We’re very excited to announce DiningOut as our new media partner! This partnership will allow us to provide our users with even more news and updates about the restaurant industry, and give DiningOut readers easy access to open jobs in the industry. With our new public API and WordPress plugin, all of Sirvo’s job postings are displayed and searchable directly on DiningOut.com. We think this is a double win for those looking for restaurant jobs in the Denver/Boulder area and businesses hiring on Sirvo.
We’re also collaborating with DiningOut to create more content for members of the industry, such as posts about the best local restaurant companies to work for, round-ups of awesome Denver restaurant jobs, and insider tips and tricks. Stay tuned for this content on our site under “IndiNews”
Since 1998, DiningOut has been bringing you the best of the Denver/Boulder culinary scene with stories, interviews, and recipes from the best restaurants in Denver, Boulder, and beyond. DiningOut publishes two issues annually in the winter and early summer, and tracks breaking news on its website (diningout.com/denverboulder) daily.
Sirvo, named “Best New Startup 2015,” is a modern web app for hospitality recruitment. Sirvo helps better connect employers and job seekers by providing easy access to business and talent profiles, powerful search, as well as collaborative hiring tools for a smooth, streamlined hiring process.
Working the bar at the ViewHouse, one of Downtown Denver’s most popular destinations no matter the time of day, takes serious skill, endurance, and personality. And Dane Hatch, their lead bartender, makes it look like a walk in the park, so we sat down with him to find out how he does it without breaking a sweat.
What first attracted you to bartending?
I had a roommate in Telluride who was a bartender and he always seemed to have too much fun! I love meeting new people so it was a perfect fit.
Where did you get your start?
A bar called Tracks Cafe & Bar in Telluride.
Did you ever go to bartending school?
I never went. It wasn’t required. I feel like bartending is a skill that just takes time behind the bar.
What was the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Always keep your head up and on a swivel. Always know what your next move is going to be.
Who do you look to for inspiration?
There is always going to be someone that’s better than you at certain tasks. I’ve tried to learn from everyone I’ve ever worked with.
What’s your least favorite drink to make?
AMF…
Do you have any tricks you use to connect to customers or maximize your efficiency behind the bar?
Every guest is different, so I try to read the type of person they are and their mood when they sit down.
Do you have a signature cocktail?
Definitely! It’s the ViewHouse Lemonade.
Ingredients:
1 ¼ oz Sky Raspberry
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup
4 raspberries
Serve over ice in a pint glass, then top it off with a splash of Sierra Mist.
When you go to a new bar or restaurant, do you ever look around for anything that lets you know they have their sh*t together?
Of course. It’s just habit at this point.
Last but not least, what’s your favorite part of the job?
I’m the first person you see when you come into ViewHouse. I almost feel like the face of ViewHouse. I like meeting every person that walks through the door!
Thanks Dane and everyone at the ViewHouse for this awesome interview!
The best bartenders get a kick out of knowing they’re helping people have a good time – but what if it goes too far? Should bartenders be to blame if someone drinks themselves into injury or illness?
Bartending is a profession dedicated to the art of hospitality, but working with alcohol is not a position of power that should ever be taken lightly.
While the cocktail sector is exploding with boundary-pushing innovation, it is imperative the industry does not become detached from the dangers associated with what is, after all, an intoxicating drug.
In numerous countries including the UK, the US and Australia, legislation has been put in place making it illegal to sell alcohol to a person who is obviously drunk, and similarly, to buy an alcoholic drink for someone you know to be drunk.
However, despite the foundation of such laws, questions abound over who is responsible for ensuring the industry is not plagued with a problem of over-consumption.
During recent months, the media has been awash with a string of high-profile tragedies involving the apparent “over-serving” of alcohol, a handful of which have had calamitous consequences.
In April 2015, Martell’s Tiki Bar in Point Pleasant Beach, Jersey Shore, US, was fined $500,000 and had its licence revoked for a month after allegedly over-serving alcohol to a woman who later died in a car crash.
Tragic incident
The incident unfolded in 2013 after Ashley Chieco, 26, left Martell’s in another person’s car, which collided with an oncoming vehicle, killing herself and injuring the other driver, Dana Corrar.
The survivor suffered two broken legs, broken ribs and will “never work again, never walk again normally and never be pain-free,” according to her lawyer, Paul Edelstein, a personal injury specialist. Martell’s pleaded “no contest” to the charge of serving alcohol to an intoxicated person in exchange for the fine.
“Businesses that profit from the sale of alcohol are well aware of its dangers, particularly when combined with people who then get into vehicles.”
Edelstein adds that “it is akin to a shop selling bullets and then allowing its customers access to a gun when they leave. Hopefully, the attention alone will make a bartender think twice before continuing to serve someone and inquire as to how they are leaving a location that does not provide access to mass transit.”
So when it comes to alcohol consumption where does the responsibility of the bartender start and that of the consumer end?
For some, all persons involved – the consumer, bartender and management – have a collective duty for the wellbeing of both patrons and staff.
