Janson Long: From music composition major to branch manager

Janson Long is the branch manager at our Plymouth Meeting location – but he’s no ordinary manager. His path to The Restaurant Store began with a college degree in music composition. Soon after graduating, he was hired partly because of his love for primitive camping, and has now come all the way to being branch manager for one of our fastest growing stores. We spent a morning with him to learn more about his love for music, his leadership style, and what he’s most of proud of during his time at The Restaurant Store. ?

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TRS: So... primitive camping??

Janson: Haha, yeah. It’s funny because when I first applied to The Restaurant Store, I actually hadn’t worked in a restaurant before, which is usually why people apply. I had gotten my degree in music composition and had just heard good things about the company. When I got to the interview, I was told the reason they wanted to interview me was to hear me talk about one of my interests, which I had listed as primitive camping. Primitive camping is just when you camp without a tent or a sleeping bag. Then the interview went well, and the rest is history!?

And you said you got your degree in music composition. We saw you playing guitar today. Are you still connected to music??

Definitely! I just love music, so whenever I get bored at home I’ll just play around and make something. In the past few years, I’ve worked on a couple projects but nothing crazy. I’m finishing up an EP. I also wrote the soundtrack to an independent horror film, which was fun.?

So, we’ve seen you playing guitar today, wearing a Santa hat in the store, and having a lot of fun. How do you balance that fun energy with...?

Being the boss? [laughs]?

Yes, exactly!?

Life's too serious most of the time. And I like slapping that in the face, not taking it seriously. I think it's part of my humor. When it comes to my team, I try to lead in a way that I would like to be led, which is?empathetically but also direct. “Hey, this is the job, do the job. I care about who you are as a person, but you have to do these things and you'll feel good about it and I know you can do it.”?

What do you do in your current role???

I help run the day-to-day operation of our store. I meet with all our staff every morning and set our plan for the day, and then walk around the store during the day to help out and make sure everything is running smoothly.??

One more question for you. What are you most proud of in your time at The Restaurant Store??

I think I’m most proud of building a team that grew together from nothing. When I started here as a newer manager, it made a huge difference to work with people that I trust and who trust me to build a team and a culture. I think our mission is to continue making sure this store is successful and building a team where everybody feels excited to come to work and know that they're part of a team. And that's really why I like my job.?