to look at their work," he said.

Garver became a service manager in 2000 and a general manager in 2005.

“To this day, I find the way other people look at what they do very interesting," he said. "There’s what we do, and how we do it. I think the ‘how we do it’ might actually be more important than 'what we do.'”

While a server he met and married his wife, Susan, who was also a server at the Olive Garden. They both lived in the city. But when their son, Caleb, came along, they decided they didn't want him to grow up there. They were looking for a "house and grass” in the suburbs. They lived for a while in Fairlawn, N.J., where their daughter, Eden, was born. The family moved to Chester in 2010.

Being the general manager of a restaurant is not so different from managing a theatrical production.

“Oh, there’s so much," said Garver of his work. "You’re responsible for everything that happens at the restaurant, everything good and bad that happens. I lead people. I have five managers who are direct reports and approximately 220 team members."

Garver spends a lot of time in the dining room talking to guests and making sure they're enjoying excellent service.

“We want to exceed people’s expectations at the Olive Garden,” he said. “Fortunately I’m surrounded by very good people. We have the lowest turnover of any Olive Garden in the entire country. I think we’re really lucky and have a great team and a lot to be proud of at our restaurant.”

When hiring workers, Garver said he looks "for nice people with common sense."

"You can train people to wait tables," he said. "It’s not hard. But you can’t re-raise them.”

Garver works 50 to 60 hours a week. But even on his days off, he’s on the phone, checking email, making sure everything is running smoothly in his absence. For relaxation, he works on his house and in his yard.

Mike and Susan and their children — Caleb, who's now 11, and Eden, 7 — enjoy living in Chester.

"It’s great to be here," he said. "We just love Chester. It good schools, access to all the comforts of modern living, and, at the same time, it’s got history. It feels like the kind of place I grew up. My wife and I are proud to raise our kids in a place like this.”