Category: Managers
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The New Kid
“I’ve hired someone to help you out,” said my owner. In this case, my “help” was supposed to spare me the agony of having to manage dinner, because restaurant management is something I absolutely, positively NEVER want to do again in my restaurant life, unless I own the restaurant. Except this kid, who literally drove…
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Better on the B-Side
Back in the day, when I saved up my allowance to buy 45 rpms of the latest music, I always found myself drawn to the B-side song–that tune on the other side, the side that took up space simply to support the hit song. Sometimes these B-side songs were instrumental versions of the hits. Sometimes…
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Top 23
In an effort to help a friend wade through the 569 posts I have written over two-and-a-half years, I told him I would scroll back and come up with my favorites. It proved to be an interesting exercise. Some of what I have written is deeply personal and heartfelt. Sometimes that equates to good writing.…
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I’m Back with the Best of What I Can Get
Random Guest Compliments: “I love the food here.” “The scenery’s not bad either.” “Yeah. I definitely come here for the scenery.” Should I be offended that I am considered scenery? In my way, I am. In my way, I am not at all. Work Friends: “Hey, RG, you look incredible, baby, as always. What’s up?”…
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Manager Gal, Sort Of
Suddenly, I find myself working Monday through Friday, 10 to 5 or 6 or 7 p.m. I should be thrilled, right? This is every restaurant worker’s dream job, hours-wise. Ex-Restaurant Manger, please, close your eyes and ears to this post from this point on! Shhh. Don’t tell my GM. Don’t tell anyone. Everyone will think…
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Salmon, Not Crab Cakes!
At the end of the day, and, frankly, in the middle of it, getting through the day is all about the details. The details you remembered, the details you almost remembered, the details you put on the back burner in the midst of a zillion phone calls and emails that gobbled up the rest of…
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Who’s Laughing Now?
I could have been home by 11:30 p.m. tonight. I had my blotter parking sticker in my pocket at 11 p.m. The night was young, in its way. But I didn’t go home. Instead, I found my favorite former manager at my former restaurant, just as he was getting off work. “I’ll drive you to…
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Meeting the Significant Other
We had our opening party last night. It went well. Incredibly well. I don’t know what percentage of our servers and hosts will still be working here in a month, but they were in sync tonight. I hope 80 percent of them hang in there with us. I’ll be thrilled if 20 percent last three…
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Birthing A Restaurant
I have two kids. They are beautiful, talented, perfect children. Okay, they are beautiful and talented, and perfect in my mind. Older though they may be now, it seems like only yesterday that Mr. Restaurant Gal and I were excited, giddy parents-to-be. I would be the beautiful pregnant lady–every day of all nine months. I…
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Why Didn’t You… Why Did You…
The good news is, I didn’t quit on Friday. The bad news is, Friday was a pretty horrible day. I can sum up the tone and malaise of the day by the following few examples of the too many “WHY” questions I was asked as I greeted and helped arrange seating for 450-plus: “Why can’t…