Most restaurants give staff a holiday bonus. One restaurant in Ohio went a little further. They shut the place down and took the entire team on a cruise.
As the busy holiday season wrapped up at The Standard, owners Jeff Dinnebeil and Megan Lingsweiler surprised their cooks, servers and hosts with a three-day trip to the Bahamas.
The couple booked a cruise with Royal Caribbean that sailed to Nassau and Bimini. Instead of keeping the restaurant open, they closed the doors so every staff member could come along.
For Dinnebeil and Lingsweiler, the idea started after a family cruise with their children the year before. The experience left such an impression that they wanted their staff to enjoy something similar.
They say the team is the reason the restaurant works.
Dinnebeil and Lingsweiler described their employees as the “lifeblood” of the business, and they wanted to thank them in a way that felt meaningful.
The trip turned out to be a first for several staff members.
Andrew Jackson, one of the restaurant’s cooks, had never flown before and had never been on a boat in the ocean.
“Everybody went on there as employees, and when we left and went back home, everybody was like family,” Jackson told Sheila Howard of The Toledo Blade.
For server Allison Latta, the trip also became a standout memory.
“I had been on cruises before, but this alone was probably my top vacation,” she told the Blade. “It was just such a unique experience getting to see 60 of your co-workers around the boat.”
The cruise itself looked more like a floating team celebration than a typical staff outing.
Employees spent time visiting the islands, but also took part in karaoke nights, scavenger hunts and a basketball competition. Large catered dinners brought the group together each evening.
The guest list even stretched beyond current staff.
A few loyal customers and former team members joined the trip as well, turning the getaway into something closer to a community celebration than a corporate retreat.
Back home, The Standard is known as a popular spot along Monroe Street in northwest Toledo, serving upscale American dishes with a focus on surf and turf.
But for a few days, the kitchen was quiet.
Dinnebeil and Lingsweiler closed the restaurant completely so nobody would have to miss the trip while others sailed off to celebrate.
And the cruise was not the only holiday reward. Employees also received Christmas bonuses from the owners.
For many on the trip, though, the shared experience turned out to be the biggest gift.
By the time the ship returned to port, coworkers who usually saw each other across a busy dining room said they felt something different.
Not just like colleagues. More like family.
