Brand-Changing Day

by Shawn Mihalik

In the world of the casual American chain restaurant, brand-changing day signifies the start of something new—new menu items are rolled out, logos are redesigned, service procedures are updated, and old uniforms are traded for hipper, darker, flashier styles.
But for employees at The Grill in Youngstown, Ohio—including twenty-something server Scott Pelletier and forty-something general manager Geoffrey McCree—brand-changing day might be when everything changes. Forever.

212 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2013

About the author

Shawn Mihalik is a writer, editor, and photographer. He’s the author of seven books—as well as short stories, essays, and journalism. He lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another goodreads giveaway freebie. I had never heard of the book or author, I just entered because the cover looked interesting. I was pleasantly surprised to find an excellent little book. It's kind of sad, but in a good way, with interesting and fun sentences. A quick enjoyable read.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re wondering whether Shawn Mihalik is a good writer, you can stop wondering now.

He’s not a good writer. He’s a GREAT writer! And you know I mean it, because I’d never use caps otherwise.

Brand-Changing Day is one of the most enjoyable, refreshing and original books I’ve read this year (that’s the same year I read To Kill a Mockingbird, mind you). Shawn manages to paint a very real and very amusing picture of life as a chain restaurant employee. The characters are all relatable, even the less likable ones, because Shawn is very observant and knows just what to show us to make us care about the people in his story.

And although the story might seem pointless at first, the order of the chapters (all leading up to the astounding events of brand-changing day) keeps the tension and curiosity at just the right level to keep the reader’s interest.
His writing style is sublime, and I warn you not to drink any beverages while reading, because sooner or later, that beverage might just shoot out of your nose in laughter, and you could, you know, ruin the book (or your Kindle, or laptop, or mobile phone).
Shawn loves to experiment with the written word, and he does it wonderfully in this book. For example, there’s one run-on sentence about melted cheese dripping from a breakfast sandwich that I read out loud to as many people as would listen to me, simply because he managed to turn something so mundane and trivial into a thing of beauty (well, beauty is relative, of course).

I highly recommend Brand-Changing Day to anyone who loves language, literary fiction, humor or has ever worked at (or dined at) a restaurant. So yeah, I mean pretty much everyone.

[Nancy Morecraft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't see that coming....but I can see why! Restaurant employees have to put up with a lot which I know would be stressful. Who wants to be nice when all you want to do is throw the food in the customers face. Much respect for the staff. Talking bear?? This book has it all! Good, quick read. Thank you Shawn Mihalik and GoodReads!

[Patty Corwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beauty of this book lives in the characters. Each one is artfully and thoughtfully written. The plot of the book, that of a restaurant changing up its menus and its image, is subordinate to the dimensional its of the characters. A very good read. By the way, my daughter wrote a blurb on the back cover in praise of the author. She also publishes thru Assymetrical Press.

[Colin Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reads like Office Space for the archetypical American restaurant chain. Funny and dark.