Erin Seal of Downers Grove subscribes to the philosophy that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. It’s a concept she said she learned early on.

This attitude of caring about her work, coupled with on-the-job competency and a strong work ethic, is a major part of her success no matter where she works or what she’s doing. It currently is a major asset of her position at a local restaurant.

Seal is the event sales manager at the Zed 451 restaurant — formerly Sal Caravao, a Brazilian steakhouse — on the southwest corner of Butterfield and Finley roads in Downers Grove. This means that she handles small to large parties from two to 350 as well as meetings and events.

Even as a child, Seal had interests and tendencies that later pointed her in the direction of this kind of job.

“I’ve always been a planner. Even at a younger age when playing with friends, I enjoyed directing the group during play,” she said. “On family vacations, I always wanted to know what the plan was for the day — where we were going next and at what time.”

Seal attended Western Illinois University where she obtained her bachelor of arts in public communications and human relations with an emphasis in organizational communication.

“I minored in English, theater and sociology, all of which pertain to the hospitality industry,” she said.

Before joining the staff at Zed, Seal worked in some other unique venues such as the Odyssey and Mystic Blue cruises at Navy Pier. Then, when the opportunity to work at Zed came up, she said, “I jumped on it immediately. The unique concept of tweaking the Brazilian style of service and evolving this international cuisine concept was very appealing to me.

“I fell in love with the comfortable yet contemporary atmosphere and adored the people I met,” Seal added. “The combination of sales and event planning could not be a better fit for me. I’ve always been extremely organized and detail-oriented.

“I also love teaching clients about the Zed experience, detailing their event, seeing their excitement the day of their meeting/event and then hearing their feedback afterwards,” she said.

Zed 451 offers an international cuisine and is a vegetarian-friendly steakhouse. The menu includes fruits, vegetables, salads, soups and desserts in addition to the 12 meats and two seafoods brought to the table for sampling by different chefs, Seal said. Dining there is a memorable experience, and she believes that working there is also.

In other news
The Downers Grove Artists’ Guild recently held a reception to mark the opening of a new exhibit at the Downers Grove Park District Museum annex. The theme was copies of masterpieces, but with something different. The works on display were very well executed, and attendance at the opening was good. In the same month, the guild then had a reception at the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook for the opening of the gallery exhibit “Restoration.”

Members of the Downers Grove Writers Workshop will be sharing samples of their work from poetry to prose at the group’s annual public reading event to be held at the Downers Grove Public Library from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21. Additional details are coming.