Server becomes GM at Olive Garden

Olive Garden has a new General Manager.

Shelly Ashely joined the Olive Garden family in 2009 as a server in Colorado – her home state. March 1st she became the General Manager of the Olive Garden in Cheyenne – overseeing more than 115 team members.

Shelly had been an hourly team member at the Olive Garden in Greeley, CO. Having the opportunity to become part of a management team in Cheyenne, Shelly and her family moved to Cheyenne in August of 2011.

“It was the absolute best move we ever made.”

In her restaurant career of almost 30 years, Shelly is active in the community, and even owned her own restaurant in a small town of 1500 people – molding her into the manager she is today.

Shelly shared, “The best part of my job are people. Both staff and the guests that come in. I love connecting and finding that WOW factor. I love mentoring my staff. Every day I strive to make a difference in somebody’s life. I know that 90% of my staff are going to leave, and go to that other job. I hope that the time I have with them is impact-full. Also, for our guests, we don’t know what people go through. A guest can come in after having a really bad day. We need to love on everyone, and give them a home-cooked meal and just connect with them, and hopefully be the best part of their day.” 

Empowering her staff is important to her.

Starting on the floor herself, she’s a big believer in promoting from within, and hopes to push her new team towards success. She challenges her servers everyday to create a dining experience, and set them apart from the other options in town.

Shelly wants the Cheyenne community to know, “We want them to know that we love them, and we want them to feel that when they come in here. If they don’t, I want to know that. They can choose to go anywhere. There are 150+ restaurants to choose from, to spend their hard earned money. I want them to choose me.”

Shelly looks forward to her new role in the community as the General Manager, and strives to give back to the city she calls home. They contribute to many organizations already, but believes there is more they can do.