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Showing posts from August, 2019

Jesse Saturday 8.31

Manager Communication: A very slow day overall, with the only really felt push coming at the 9 pm shows. By that time, we were cut down to 2 bartenders up and 1 down, and then we dropped to 1 closer at each bar at 9:30. Bar crowds were pretty thin throughout the night, with small groups trickling in for a round or two. Kept staffing incredibly lean tonight, cutting some staff at 3 hours to keep labor low when we failed to really pick up. Cleaned, got things done, made the most of the down time. Customer Comments:  Had a few guests bring up the Director's Cut Midsommar point tonight, they hadn't seen it at all so they were fine just a bit confused. Put them on file for passes anyway. BAR Staff Observations:  Vanessa was incredibly efficient in her close. William did a bunch of cleaning and behind the scenes stuff before getting cut. Everyone was great about staying productive and taking cuts in stride. Prep List:  No real batching needs; William made a keg and the ...

Benjamin Friday 8/30

Manager Communication: Very quiet.  Sales were low, but the Absolut event made upstairs bar numbers look higher than they actually were. Cut aggressively, Ryan just worked a prep Bar Admin shift. Customer Comments: Had a customer look at the Boss on the menu and say "Nothing is more New Jersey than a Hoagie!" Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: Nick, can we order an Amontillado sherry and a bottle of Grand Marnier to research for the Downton Abbey special?

Nick Thursday 8/30

Manager Communication: Really quiet night tonight. Pretty much only one bartender per bar all night except a quick overlap for stocking and batching. Service went well. Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: I ordered 4 more water glass racks for server stations. Maintenance: The Alarm panel in the soda room went off tonight at about 11:00pm. I reset the panel, but during the reset process the main panel started beeping loudly and flashing. It said something about pump error and waterflow. Gerard reset the small panel in the soda room again and both alarms were silenced. We investigated the basement, but everything seems to be fine. I know the small panel in the soda room goes off all the time, but I have never seen it set off the main panel. Gerard and Rachael said it had happened to them before though.

Benjamin/Rebecca Wednesday 8/28

Manager Communication: There is a bus bin in the walkin marked "To Williamsburg" for Nick. There is an N/A order started for Friday delivery Special Events: Decent turnout for the art opening. Staff Meeting Agenda notes: I think we're often overdoing it a bit with the amount of chili salt we're starting the day with when we open on weekdays. Today, there was a huge heap of it in the lobby bar that just got thrown out at the end of the night because it was unused. Pretty sure we can save whatever is usable, but I know bartenders have normally just been tossing it at the end. I just made a bunch today, so that will hopefully last for a bit. Prep List: start 1/2 batch cashew orgeat, chile de arbol tequila, clean frozens- I made a "Welcome Back Prep List" for William R&D comp checks: 5 oz Rittenhouse for fall cocktail development, 2 oz Absolut

Benjamin Tuesday 8/27

Manager Communication: Very slow, perfect weather Around 11 PM, Christ let me know that someone was digging through our trash.  I walked over with him and asked the man to leave.  There was no incident beyond that, but something we need to keep an eye on. FOH Staff Observations: It doesn't happen often, but if we can just show everyone how to ring in one of the mixers for the mule that is not one that is included normally, that would be great (i.e. a mezcal mule as a mezcal with ginger lime slushie mixer).  It would also be a good way to upsell, "Any particular vodka, or Absolut" Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: Communicated with Gil what is coming tomorrow, since I will be at the Downton Abbey screening.

Benjamin Monday 8/26

Manager Communication: Slowest day in a long time.  Ran with 1 up and 1 down all day. Put a stanchion in front of the broken door, as people don't read.   Hiring/Training: Kylie did great.  Got a bar intensive with Nick. Special Events? Lots of staff turned out for Tigers.  Filmbot Issues:  Lion King had too much text for the all ages show, and the button to hit purchase was too low on the kiosk screen.  I didn't hear about it til after the first round was done, but something to keep an eye on.

Jesse Sunday 8.25

Manager Communication:  A very slow day. We built slightly on starting ticket sales for a slightly busy dinner round, but that was it. Cut Antonio as soon as the closers were in, cut Rebecca after the 7:30 slight push to lobby, cut to 1 upstairs at 7:45 pm. Susan held it down no problem, late round was dead. Very tight staffing and hours today to make up for the lack of sales going down. Slow at the bar as well. Customer Comments:  Had a guest in theatre 1 that is in the FOH blog as well. He was stubborn about moving his leg to let Gabby and Sarah J by him to run to his row. When they said "excuse me" he told them to "go the fuck around" several times and was dismissive and rude, cursing at them more than once. I went in and told him that this is how the theatre service works and people have to get by, he said "fine". I then told him that he can't speak to the staff like that, curse at them and be aggressively rude. He said he did not curse. I had ...

