September in Denver is all about beer, with a calendar packed full of events all staring Hops, culminating in the behemoth beer festival that is The Great American Beer Festival.
As a lead-up (and down) to GABF, Avanti Food & Beverage in LoHi will be hosting a series of ticketless events throughout the week of September 23-27.
It all starts with a Kickoff Party on September 23rd featuring Odell Brewing. From 8pm until close, look forward to keg tappings (mmm … ‘Myrcenary‘), more beer, and giveaways!
And let the good times keep on rolling…
On September 24 at 10pm, Avanti is throwing the GABF After Party featuring Dogfish Head to celebrate the brewery’s 20 off-centered years with the first nationwide tapping of their 20th Anniversary Beer ‘Higher Math’. Also enjoy beers from Dogfish Founder Sam Calagione’s personal stash, including limited bottled beers: 2006 120 Minute IPA, 2006 Fort, 2006 Raison D’Extra, 2007 Immort Ale. And, as a bonus, get a Dogfish signature glasses with any “vintage beer” purchased!
Friday happy hour! On the 25th, Avanti is hosting an extended happy hour from 1-4pm with Ratio Beerworks brewers on hand to discuss their beers.
And, to finish off the week of festivities, enjoy the calm after the storm at Avanti on Sunday, September 26 with a Hungover Sunday Funday. Enjoy “BroMosas” (craft beer mimosas) specials plus creative beer Bloody Mary offerings that will satisfy the hair of YOUR dog!
TopTender303, the 4-week bartending competition to find Denver’s best bartender, kicked off with a bang last Tuesday night!
The competition was stiff, with 10 bartenders from Denver’s top watering holes throwing down their best drink-making moves in a 2-round showdown: Drink of Choice and Mystery Box,featuring the TOP SECRET spirit of the night provided by Beverage Distributers Company.
The Goal: Make the cut to Week 2 of TopTender303, and one step closer to the $500 grand prize.
Pre-competition, the tenders were relaxed and socializing.
While sharing some funny tidbits about their times behind the bar, Conner had us all laughing after revealing his most annoying request to date was some dude asking him to charge his e-cigarette at the packed Cold Crush bar.
When asked about strangest drink requests, Chad spoke up, “Chambord and Sprite, to which I asked, would you like a side of diabetes with that?” Apparently the customers were not so amused, responding with a hostile “Yes” after a few seconds of death staring.
Then it was Game Time, and Vodka was the star.
The first round, Drink of Choice, started with a mad dash to the fully stocked ingredient table, containing basically anything and everything that the bartenders could use to make their drinks, and with only 20 minutes to get it done, it was a hectic round.
The Mystery Box was an entirely different beast. Given a box filled with random ingredients, the bartenders had another 20 minutes to make their final drinks including at least three mystery box ingredients. There was some intense creativity going down. See the photo below, those are Cheetos sprinkled on top (…and it was de-lish-ous).
It was a pretty epic show, with the bartenders in the center of the room surrounded by friends and fans from the industry watching and cheering as the competitors made it happen.
It was a hard decision when it came time to make the cuts.
Both rounds of drinks were sampled by attendees, who voted for their favorites, as well as a panel of judges that helped make the final decision as to who would be moving on to Week 2. Although extremely talented, Kyle Faulhaber, Danny Hampton, and Ryan Buchanan won’t be moving on.
So, after an awesome night of intense competition and delicious beverages, we’re looking forward to Round 2 of TopTender303, going down at NATIV Hotel on Tuesday, September 8, where the remaining 7 bartenders will battle it out using yet another TOP SECRET spirit. DON’T MISS IT!
The Denver Business Journal recently published the article Hunt gets harder for restaurant help in metro Denver, describing the “borderline crisis” state of staffing shortages in Denver restaurants. As the “bright-white age of Denver restaurant expansion” continues with no end in sight, restaurant employers are having difficulty retaining and recruiting staff.
The reason, as Adam Schlegel, part-owner of Snooze and executive director of EatDenver, puts it, “there are far more restaurant jobs than people who can fill them.” And, this “crisis” is not just a local phenomenon. Similar accounts of hiring strife in Chicago, Boston, and Houston, to name a few, have hit the airways in recent months.
