Charleen, Owner | Zaza’s on Main & Gino’s Parlor| Connecticut
Charleen and her husband run two restaurants that couldn’t be more different. Gino’s Parlor is their casual pizzeria, high-energy concept staffed largely by high school students, creating a constant cycle of onboarding, training, and scheduling around sports seasons and changing availability. Zaza’s on Main is an elevated dining experience: reservations, three dining rooms, a full bar, and a team of career hospitality professionals who require more structured, role-specific training.
For years, 7shifts handled scheduling and communication for one location. It worked well for what it was. But when they launched the second restaurant, they needed more. Specifically, a way to standardize training, house their employee handbook, and manage communication across a team that had grown from around 20 to 60 employees. That’s what brought them to Shifty.
They started with training and policies, deploying first at Gino’s and then at Zaza’s. When Shifty added scheduling, Charleen moved everything over and stepped away from 7shifts entirely. Today she uses Shifty for training, policies, scheduling, announcements, and checklists — a full operational layer across both concepts.
“As we grew from 20 to 60 employees, the checklists and announcements became critical. I can see who completed their list. I can manage without being on-site. That’s what changed.”
— Charleen, Owner, Zaza’s on Main & Gino’s Parlor
The operational gains are most visible in how Charleen manages daily accountability. She built an orientation training that walks every new hire through their first-day essentials…downloading the app, payroll setup, parking, uniform expectations, and role-specific basics. All handled seamlessly in one easy-to-use app. Checklists cover opening, closing, prep, and cleaning. Announcements with an acknowledgment button allow her to see exactly who’s read what. She has full visibility into her operation, and that alone creates accountability within her teams.
The scheduling tools have been especially strong for Zaza’s, where managing three dining rooms and a bar requires real precision. Gino’s needs are simpler, but the platform holds up there too, even with the added complexity of a young staff whose availability shifts with every new sports season.
As Charleen’s business continues to grow, Shifty has become an important part of keeping operations organized and teams aligned across two very different restaurant concepts. From scheduling and communication to training and day-to-day visibility, having everything in one place has helped reduce back-and-forth and create more consistency for her team.