Overworked - Produce Associate Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery Employee Review

I’ve been with Swamp for about 6 years and it’s by far the longest and best experience I’ve had with a company in my 16 years working in food service and hospitality (you will not find a better job in Greenville for the same pay and chill environment). I am not in a management role but they do give percentage based pay raises every year which equates to a very competitive wage if you stick around. My wife has also been working here for 6 years and is currently 28 weeks pregnant. Management has been amazing with flexibility during her pregnancy as well as offering maternity leave and (since we’ve been there over 5 years) we get one month PAID sabbatical which is an absolute blessing with the new baby! We have never had issues with any management being unfair about pregnancy or having a flexible schedule. The owners have children as well as most management and that is very much reflective in how they relate to their employees home life. Free staff meals and a very available HR department. I’ve eaten enough stecca bread to last a lifetime but still take them up on the occasional HR/upper management question which has always been received very well and acted on swiftly whether it’s a question about your W4 or just need to talk to somebody! Never has HR turned me down all the years I’ve been employed with the Swamp. The owners are amazing and work very hard to get the best local food available to our community. Sure, Swamp has grown ALOT over the years but they still do everything they can for the community and invest so much back into the regions farms/outreach groups. I’ve had the privilege of working with multiple non profits over the years as well as the average local shopper during my time here. They really do care about the community and all of their employees. Swamp Rabbit Cafe is an amazing place to work!

Not really a con but Swamp can be very weather dependent so if it’s a beautiful day outside you can guarantee a busy work day!

I love my coworkers so much, I love the customers, too! Great location and very bike-able.

Experience isn’t valued; gaslighting is constant; incredible employees are worn down and silenced, your ideas aren’t actually wanted; reactive and thoughtless decisions made by “leadership” are implemented on the fly with very little explanation but buy-in is expected; growth at swamp is a myth, it’s a carrot to dangle at the “yes” people. (Also don’t ask any questions, just be quiet and do what you were told to do, ok, otherwise it’s pushback and they don’t like pushback.)