Eric Barker Email & Phone Number

Brockport, Ny, Us

Midland, Michigan, United States

I am the Area General Manager for Colleges and Universities in the Southeastern Michigan area.

Northwood University

Achievements:• Maintained meal cost at or below the required levels, without sacrificing quality• Increased Residential Meal Plan Participation from 32% to 78%• Managed Labor costs, with zero-based scheduling and within budgetary guidelines• Managed a $3.5 million a year volume business• Increased retail sales by 212%• Redesigned menus to stay ahead of the curve (incorporating action stations, over the top presentations, and putting a twist on old classics)• Oversaw large scale remodeling projectsResponsibilities:• Hired, trained, scheduled, and managed a staff of over 55• Oversee menu creation, order creation, linen operations, event setup and teardown, etc.• Budgeting and weekly operational reporting• Oversee annual budget of $3.5 Million• Oversee two retail operations on campus• Oversee three salaried direct reports• Interact with the client on a regular basis

Marshall University

Achievements:• Maintained meal cost at or below the required levels, without sacrificing quality• Decreased Food Cost by 4%• Managed Labor costs, with zero-based scheduling and managing daily event time-lines, within budgetary guidelines• Decreased labor Cost by 4.5%• Developed a comprehensive catering plan for upward growth (including wedding expo’s, print advertising, social media advertising, pamphlets, cold calling, etc.)• Built upon our word of mouth status in the community as the premier caterer in the area• Increased sales by 29.1%• Decreased linen costs by 3.1% overall• Created a catering Facebook page with over 1,100 followers• Redesigned menus to stay ahead of the curve (incorporating action stations, over the top presentations, and putting a twist on old classics)• Provided catering for up to 2,600 customers per event• Made the department increasingly competitive with a commission client rate of 21.5%• Decreased Loss 29%• Cemented our place as the largest and most popular caterer in the Tri-State areaResponsibilities:• Hired, trained, scheduled, and managed a staff of over 40• Oversee menu creation, order creation, linen operations, event setup and teardown, etc.• Budgeting and weekly operational reporting• Oversee annual budget of $1.15 Million• Oversee a Faculty / Staff Restaurant on campus• Created a comprehensive video based catering training program and a streamlined training manual• Interact with the client on a regular basis

Achievements:• Maintained meal cost at or below the required levels, without sacrificing quality• Decreased food cost by 17%• Managed Labor costs, with zero-based scheduling and managing daily event time-lines, within budgetary guidelines• Decreased labor cost by 9%• Developed a comprehensive catering plan for upward growth (including social media advertising, print advertising, word of mouth press)• Increased sales 27.5%• Redesigned menus to stay ahead of the curve (live action sushi, petit portions, deluxe presentation)• Increased Profit by 11.8%• Provided catering for the largest wedding in Augusta History (featured in Ebony magazine)• Provided catering for up to 1,500 customers per event• Provided in home “hospitality” catering for 7 corporations during the Masters Golf Tournament• Increased Commuter meal plan sales by 85%Responsibilities:• Managed a staff of 40• Oversee menu creation, order creation, linen operations, event setup and teardown, etc.• Budgeting and weekly operational reporting• Oversaw annual budget of $1.6 Million• Met the needs of over 900 residential customers a day• Oversaw a retail program (grill, pizza, chic-fil-a) of $500,000 a year• Created comprehensive training program that included cross-training, as staff needed to be able to work Residential, Retail, and Catering• Interact with the client on a regular basis

Maintained meal cost at or below $2.15 CPM, without sacrificing qualityIncreased meal plan participation YOY up to 62%Created 6 new station concepts in Residential Dining.Revamped dining hall to 48 menu items per meal (not including Produce Bar items)Created a station that provided a complete meal for under 600 calories (included a house made sugar free dessert)Introduced environmental stewardship plan (water controls, gas and electric equipment re-vamp, on campus composting and garden)Created a Preventative maintenance schedule for equipmentTransformed bakery program to produce 95% of all desserts in-house, as well as 80% of all baked goods in-house.Catering banquets of up to 750 customersDesigned and implemented a wide range of training programs and created new and more innovative means of dining.Maintained a 8.3 TPLH, zero-based scheduleCreated four new retail brands (Asian fusion, salad, build a burger, and coffee bar)remodeled two commercial kitchens (designed, CAD drawings, hired and oversaw contractors)Helped with the opening of 2 new accountsOversaw the opening of several new facilities across the region (banquet, residential, and retail) and various regional collegesMoved to an almost all front of house production modelLowered food waste (kitchen waste average of 420lbs per day) while feeding 3,500 dailyCreated a profit for first time in accounts historyHired, trained, scheduled, and managed a staff of 150, including 40 studentsHandled menu design and implementation (residential, retail, catering)Oversaw food and equipment ordering, in excess of $5 MillionMet the needs of over 3,500 residential customers a dayOversee all operations of a large scale commercial kitchen (16,500 sq. ft.)District Food Cost Champion responsible for approving menus, pricing, and scheduling for 12 accountsHandled Catering volume of $500,000 a yearManaged a retail operation of $1,750,000 a year

Achievements:• Learned how to pre-cost and plan menus• Increased revenue at a retail location 250%• Learned how to budget purchases for a FY• Kept labor at $68 SPLH• Increased profit by 81.3%Responsibilities:• Hiring and training new employees• Building schedules for upwards of 35 employees• Creating menus and menu items• Developed catering/conference service menus• Handled Budgeting and Ordering within said budget

Achievements:• Learned how to implement a large scale remodeling project ($1.3 million per year)• Handled dorm room re-designs (CAD drawings, blueprints, etc.)• Hired numerous contractors to handle remodeling efforts• Learned how to handle leasing and conference scheduling (600 units)• Increased summer conference business by 32% via large scale mailings, and cold calling organizations regarding summer conferences• Decreased late rent payments by 6%• Learned how to create a maintenance/housekeeping schedule for Preventative Maintenance• Managed 600 units and over 2,000 residents• Traveled to several other locations and created remodeling scheduling for them.Responsibilities:• Hiring, Training, and Scheduling of up to 20 employees• Handled Salad Prep, and general prep work within a commercial kitchen• Ran front desk operations for upwards of 600 residents• Oversaw remodeling efforts for two high-rise residential properties ($1.3 million per year)• Oversaw Maintenance and Housekeeping efforts

I handled front desk operations for two high-rise college properties, with 1,300 residents. I handled hiring, training, rent collection, leasin, summer conference operations, maintanence, remodeling efforts, etc.

Master'S Degree, Political Science, 3.25

B.A, History And Political Science

I recieved a B.A. in Political Science and History.

High School Diploma