Jesse Saturday 8.24

Manager Communication:  A very, very slow morning made way for a typical Saturday night push per the last few weeks; slow ticket sales to start, lots of walk ins. Hollywood still the biggest push, although Ready or Not sold pretty well for the dinner round. Late round, outside of theatres 1&2 was pretty sparse. Down to 2 up by 9 pm, 1 down in lobby by 7:30 pm. Easy night otherwise, a few decent pushes but nothing crazy. BAR Staff Observations:  Everyone held their own, no concerns about keeping staffing tight. FOH Staff Observations:  Great drink running tonight, trays were constantly out and rotating. 86ed / counts on items:  Blow Up keg was not charged, had to 85 it for a few hours to charge it up. Prep List:  Fully stocked, we will need to find some time to make orgeat for future Buddy Love batches, we've exhausted the rest.

Benjamin Friday 9/6

Manager Communication: Slow day.  Aggressive with cuts.  Down to 1 down and 2 up by 8.  Had some decent bar rush after the sevens during the switch.  Bar filled up nicely since the lines were not big for the tens, and lots of people felt comfortable staying for drinks. When Luke comes, let's try to have him check all the toilets, so we don't have to call him back soon. FOH Staff Observations: Really good turn of theater 2 from 7's to 10's with a 0 minute flip time.  They had it open in 7 minutes. Staff Meeting Agenda notes: Count packs of bills Prep List: Might need to keg a blow-up R&D comp checks: 2 oz wild turkey for It photo Over/Short on Banks: 111 was $1 short due to one pack of 1's being at $24 Lost & Found?: Samsung Galaxy 8 left in Theater 1 after the 6:30 Hollywood, in safe. Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: Chef's Warehouse tomorrow. Maintenance: Elevator went down.  They are coming in tomorrow. Handicap stall i...

Nick Thursday 8/22

Manager Communication: Real quiet night tonight. Not much action at the bars. Cut Ian after the 7pm rush and closed with just one at each bar. We had to cancel the 35mm screenings of once upon a time and play DCP instead. We issued passes to everyone who bought 35mm tickets and they all seemed fine with it. We also cancelled the last show in theater 5. There were no tickets sold and the rain was leaking in from behind the screen. Prep List : We will need to batch Buddy Love tomorrow. The product we had tonight was old so I dumped it at the end of the night. I cut the batch recipe in half, let's try to run that as low as possible. It isn't selling very often and I would like to keep it fresh. Maintenance: One of the video game machines is still down, we will need to get the owner to come look at it.

Benjamin/Rebecca Wednesday 8/21

Manager Communication: Southern arrived before I got in, and the rep had put in Old Overholt instead of Old Grandad.  I made a half batch of the special with Wild Turkey to get us through.  It tastes great. I got the It special dialed in and I will add it to the doc as soon as we have that week's tab created. Union is coming tomorrow.  I labeled the area they need to pick up.  20 kegs as of me leaving. BAR Staff Observations: During the last round of the night, Adriana asked if 2 year olds had to pay for tickets. I reminded her of our after 7pm age policy and also told her that 2 year olds do need a ticket if it is for a showing where we allow 2 year olds. We also had (2) 8 year olds that were sold tickets to a dinner round show that began after 7. We may need to drive these policies home a bit in our Tuesday staff meeting. FOH Staff Observations:  Beau had a bit of an off night. He almost had a walkout because of a Dine n Dash mishap and was forget...

Jesse Tuesday 8.20

Manager Communication:  A steady night with trivia giving us most of the volume and business. The National stream was sparsely attended for what we expected and went in well before our trivia rush, so we handled that and were able to quickly set up trivia tables for a very well attended night. We maxed out tables, stools and the bar. Trivia went long as well, which was great for bar energy and getting some post-movie traffic there too. No issues, cut to two bartenders as soon as trivia calmed. Customer Comments:  The guests that were here for The National were very excited and we had a nice crowd of them at the bar talking up the event. BAR Staff Observations:  Malka did an excellent job working the floor for trivia. Ryan and Rebecca were great behind the bar with a fully seated bar throughout as well. Special Events?  The National was low on attendance for what we expected, but we rolled with it and cut staff. Prep List:  We will need Booze Buddy and ...

Benjamin Monday 8/19

Manager Communication: Slow day, got ahead for the week on prep and organization.  Reset back bars. Brought all kegs downstairs that need to be picked up tomorrow.  19 total. FOH Staff Observations: The newer folks on were solid tonight.   Really good turns, especially theater 2 which had a negative turn.  Dakota and Renee Michelle did great! Lost and Found:  Phone found outside theater.  Old I phone, no service, probably a kids emergency phone.  Meeting staff Agenda notes:  Changing labels, back bar 86ed / counts on items: Shacksbury Cider Prep List: Mae West, Negroni Bianco Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: Union tomorrow

