Servers Kelley Schlise and Anneka Thommesen represent a modern wave in front-of-house staff – servers focused on giving diners a genuine, personally tailored experience. Thommesen has served in restaurants for 20-plus years, spending the last six at Ca’Lucchenzo. With just a few years of serving under her belt, Schlise joined The Diplomat in 2024. They chat about the FOH side of things in this informal Zoom roundtable.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
I was just talking to a chef who visited Milwaukee after five years away. He ate at a bunch of fine dining places and said what most impressed him was the servers. Has something changed?
AT: I think it depends how much management and ownership invest in their employees. I worked at a breakfast restaurant for 15 years before I came [to Ca’Lucchenzo], and when I first started, I was like, how am I ever going to know all these wines and this ever-changing menu? Because our menu never changed at the other place. But here they really foster talking about all the ingredients, and service. Milwaukee has a great restaurant scene, and I think servers are excited to be working in it.
I would argue we have the best dining scene we’ve ever had – at least in the last 25 years. Kelley, you mentioned feeling really connected to the staff at The Diplomat and the community around you. How so?
KS: I immediately bonded with the front-of-house staff. I think, too, [owners] Dane and Anna [Baldwin] really do a good job of hiring people who are mission-driven in the industry. We’re doing this very purposefully, which I think is something the service industry struggles with. It’s work that some people view as transitory.
AT: That’s a very good point. People think of it as you just do it to make ends meet. I’ve been asked, ‘You never wanted to do anything else’? This is a profession too, and I think that more people are seeing it that way and are more open to this being a long-term career.
What does good service look like?
KS: I think it starts with analyzing social dynamics. How can I make it feel clever and fun? How do I pick up on their energy and figure out the touch points of their experience so they feel comfortable?
AT: I want to be just super friendly without overdoing it, attentive without being overbearing. Anticipating needs before they’re asked for. One of my superpowers is remembering people and their names, even what they ordered last time they came in. I want everybody to feel comfortable when they’re here, that we’re not just there to take their tip money.
What can we do better, as diners?
AT: I would say be on time. [Kelley nods.] And let your server guide the pace for you. If you have a two-hour time frame, and [the server] comes back and you’ve been sitting there for 20 minutes and nobody’s made any food decisions, we’ve gotta get this party started.
