Emilee Straziuso is a stellar example of an employee who rose through the ranks because of her passion for Balance Pan-Asian Grille and her commitment to ongoing learning. Starting out in customer service in 2014, Straziuso quickly moved into a training lead position, and assisted with opening multiple locations. When the brand revamped its digital learning management system, she took a leading role in the project and moved into an administrative role for the first time before being elevated to her current role as project manager.

“It gave me the opportunity to learn the absolute most that I could,” she says about her career journey. “Not just about the brand and the fast-casual food industry, but rather, how to connect with my teams and motivate them. It served and continues to serve as a base where I am able to proficiently support larger administrative efforts as I am aware of their effects operationally.”

Kanan Pandya, development coordinator at Balance Grille, notes how Straziuso’s prior experience as an employee “brings great leverage to the position, as her deep knowledge of menu and employee culture helps lead our transparent approach to communications with our customers.”

Straziuso’s cross-functional background also plays a pivotal role in providing support for the brand’s franchise community and store employees. “Understanding how to connect with individuals and make them feel seen is more important now than ever,” she says. “All of our brand level efforts boil down to our operational teams and frontline team members. Their contentment and wellbeing is a vital component to ensuring our customers’ satisfaction. If our teams aren’t taken care of, how can we expect our customers to feel taken care of?”

One of Straziuso’s own personal challenges in her career was asking for support, as she admits she used to take on more than she could handle and attempt to do everything herself until she learned to delegate. “I lean on my team often now, as they do the same with me,” she says.

“At Balance Grille, we work to establish autonomy in our workplaces. Allowing our employees a bit more freedom to accomplish tasks in ways that are better suited for them served as challenging as I find myself to be attentive to detail and craving perfection,” Straziuso adds. “Loosening my expectations in an effort to meet people where they are at was a huge challenge for myself. There is a happy medium to be found that lives in between micromanagement and the absence of management. Creating that balance took me some time.”

As for the future, Straziuso is gaining a foothold to become a marketing director for the emerging brand as it grows to new markets. “Balance Grille has big plans in the making,” she says. “I’ve always said that we move slow to go fast; making sure that we do our due diligence and position ourselves into a space where we can put pedal to the metal and make big waves. I am excited and enthralled for what’s to come.”

Pandya adds, “Emilee is a dedicated and hardworking talent on our team. She embodies the Balance brand and ethos, and constantly strives to push the boundaries of her comfort zone with confidence. Her passions outside of Balance include being an advanced yoga instructor, and being a dedicated cat mom to her two furbabies. These passions of hers bring a calming and well-rounded demeanor into the restaurants, which is unique in the food industry.”

https://www.fastcasual.com/FCtop100-2023/nominations/

Fast Casual recently announced the winners of its annual Top Movers and Shakers Award, recognizing 75 brands and 25 leaders who are propelling the fast casual restaurant industry forward. Not only was Balance Grill recognized as a part of the 75 brands overall, co-founders Prakash Karamchandani and HoChan Jang were also recognized as two of the top 25 fast casual executives. The Top 100 Movers and Shakers Awards are presented by Networld Media, owner and operator of FastCasual.com, a leading restaurant industry online news publication. The honorees were announced and awarded on Sunday, May 22 during an awards banquet held at the London House Chicago.

“It’s an incredible honor to be included in the Top 100 Movers & Shakers list,” said Prakash Karamchandani, CEO & Co-Founder of Balance Grille. “I am humbled and beyond blessed to be on this journey with my business partner and best friend CJ and the amazing team we’ve put together over the last 12 years. Yet this acknowledgement proves that we are just getting started.”

Since its creation 17 years ago, the Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers list has recognized the industry’s most successful brands. The Top 100 is similar in that it’s not always looking for the most profitable or fastest-growing brands, but also recognizing the companies that make this list for their dedication to innovation, leadership, and resilience. These companies and their hard work does not go unnoticed, especially during the last few years.

Balance ended 2021 on a high note, reporting a 11% increase in same store sales over the previous year. This is in addition to the brand’s 28.8% YOY sales increase in 2020. The tech-forward concept also continued to evolve its curbside service and offerings launched first in 2020 with refinements to directly integrate curbside check-in within its mobile app at the click of button. These refinements have led to an outstanding 90% of all orders coming from the app along with an increase in users of 56%.

Looking ahead to 2022, Prakash and HoChan have set their sights on a targeted, phased growth and development plan, teaming with the industry-experienced leadership team at Pivotal Growth Partners in order to position the concept as the preeminent Asian fast casual concept nationwide, while continuing to deliver on a commitment to their mission each and every day by constantly innovating, challenging the status-quo, and providing customers an experience which cannot be duplicated elsewhere.

“2021 was perhaps even more dynamic than 2020, in terms of how it shaped the future of fast casual,” QSR editor Danny Klein says. “While the category had a steep hill to climb at COVID’s onset, it didn’t take long for innovative and forward-thinking brands to deliver the experience, technology, and product consumers wanted. What’s left is perhaps the most resilient group on record, and one we believe will thrive for years to come.”

For the last decade, fast-casual restaurants have sprung up all around the U.S. serving high-quality food in a casual setting, pushing the envelope on what is possible in a counter-service format. And since 2017, QSR magazine has recognized those emerging concepts with the 40/40 List, a report on 40 exciting fast-casual brands with fewer than 40 locations. Visit QSR Magazine for the full 40/40 list.

Making a name for themselves in Northwestern and Northeastern Ohio, the Balance Grille operation has grown to four locations, in addition to an 8,000 sq.ft. urban aquaponic farming operation dubbed “Balance Farms” and created by the brand’s co-founders.

A self-taught chef and significantly influenced by his previous career in personal training and education in nutrition, Balance Co-Founder HoChan Jang (CJ) is the mastermind behind the Balance menu which includes Asian bowls, tacos, snacks and bubble tea. Also recognized by Michael Simon from Iron Chef and featured as a top chef by Stella Artois, HoChan has become an innovative leader in his own right.

With a technology and software programming background, Balance Co-Founder Prakash Karamchandani (PK) brings to Balance a forward-thinking spin on technology within the restaurant industry. He manages all Marketing, Finance and Technology for the brand and has become an innovative leader in his own right as well, developing his own proprietary technologies and together with HoChan, pioneering a peer management operational model and creating an employee-centric, Balance Family culture rooted in technology and good-will.

“To be recognized by Nation’s Restaurant News is such an honor,” said Prakash Karamchandani, CEO & Co-Founder of Balance Grille. “I am humbled and beyond blessed to be on this journey with my business partner and best friend CJ and the amazing team we’ve put together over the last 12 year. Yet this acknowledgement proves that we are just getting started.”

Looking ahead to 2022, Prakash and HoChan have set their sights on a targeted, phased growth and development plan, teaming with the industry-experienced leadership team at Pivotal Growth Partners in order to position the concept as the preeminent Asian fast casual concept nationwide, while continuing to deliver on a commitment to their mission each and every day by constantly innovating, challenging the status-quo, and providing customers an experience which cannot be duplicated elsewhere.