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Welcome to our newest on-premise blogger, Joe Bruno.
Joe is a director of the American Bartender School and runs his own
company called Bar Pro Consulting, which specializes in providing services to nightclubs and bars to help improve their business.
Here’s a link to a profile of Joe that is currently being featured
on Club Planet.com >
February 11, 2008
Open Bottle Policies
It would seem that a consistent set of standards for the correct storage of alcohol and alcohol related products would exist, but in my tenure behind the stick…I’ve seen no such animal.
It is prudent for the diligent bartender to end his or her shift by wiping down all of the bottles, rinsing the pourers under hot running water to melt away any dried sugary residue, sealing bottles properly that could otherwise become contaminated, refrigerating the items that require a frosty environment, etc.
Many times I have started a shift with a bar that looked like a bomb went off behind it.
Don’t get me wrong, I know that sometimes a shift change doesn’t come at the most opportune time to do house cleaning.
In that particular case, a time frame must be set up for more than a thorough “once over” with a wet bar towel.
It is the bar managers duty to maintain a standard of cleanliness at all beverage service stations.
I have come to find that a checklist works wonders to enforce both short term and long term maintenance of the bar areas.
Let the person(s) responsible for cleaning sign the check list after clean up so that any lapses in complete care could be addressed directly.
The laws mandated by the SLA and Board of Health only differ slightly when regarding food service.
Would you like it if you were to order a fresh fruit cup and instead the waiter approached with a plate of limp soggy fruit slices dotted with finger prints and fruit flies?
Fruit should be cut several times a day to maintain the best quality.
The caddy holding the fruit should be scrubbed every day along with the knives and cutting boards utilized to perform the task of preparation.
Juices should be kept in sealed containers and disposed of if unused in a timely fashion.
Bottles should be replenished so that the next bartender coming on to a new shift won’t be left without an important ingredient.
All of this simply adds up to a better relationship with the client who is tipping you and a feeling of pride, confidence and satisfaction by everyone who works with you.
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