The Vine treats their customers like they're family
There’s a reason customers feel treated like family when they dine at downtown Elkhart’s The Vine.
That’s just how the staff at The Vine rolls: Everyone is family.
Jeanne Kern, the owner of The Vine with her husband, Tom, since 2016, set the tone as soon as she took the reins.
“We talked extensively about, ‘What is our job one?’ And we both came to the agreement that our job one is to be a good employer,” Jeanne says on a warm sunny afternoon after the lunch rush.
From the wait staff to the kitchen to the bartenders and hosts, Jeanne welcomes all into her family and encourages everyone to get to know customers in the same way.
Did you really like that crab dip appetizer? Prefer red wine over white? Is Table 107 your perfect spot? The Vine’s staff will remember.
Jeanne was a customer at The Vine long before she was the owner, and she knows how it feels to be treated well. When the opportunity arose for her to buy The Vine from the founding owner, she jumped at the chance.
And then she didn’t hesitate to apply the lessons she learned at other locally owned Elkhart restaurants such as Lucchese’s, McCarthy’s and Antonio’s.
To this day, she will carve time to support her fellow local restaurant owners in downtown Elkhart and beyond. It’s just one way she cultivates community.
Jeanne rattles off the names of staff members and how long they’ve served at The Vine. In a business with plenty of turnover, it’s notable how many have been around since the very beginning and even before.
Executive Chef Brian Caplinger “came to us on a wing and a prayer.” A 40-year industry veteran with credentials from the Culinary Institute of America, “he told me he’d give me five years. It’s been nearly eight,” said Jeanne.
Through renovations, weddings and personal tragedies, The Vine staff sticks together for each other and their customers. You feel it when you walk in the door to the sun-splashed bar and when you settle into the warm confines of The Vault.
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