Social media is the easiest way to stay updated on current drink trends. It’s so fun to scroll through pictures of cocktails all day!
If I could change anything about this industry, it would be to help more people understand that bartending is a real career. I wish I had known where I would be in this industry today when I started bartending at 21. All I ever heard was, “So what are you going to do after bartending, you can’t make a career out of it” or “Are you bartending to put yourself through school?”. Now, I believe people are starting to understand how much you can do in this career and grow from it.
I run the Bartending School at Graton Resort And Casino. I do all the teaching, set up, scheduling, and pretty much everything else. It’s one of my absolute favorite parts of my job! I love teaching any skills I’ve learned to any new bartender willing to learn and grow.
Years ago, when I first started bartending, I worked with a guy named Nic at a local restaurant/bar. I had very little training and had never bartended before and my first shift was on a Saturday night, it was insanely busy, and I was completely freaking out. I remember Nick came up to me and stopped me. He told me to take a deep breath and to stop staring down at my ice bin, he told me “Let the guests know you see them, smile and tell them you will be with them when you can, they just want to know you see them. You are doing great!”
I remember completely rethinking what I was doing, and that little piece of advice has stuck with me to this day, I now teach that exact same thing in our Bartender School at Graton Resort and Casino. He has since passed away, but he was a great mentor to me, and learning from him truly helped me in my career.
Graton Resort and Casino is the best company I have ever worked for, the benefits were a huge draw for me, but the way that the Tribe (Editor’s Note: Graton is owned by a federation of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo groups) takes care of the team here is what keeps me here. I love my job; I have a huge creative role and I genuinely enjoy my work. There are great leaders in my department that are always helpful, knowing that they see my potential and are helping me to continue to grow in my career is something I’ll never take for granted.
