The guy with the tie: Meet Tony Farragh, who’s bringing class and commitment to Interlochen’s Hospitality Division.
With the goal of making everyone feel more welcome, Farragh is working with his team to roll out major improvements to Dining Services.
“It’s a trickle-down effect,” says Tony Farragh, Interlochen’s Associate Vice President of Hospitality & Retail. “When I’m in a tie, it encourages everyone else in the workspace.”
Even in the heat of summer, it’s unlikely you’ll catch Farragh taking a break from his signature look. Why the insistence on sporting a shirt and tie at all times? For Farragh, it’s just one small part of his mission to bring excellence to hospitality at Interlochen Center for the Arts.
Here, he shares his vision for making everyone feel welcome and how he and his team are pushing Interlochen’s Dining Services to the next level.
Why art needs hospitality
Farragh’s commitment to creating positive change has only been growing throughout his career. Before Interlochen, Farragh was senior manager and director of sales at The Homestead, a beachfront resort close to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park and Glen Arbor. In his role, he oversaw almost everything related to dining, lodging, and events. It was the perfect preparation for what he’s doing now—Interlochen Hospitality includes Dining Services, Safety, Transportation, Retail, and Housing.
“Interlochen Hospitality is a newly-created division overseeing all of our hospitality-related departments,” says Farragh. “All the departments have different specific responsibilities, but they’re all related insofar as they’re all high touch points for the customer experience. We take care of people who travel here, whether they’re a guest artist, a concertgoer, or a parent coming to support their student. Interlochen is a global leader in arts and education and my job is to support and enhance that experience.”
Interlochen is a global leader in arts and education and my job is to support and enhance that experience.
It’s a hefty responsibility. During the Academy year, the Dining Services team puts out 2,000 meals a day. Stone Cafeteria stays open year-round, and Pinecrest and Lockhaven are open seasonally during the summer. Farragh also oversees Interlochen’s catering division, which hosted 127 events in the past year. Despite handling such huge numbers, Farragh keeps a close eye on the little details. For him, art and excellence in hospitality go hand in hand.
“Even the most unique, outside-of-the-box young artist wants cleanliness and uniformity in their dining services offerings,” he says. “In order for art to thrive or education to thrive, there has to be a strong backbone of support services. Our human needs have to be met. People want to get where they’re going safely, sleep in comfort, and be well fed.”
Making strides toward a better dining experience
In partnership with Paul Hickman, Director of Dining Services, Farragh is working hard to enhance the dining experience at Interlochen. They’ve added an omelette station and a ramen station. They’ve developed a more robust vegetarian and gluten free selection. In addition, there’s a new Grab and Go station available all day long for students who are fasting, can’t make a meal at the regular time, or need some quick fuel. The team has even instituted a Food Forum, in which Arts Academy students are invited to sit down with Dining Services staff and give their honest feedback on what they like and dislike about dining at Interlochen.
“Scratch kitchen is another thing the team is working on,” says Farragh. “Our current estimate is that about 45% of the items that we make are from scratch, which is pretty good. We've got a stretch goal of making that 75%.”
Farragh wants to bring a sense of fun and levity to the dining experience at Interlochen.
“For Halloween, we did a zombie theme in the cafeteria. We had a fog machine and covered all the lights. It was pretty gory, but it was really good,” he says.
The team is also making strides in networking and education. Not long ago, Hickman and Farragh represented Interlochen at the Gordon Foods Services (GFS) show in Grand Rapids, Michigan, joining about 300 other vendors. It was through a GFS connection that he and Hickman also had the opportunity to visit the University of Michigan over the past summer. There, they met with Campus Executive Chef Frank Turchan, who’s known for his dedication to sustainable food sourcing, and discussed techniques and best practices.
“We want to be known as a leader in the industry,” says Farragh.
The heart of it is really simple stuff. If you make someone feel welcome, they're going to enjoy their experience so much more.
The heart of the matter
For Farragh, hospitality has become a way of life. He has three children of his own, and he and his wife try to make their home a restful stop for friends and family who may be traveling through. His wife always insists on cooking exactly what their guests would most like to eat.
“When my own family welcomes people into our home, we've got that ‘the more, the merrier’ mentality,” says Farragh.
Extending that same spirit into the workplace comes naturally for him.
“The heart of it is really simple stuff,” he says. “If you make someone feel welcome, they're going to enjoy their experience so much more—exponentially more, in comparison to those interactions where there isn’t any personal connection. It’s about greeting people when they arrive. It’s about having a staff that’s truly proud of what they're presenting and offering for students.”
According to Farragh, the goal is to keep improving.
“Neither Paul (Hickman) or myself are just going to stop at ‘this is good enough,’” says Farragh. “That's our mentality in the Hospitality Division as a whole right now.”
Guests and students can look forward to continued menu renovations, aesthetic adjustments to Stone, and a renewed focus on community—Farragh’s team is thinking about hosting an open mic night over dinner.
It’s up for debate whether Farragh draws his hosting superpowers from wearing a tie. But, whatever he’s doing, it seems to be working.
“You take care of people, your customers, and your team members and good things will come. It's as simple as that,” he says.
Learn more about Dining at Interlochen Center for the Arts.
