Eateries’ owner hires many no others would

ANN ARBOR, MICH. — When those with a criminal record interview for a job at one of Phillis Engelbert’s three restaurants in Ann Arbor, she doesn’t ask about their convictions or run a background check. She doesn’t care about the worst thing they’ve done.

What matters to Engelbert is how prospective employees will treat co-workers and customers. She wants to know how they handle stress. She cares about what makes them tick.

Second chances and inclusion are part of the ethos of Engelbert’s restaurants, known for vegan comfort food and plant-based fare: Detroit Street Filling Station, The Lunch Room Diner & Canteen, and The Lunch Room Bakery & Cafe.

“I don’t want them to be defined in this setting by what they did long ago,” she said. “I want to get to know them as a person. I tell them at the interview the only two things that you will be judged on while you’re here is your work ethic and how well you treat others.”

About 70 people work at the three restaurants, and Engelbert estimates half of them have been incarcerated. Supporting employees’ rehabilitation is a priority. Engelbert has employed more than 120 people in recovery from addiction since 2014, a year after she and a business partner opened The Lunch Room as their first brick-and-mortar location in the city’s eclectic Kerrytown district.

Engelbert, 55, acknowledges her hiring philosophy doesn’t come without its challenges. Some employees with felony records can’t find housing despite the reliable job. Others who’ve walked through Engelbert’s doors have struggled with psychological problems too severe for her to handle without outside support.

“I’m not under any rosy illusion that things are going to be great. It’s kind of a crapshoot, but it’s worth a chance,” she said.

David Seaman began working for Engelbert as a dishwasher while he was in treatment for addiction about three years ago. He’s worked his way up to front of house manager at Detroit Street Filling Station in Kerrytown.

Seaman, 27, said he felt safe at his restaurant job at a vulnerable time in his life. There, he found people with similar experiences, a community he’d only before encountered in treatment or jail.

Engelbert said business owners need to “make informed decisions” in hiring formerly imprisoned people. Offering a job but no other resources basically sets them up to fail.

“I’ve seen where the gaps are,” she said. “I’ve seen when things start to fall apart.”

ERIC SEALS / DETROIT FREE PRESS Phillis Engelbert, seen recently at Detroit Street Filling Station, one of three eateries she owns in Ann Arbor, Michigan, hires formerly incarcerated people and recovering addicts.