Giving a Chance to the Newly Sober

Most employers would balk at hiring newly sober workers or those still battling drug or alcohol abuse.

Not Jon Esformes, owner of Westwood Country Market and Cafe in Los Angeles.

Esformes opened the business 14 months ago, serving brioche French toast, house-made granola, grilled panini and chopped salads to neighborhood families and businesspeople. He welcomes job candidates at various stages of recovery -- as long as they are qualified, willing and able to perform the work.

He finds that the individuals who make the cut are often more enthusiastic than the typical worker. And thanks to the tenets of most 12-step recovery programs, they can operate with a heightened sense of integrity and be more receptive to instruction and criticism.

"Someone who is in recovery has a real gratitude for the opportunity they have to be part of the world and to be part of something, because for so long they may not have been part of anything," Esformes said. "It was that kind of excitement that I wanted in this restaurant as part of our team."

His team consists of 15 full-time and part-time employees. They cook, greet and serve guests and clean at the glass-fronted cafe and gourmet market, where bins of neatly stacked vegetables and shelves of specialty foods and wine surround the tables and wicker chairs.

It is illegal for an employer to ask a job candidate about health problems, including substance abuse, but Esformes, himself a recovering alcoholic, often learns of his workers' struggles. He has employed 10 newly sober workers at the cafe since it opened.

Esformes hopes to re-create the welcoming atmosphere of the small-town cafes and markets he frequented during his years on the road in his previous job. He handled chain-restaurant sales and marketing for his family's agriculture business, Pacific Tomato Growers Ltd. of Palmetto, Fla.

"I love the warmth of neighborhoods and what a neighborhood cafe represents to the people living in the area," he said.

At the Westwood cafe, prices are modest -- most menu items are $10 or less, and families and children are welcomed.

The business broke even for the first time last month as sales rose to the $55,000 to $60,000 range, Esformes said. Sales have increased about 10% each month this year, he said. An on-site catering operation is part of a separate joint venture.