'Blows new employees away': This CEO eats lunch with staff, thanks employees with handwritten notes

His approach underscores a central idea: leadership was not only about authority but about connection.

In a time defined by AI-driven communication and increasing digital dependence, handwritten correspondence has almost vanished. Yet, for Chris Tomasso, Chief Executive Officer of the US-based breakfast and lunch chain First Watch, writing personal notes remains a meaningful leadership practice.

The head of the billion-dollar restaurant group personally writes letters of appreciation each month to cooks and dishwashers marking long years of service — including milestones such as 10, 20, and 30 years with the company. With over 15,000 employees across the organisation, Tomasso has written more than 500 such notes, believing the effort carried lasting value.

“I just love people that pick their lane, they love it, and they don’t want to do anything else,” Tomasso told Fortune. “They want to be the best dishwasher they can, and so I want to thank and reward loyalty, longevity, [and] the contributions that they make to the company.”

Tomasso’s commitment to personal acknowledgement stems from his early professional experience. At 26, while working at Hard Rock Cafe, he received a handwritten thank-you letter from his then-CEO — a note he kept to this day. When he assumed leadership at First Watch in 2018, he chose to adopt the same principle.

“I tried to minimise the [CEO] title as best I can when I’m interacting with people,” he said. “I eat lunch in the break room with everybody, which always, for whatever reason, blows new employees away—that I just sit down next to them and bring my lunch and have lunch with them. I think it’s a shame that there’s that feeling.”

His approach underscores a central idea: leadership was not only about authority but about connection.

“Our job is to create an environment where our employees are happy and feel appreciated and they take care of the rest,” Tomasso added on LinkedIn. “And they do it better than anyone.”

While digital tools have accelerated communication, many corporate leaders still maintain that handwritten notes hold a unique impact.

According to Fortune, Geoffroy van Raemdonck, CEO of Neiman Marcus, has long followed the same tradition. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, he sent three to five handwritten thank-you notes each day. Though hybrid work later led him to supplement the habit with digital messages or calls, the intention remained unchanged.

“I was taught by great mentors of the power of sending a thank-you note,” van Raemdonck told Fortune in 2023. “It’s really important for me—the moment of ‘thank you’—because I know what it is to receive a thank-you, to be acknowledged.”

Similarly, Mike Wirth, Chairman and CEO of Chevron, continues to send handwritten letters to staff around the world. “I think back to when I was early in my career, and if a CEO had sent me a letter and actually knew what I was doing, it would have been a really big deal for me,” Wirth said on the "How Leaders Lead" podcast with David Novak. “And so I try to remember what it was like to be in the jobs that I’m visiting and that I had those jobs myself one time. And I want to make sure that people know that I appreciate them.”

The practice has also found relevance among younger executives. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has often spoken about his preference for writing by hand, particularly when navigating complex issues.

“I think of writing as externalised thinking. I still, if I have a very hard problem, or if I feel a little bit confused about something, have not found anything better to do than to sit down and make myself write it out,” Altman said on the "How I Write" podcast.

“I’m a big believer of, I take a bunch of notes, and then I clearly rip them out so I can look at multiple pages at the same time, and I can crumple them up and throw them on the floor when I’m done,” he added.