Want to know the secret to a 30-plus-year career at Canterbury League Club? Find out from our food and beverage superstar, Ariana Kalouris
Ariana Kalouris has the kind of energy we wish we could bottle! At 58 years young, she’s a true dynamo. One minute, she’s serving coffee and cake in the Bakehouse Café, and the next, she’s setting up a function, training new staff or chatting with customers – all done with her beaming smile and hearty laugh. Our Senior Food and Beverage Attendant has brought her enthusiasm to Canterbury League Club for more than 30 years – and says if she could, she’d stay for 30 more!
The start of something special
When Ariana Kalouris joined Canterbury League Club in 1992, she was 27, a mother of two young children, and had never made a cappuccino in her life! But that didn’t stop this spirited go-getter from embracing the challenge of working in our busy café – and making an impact that’s lasted more than three decades.
“I’m not the kind of person who likes to sit still, so after a couple of years at home when my kids were little, I decided it was time to look for a job,” Ariana says. “I saw an ad in the paper for the coffee shop at Canterbury, and the next thing you know, I’m in the café asking one of the other girls, ‘Quick, show me how to make a coffee,’ because I didn’t know how!”
If someone had told Ariana that this was the beginning of her 30-plus-year career at Canterbury League Club, she wouldn’t have believed them. In fact, she’d never worked in hospitality before!
But Ariana’s strong work ethic, positivity and love of helping people quickly came to the fore, paving the way for her to become the friendly Senior Food and Beverage Attendant our customers and team members know, trust and respect today.
“When I started at Canterbury, I worked three nights a week to fit around my family. As my kids got older, I was able to work during the day and do more shifts. I now work five and sometimes six shifts a week because I want to. To me, it’s not work. It’s like my second home. I leave one home, and I go to another. And everyone here knows me. I put in 110% – I’m not ashamed to say it, and everybody would agree. I love the people, I love the variety. I just love being here.”
Career growth, fun and family
Over the years, Ariana has become an expert in all aspects of food and beverage service at Canterbury League Club. Soon after joining our team, she helped open and manage two of our restaurants as our first-ever Food and Beverage Supervisor. She now trains our new food service team members – and has well and truly mastered the perfect cuppa as a barista at our Bakehouse Café.
Driven to achieve, Ariana has also seized every opportunity to learn new skills and grow. She’s attained her Certificate III in Hospitality and completed courses in cocktail making, wine tasting, food safety, responsible service of alcohol, first aid … in fact, Ariana has a manila folder crammed with all the certificates and awards she’s achieved!
Setting up and supervising functions is another exciting part of Ariana’s role. Our functions are as fun as they are diverse – from corporate and business events to weddings, christenings, baby showers, birthdays, Christmas parties and more.
“It can get pretty full on, but I thrive on that. I’m a people person. I enjoy talking to everybody. And I love working weekends. If I do a function on a Friday or Saturday night, I feel like I’m going out. There’s parties, people are everywhere, everything’s happening. It’s pumping!”
Looking for a team that values your growth, rewards your efforts and treats you as a whole person? Join Canterbury League Club today!
