First Day Off

So I've been working like a dog for the last five days in a row, training to be a bartender at the most amazing movie theater that I know about. And I now have a day to rest.

My training was supposed to consist of two solid days of learning how to run food and drinks into the theater, followed by a four-day service bar training. I am quite pleased that they take training as seriously as they do, because nothing bugs a person more than finding out their co-workers don't know how to do half of their job. We all hate that.

Running food for a movie theater is one of the most interesting things I've ever done.

I've run food before in restaurants, but never in a movie theater. The things you have to consider are a good deal different than in regular restaurants.

For example, in a restaurant, if you accidentally serve a pizza that is supposed to be gluten-free but isn't, or if you serve a salad with walnuts to someone with an allergy to nuts. The customer might recognize it in a restaurant, but in a movie theater you cannot see what you're eating, so bad things can happen. 

You also have about five minutes to get all of the drinks in a theater out, less than fifteen to get the food orders taken and the appetizers out, and thirty minutes to serve the food. On a Friday or Saturday night, that can mean as many as 800 to 1,000 people in 45 minutes that all have to be served.

It's a massive operation, and a very impressive one.

There might be 60-80 people in the kitchen at one time all buzzing about, handling three things at once. 

My training as a runner, however, was just to familiarize me with the operation. I will mostly be in the service bar, which is in the kitchen. And yay for that, because I love it there.

For one, it's challenging. There are four stations - shakes, beer and wine, wells and non-alcoholic - and some days, you might be responsible for all of them. Getting the knowledge has been fairly easy, like how to pour beers properly and how to make a decent alcoholic shake with the appropriate garnishes. The speed is the killer, though. You have to hustle, as any bartender no doubt will tell you.

But I love a challenge.

I also love the fact that, as a bartender, I get to try different beers. It is also the ideal environment to learn how to mix cocktails correctly.

And I admire the sense of order, so I feel like the most challenging aspects of the job come from the job itself. I don't feel like I'm working against anyone or picking up someone else's slack.

That's not to say it is the most well-oiled machine of a workplace, though. After all, the place opened on March 25th of this year, so it hasn't even been open two months.

And that is also very exciting. Many of the people who started when it opened have already been promoted, or have moved into other positions which they enjoy.

My short term goal right now is to wind up in the bar downstairs, making tips and turning people onto new beers. When I start making money again, I'll break out the brewing kit I wisely chose to bring with me from Arizona and start making my own beer as well. It will be great to work in a place with like-minded lovers of beer who might give me meaningful feedback on my concoctions

The "film geeks who drink beer," as one of the bartenders referred to many of the staff, have certainly found a fellow in me.