rachel e.

Rachel E. | Retail Manager

Christopher Elbow

Years of Industry Service: 12

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Although Rachel hasn't actually worked in a restaurant, for the past 12 years, she has always worked around food, but on the retail side. Rachel was working the chocolate counter at Dean & Deluca out in Leawood when she met her current boss Christopher Elbow, Chris as she calls him, and she was 17-years-old. Now she manages his storefront on McGee. "People wanting to be in retail is kind of a dying breed," she says. "I want to be around people." Rachel enjoys striking up conversations with her customers, educating them about chocolate, which is a topic that opens to a lot of other conversations. She loves that she can give a little sweet to someone to change the course of their day. When she asks her customers how they are doing, she really cares and wants to know, she's not just paying lip service and going through the motions.

Rachel grew up in Kansas City and is one of five children. In fact, she is "smack dab in the middle" so she had to learn how to speak up. She is a dancer, teaches part-time and has her own dance company, Kansas City Movement. She does mostly modern dance and her company often performs at the Off center Theatre at Crown Center. "Almost everyone in my family is an artist," she says. "It's pretty neat to be part of that. And we're foodies, we love food." Rachel loves to eat sushi but finds it too difficult to make. Her favorite food to cook is any type of Italian. "You can do so much with it and there's lots of variety."
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Full Disclosure: We got two beautiful chocolates each....for free. Hells yes. So good.

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