Bartending
It was in the year 1999 when a Penn State College student named John Gayewski decided that he needed a way to, “make some money, do something fun, and you know, meet some women.” He was going to make his claim to fame and take what was his in the world of opportunity. So, early in the summer, John decided to enroll into a forty hour bartender’s course, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. For the duration of the course, the instructors taught John the intricate methods to memorizing drinks, ways of earning better tips, how to set up your bar and how to clean up your bar. The forty hour class went by and at the very end of his training he graduated as a certified mixologist. The next step for John was the job hunt. Since he was enrolled in State College Pennsylvania, there were quite a few bars for him to choose from. There was one bar in the area that he had wanted to work more than any other it was called The Dark Horse. John was starting to feel the need to get into the bar scene, but for a man without any real experience, he was in for a bit of a struggle. He knew that there weren’t any open bartending positions at the Dark Horse, so he decided to apply for a door position.
“Just because I wanted to get my foot in the door. You know. Get into the bar scene.”
Luckily he was in the right place at the right time and he was hired as the doorman at the Dark Horse Tavern. Even though it wasn’t bartending, he was close to the bar and from there he would learn how the bar business worked.
“I figured with my bar experience and my door experience, it would lead to better things.”
John was working every Monday, Thursday and on one night a weekend. Monday nights were usually football nights where the same crowd would arrive talking gambling and stats.
“That was a good crowd. I actually got behind the bar during that time ‘cause it wasn’t real busy and the owner wasn’t around. Thursday night was always a good night at the door, just cause it was sorority night. You’d get all the sorostitutes comin’ in. usually the regulars. Get kisses from them on the way in, you know, flirt with them. So that was a good deal.”
The weekends at the bar for John were always varied depending on the Penn State football games or just the time of day.
“You never know what kind of night you can get. You can get a good one wi...
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...full is when there are hockey games, concerts or other events at the arena.
“The atmosphere is, well… I’m always making drinks for waiters and waitresses and I’m not being tipped out for that, while I’m still making the drinks, which is kind of bogus. I have off and on thoughts about Applebee’s. It could be good one night and bad another.”
John holds a second job as a bartender at Banana Joe’s. This is where he makes most of his money and spends the least of his time.
“Now Banana Joe’s has a good atmosphere. There’s a lot of young kids looking for a good time and I like to help them out, but you don‘t want to get them too drunk so you have to watch. Go easy on the liquor. In that bar there is a lot of heads down bartending. Filling orders like crazy for like two hours, but as they slow down drinking there is more time to socialize.”
I once asked John if there were any goals for him in this business, and he mentioned the movie Cocktail. He said that he would like to have a bit more flare while bartending.
“Its an entertainment business, bartending. You like to entertain while you do your job. I’d like to be more entertaining, doing my job.”
“I honestly believe people are going to want to bring their dogs in here. I tried to make it fun and I think I’ve succeeded.”
One of his jobshe worked at the Harward Inn as a barr tender and a bouncer. He became popular to his customersand his
A man, noticing her talents and misfortunes, recruited her to perform at a pub as a part of their monthly “Amateur Night.”
John seems to be getting himself involved in the wrong crowds. At his last check-in there was a
“ Every hooker I ever speak to tells me that it beats the hell out of waitressing.”
"You put booze in a lot of stuff, I'm thinking it makes people wanna have it."
“Don’t have no idea,” he said lighting up a smoke. “But there’s gotta be at least a couple of decent places in this crummy little town we could go.”
"Not quite." Joe interrupted glanced at George than added, "Tell you what. You tell us a story we haven't heard and the drinks are free. For as long as you keep talking."
“Because I thought it’d be fun.” I said, grinning from ear to ear like Jeff the Killer.
It was the 9:00 AM on Monday, in the quaint town of Key West, Florida. Bradley, the (owner) of an extremely small run-down pizzeria, was in the middle of mopping as he got ready for his first shift of the morning.
“Oh -- so this is the reason you were nasty last night, telling me how you were going to…”
It was a bitter winter evening in New York the night I met Rufus. A sinister cool mist had been blown in by a nasty, biting wind, the kind that sends a shiver right down to your bone marrow, but thankfully I wasn’t outside. I was sitting in The Magic Hat, a tiny, smoky jazz club, one renowned for its lack of classy clientele, throwing back whiskey sours like they were going outta style. The bitterness of whiskey had always made me flinch, not that I cared about the flavour of the damn things, so long as I was filling my blood-stream with some kinda alcohol, I was keeping off reality for another 30 minutes. A combination of a bad week and lousy weather can push a guy to find any kind of numbing anaesthetic nearby, even overpriced bullshit like whiskey. I slammed another $5 on the counter and ordered my fifth one that night. I could tell the barman didn’t like giving me it, but he also knew that if I kept this up I’d pay his month’s rent, so he poured another Scottish demon into a glass for me, placed two ice cubes in the drink, sighed, and handed it to me. I thanked him and took a sip. Recoiling from the bitterness, I noticed a new guy had walked in. He was a tall, skinny fella, about 6 foot 3, brown hair and blue eyes, and he was grinning like a goddamn clown. He took off his long, black leather coat and hung it up on the bar stool he then sat on. God I hate that. You’re trying to have a miserable time, drowning your memories in a decidedly crummy establishment like The Magic Hat, when some cheerful bastard rolls in with a face like he’s just won the lottery. The son of a bitch beckoned over the barman and ordered champagne for everyone. What a philanthropist. I downed my drink and slammed the glass back on the table. I wasn’t goi...
“Not exactly good Mr. Washington. I haven’t had any customers yet. It seems that all of my hard work has gone to waste,” Casey responded, a sad look in her eyes.
"Bet you thought you'd never be at one of these!" she says excitedly. I calmly smile back in return. Having never had great opportunities just fall into my lap, I know I've worked long and hard to achieve my career goal. Not only am I employed as a computer animator at a major company, I have designed the special effects for the hottest movie on the market.
Running a restaurant can be one of the most stressful jobs as well as the most fun and rewarding jobs. If the manager is a good leader with excellent leadership skills and has great followers the restaurant will be rewarded. If not the restaurant will plummet in sales and no one will be pleased. While developing a business. staff is important to running a successful restaurant, it is also essential that management focus on its public relations as well as its sales and marketing strategies.