“First and foremost, obviously the customer should know their own limits, however we all know that is not always the case. Bartenders should make safe service of alcohol a huge priority in day-to-day business and the owner of the bar should take a vested interest in the education of the staff about over-serving and the dangers and consequences.”
But for others, the responsibility rests with those in a managerial position who need to step up to their line of duties.
“Inevitably, the responsibility lies with the management chain – they are the licensees,” says British bartender and entrepreneur JJ Goodman, co-founder of the London Cocktail Club.
“In the UK we have an inherent history of binge drinking, so customers aren’t very perceptive to being told they’re not allowed another drink. When that sort of situation occurs, someone more senior and experienced needs to come in to handle it and command control as quickly as possible.”
Diffusing the situation
Similar snippets of advice surrounding this irrefutably sensitive subject are echoed throughout the industry.
Accusing guests of being drunk is deemed as the biggest faux pas, and a sure fire way to escalate an already testing episode.
Avoiding embarrassment, ascertaining a first name basis and gaining the aid and trust of any peers who may be present are all recommended methods when it comes to diffusing any drama involved with this task.
Various initiatives have been instigated to curtail irresponsible service and consumption. At the end of 2014, the British Beer and Pub Association launched a poster campaign in the UK to drive awareness among consumers and on-trade establishments of the law surrounding serving people who are obviously drunk.
“It’s not about getting more prosecutions; it’s about raising awareness.”
Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, continues by explaining that, “it’s important we don’t turn pubs and bars into fortresses – we want to encourage people to go to these socially responsible places. But we need to find a balance between staff responsibility and personal responsibility.”
As a manager, in a restaurant or otherwise, it is your responsibility to ensure that business is running smoothly. This ranges from how staff is performing to business outcomes. It can be a heavy load. However, there are still many easy and inexpensive things you can do to make sure your establishment is running the way it should and to prevent problems before they occur.
Get involved
No one thinks of the phrase “absentee boss” in a positive context. Being in the establishment is a good start, but you need to get out of your office and on the floor and in the kitchen.
Be seen.
Even if the general manager and/or owner are not, you can be. In fact, putting in the effort to be available to your staff and customers will help you in the end. Employees will respect you all the more, making your job that much easier.
Drop in unexpectedly
When I was working in the industry, my manager would pop in and out all the time. She would tell us that she had an appointment the next morning and was coming in late, then show up early and say that the appointment was rescheduled. After I moved on, she let me in on her little secret and explained that it was her way of keeping everyone on top of their game. And it worked.
The first few times you do this though, it may catch a few off guard. Give them some slack the first few times, but if they don’t shape up, you’ll know and can then do something about it.
Stop by after hours
You know those restaurant ‘spy’ shows where they go undercover to find out who’s behind the business’s shortages? Well, one of the recurring things on those programs is that abuses are happening after hours; bartenders are throwing parties, chefs are using your place for a pop-up restaurant, etc. Well, even though those shows are overdramatized, they’re not off the ball.
To ensure this is not happening at your business, especially if you’ve noticed something suspicious, go in when the place is closed, and do it often. For many restaurants, a drive by will suffice. No lights on and no parked cars are both good signs when the place is supposed to be closed. A similar tactic is to check with your alarm company to see when the alarm was turned on and turned off.
Hire an experienced person for the role of mystery shopper
Again, those ‘spy’ tv shows are on to something here.Using a mystery shopper can help uncover that which you would not discover otherwise. This can be anything from poor service and inconsistencies in food/beverages to comps, and more.
It’s best if your mystery shopper is experienced in restaurant and hospitality operations and someone you’re familiar with, but you’re employees are not.
Also, having your mystery shopper visit regularly will allow him or her to form relationships with your staff, increasing access to what’s going on behind the scenes.
Do an accurate inventory, and do it often
Whether you’re responsible for both food and beverages, or just one or the other, don’t just do an inventory on one time of item or before placing weekly orders. If possible, aim to do a thorough inventory 2-3 times per week. While inventory should always be done when the business is closed, don’t do it on the same days every week.
This is a lot to take on, but there are tools that can help. It’ll be worth it in the end; you’ll not only be protecting the business from unnecessary spending but also ensuring that business operations are running as they should.
Rotate staff between units and shifts
The more comfortable staff is with each other the more likely they will get together to do things that should not be done. This is a tough tightrope to walk.
You need to have people together enough that they work smoothly with each other, but not consistent enough to become overly friendly.
The side benefit of this is that everyone starts knowing how to work with everyone else, which is a plus if you have to switch around people for special events, staffing shortages, etc.
The bottom line is that there are several small steps that you can take to tighten up business operations and ensure that everything is being run as it should be.
As an addition to our interview with Dustin Lawlor, head bartender at The Kitchen, here’s the recipe for his craft cocktail ‘Las Vegas Turnaround’. This bourbon-based drink with lemon, basil, and ginger ale is a refreshing cocktail with vibrant flavors that is guaranteed to satisfy!