While restaurant owners are feeling the pressure, this increasingly high demand for staff has opened the treasure chest for the people working in the restaurant industry “who suddenly seem to hold the power.” It’s good to be a restaurant employee, and it’s getting even better.
Lots o’ job
In 2014 alone, the restaurant industry added more than 400,000 jobs nationally, making it the fastest growing industry in terms of workforce and there are no signs of slowing. More than 150,00 restaurant jobs have been created so far this year, keeping the industry on track to add the projected 300,000 jobs in 2015.
In Colorado, restaurant jobs have grown twice as fast any other industry in the state thanks to Denver’s restaurant boom. To give you an idea of just how big the boom is, restaurant consultant Jon Imbergamo estimates that for every Denver restaurant that closes, 4-6 new ones open.
Needless to say, there are positions available all over town. In fact, Schlegal estimates that a job seeker with service industry experience can get “five to 10 immediate expressions of interest after posting their resume.” The opportunities aren’t just limited to seasoned restaurant workers either as staffing shortages include host/hostess and other entry level positions.
Given the hiring hardships, restaurants are growing ever-more competitive when it comes to maintaining staff, which means growing incentives to keep people around. According to the DBJ’s Hunt Gets Harder article, employee wages, including starting pay, have increased by 15-20% over the last 18 months, with some restaurants going up by 40%.
But that’s not enough. As the choices of where to work grow, employees are becoming extremely selective to the point that they are looking for additional things besides a higher paycheck. Restaurants across the state, and nationwide, are offering new or increased benefits. From 401k plans to paid gym memberships to “kick-ass staff parties”, owners and operators are doing basically anything and everything to keep staff at their establishment.
Some restaurateurs are going out-of-the-box (literally) to solve their staffing woes by going outside of the heart of the city. Both Snooze and Steuban’s have ventured outside of Downtown Denver and opened locations in the surrounding suburbs. Not only does this enable restaurant owners and operators to tap into a new talent pool, but it also provides new job opportunities to the people who live in the area. No longer does working at a top restaurant mean commuting to and from the Denver metro area. Especially now that traffic is getting worse by the day.
The Takeaway
The restaurant industry is growing. So much so that the workforce as it is now cannot accommodate. That means that there are jobs available for the taking plus more money and benefits to those who seize the opportunity. Like I said before, whether you’re a veteran or just getting started, it’s good to be a restaurant employee.
To all those who work in the Service Industry: this one’s for you. Welcome to NATIV Industry Night, the Tuesday night party dedicated to the Service Industry.
NATIV Industry Night is a weekly celebration that kicked off in early July as a way to say thanks to the people who feed us, cloth us, beautify us, pamper us, etc. day in and day out.
Now’s your chance to get special treatment: live music, food & drink specials and the occasional surprise giveaway!
The party starts at 7 pm at Pourtions Keg + Kitchen, NATIV Hotel’s on-site bar and restaurant with a 20-tap, self-pour beer wall. Start the night off with $3 sliders, $5 wines, and $5 specialty cocktails, while grooving to an acoustic set from 7-9 pm.
Then it’s on to the main event at The Lobby Bar, where there’s more live music and more specials! Drink up with $3 domestics, $4 imports, $4 wells, and $100 bottles all night long. And, you’ll never know what other awesome surprises may be in store for you throughout the night.
So come get some much-needed R&R tonight at NATIV Industry Night! You deserve it.
Stephanie Maxwell talks Sirvo and what it’s like to start a business in Denver, named El Jefe onForbes list of Best Places for Business and Careers.
To get the inside info on what makes Denver’s business climate the best in the country, local news channel 7 visited Galvanize, a workspace for tech startups and home to Sirvo’s offices.
“I think what you’re seeing is today’s workforce is looking for places they can really blend work life and play. Denver is one of those places where you can do that,” said Ben Deda, Executive VP of Marketing and Business at Galvenize, a small business incubator in the city.
Another of those small businesses is Sirvo.
Founder Stephanie Maxwell created the business to connect service businesses with potential employees. Maxwell says many service businesses have high turnover rates and have trouble keeping their business staffed.
“I wanted to create a network for people to access jobs and I wanted to give businesses a very cheap and easy way to put their jobs online,” said Maxwell.
To read full article and watch the clip, click here.