Jesse Sunday 8.18

Manager Communication:  Comparable to last night with a slower final round. We did sell out a few shows for the dinner round and our late Once Upon a Time again. The benefit to the concentrated push tonight was lots of projects getting done; we scrubbed the low boys, the walk in, mopped the walk in floor, consolidated cambros and wiped shelves and bubblers. We also had very structured pushes and were able to cut efficiently at night, down to 2 bartenders total by 9:30 pm. BAR Staff Observations: Had a great crew on today, really happy with the quality of the cleaning projects and the handling of tickets and guests. 86ed / counts on items:  Shacksbury 86'd Prep List:  Some ingredients; ginger syrup, hibiscus syrup at some point tomorrow and a blow up but otherwise, we are really stocked. Will need Mae West as soon as we have Barr Hill, but we never ran out. Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: Chef's Warehouse Tuesday, Coke Thursday

Jesse Saturday 8.17

Manager Communication:  A slow brunch to start us off with a building up of business for the middle rounds leading to a surprising amount of walk in business and last minute tickets bought for the dinner round. Nearly sold to fully sold in all theatres for the 7s and then another sold out Once Upon a Time in theatre 1 at 9:15. Big drinking crowd for the late rounds kept the bar busy with tickets and a nice amount of front bar business from 7 pm through 10:30 pm. Well handled, with clear busy periods that let us cut Susan and go to 2 up at 9:45 pm. Ryan cut at 9:30 pm due to slower showtimes to Lobby bar. Customer Comments:  Two gentlemen arrived late to Midsommar and could not find seats together. They admitted that they arrived after the show started but were a bit dismayed that I could not refund their card or offer to transfer their tickets to Williamsburg. They got a credit and thanked me, but commented again to Rachel on the way out that they were disappointed. BAR ...

Benjamin Friday 8/16

Manager Communication:  Nick, I started an order for Empire and an order for Union in bevager.  It has been slow, but there are a few things we need.  If you want to add what you notice, and send those out. On the slow side, but steady business.  We only really have Hollywood right now to sell out the large theaters.  Was agressive with cuts. We had a couple store n' pours that had cocktail that had not been stirred before being transferred.  I talked to the openers about it, and poured the cocktail back into the batch to even it out.  Upstairs was pouring light, downstairs was pouring cloudy.  It was caught early and addressed. Customer Comments:  Theater 6 dinner round was rough.  See more in the FOH blog. Otherwise pretty solid.  Had some of our bar regulars come and hang for a few hours, and had a softball team in the bar for a while.  Pretty steady all night at the bar. BAR Staff Observations:  The dinner...

Jesse Thursday 8.15

Manager Communication:  Slow day, outside of the Sexy Shorts we did not half sell or sell out any show times. Slow trickle of business throughout left the bars calm, had plenty of time to batch and even get ahead of cocktail specials for tomorrow. No issues. Aggressive cuts. BAR Staff Observations: Ian and Susan did stellar opens, Antonio held it down for Susan to batch mid-day before the small rush. Prep List:  Iced Tea at some point tomorrow, plenty to get us by. Ginger and Kung Fu Kegs done today, along with the cocktail special and Silent Era. Ordering/Receiving/Shipping:  Chef's Warehouse tomorrow with weekend orders. Maintenance: Still need to anchor the menu holder and screw the sink faucet back in at HiRes, on the maintenance doc.

Benjamin Wednesday 8/14

Manager Communication: Slower day, not much early, decent dinner.  Got nice and prepped. Bar Binders are updated. Customer Comments: Had a customer for theater 6 spiderman for the dinner round ask for a CC device.  We radioed to Alec, and he informed us that the studio did not provide us with closed captioning for that one.  The listening device would not help her, but she told me she had been here many times and appreciated what we offered.  They took an e-credit and will be back. There was nothing playing soon that they wanted to see. BAR Staff Observations: Adriana handled downstairs well, and Susan held down upstairs.   FOH Staff Observations:  Just a few misrings from some new staff, I showed Stephen how to properly ring in a highball. Special Events: About 7 people for the Game Night.  Some walkins played board games and stayed at the bar for an extra round. Prep List: Posted Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: Manhattan and Skur...

Jesse Tuesday 8.13

Manager Communication:  Busier than expected today with the first round and dinner round increasing by twice their starting numbers. We should be wary of cuts across all departments; while we are definitely slowing down, we have a very high % of business generating from walk ins in the summer. Held it down no problem, the floor was a bit short but the opening servers absolutely killed it. Spoons was hectic but handled without long tickets at the bar, it drove a good deal of pre-show business to the bar as well and I had to hop back for a brief period. Customer Comments:  Some guests upset by the long line up time for Spoons (discussed below and in the FOH blog) but overall, a very understanding crowd. BAR Staff Observations:  Ryan and Tevon did an excellent job balancing Spoons volume and some bar business. FOH Staff Observations:  Jo, Corey and Emily deserve huge props for their job opening today. We got slammed with tight staffing and they were great; commu...

Benjamin Monday 8/12

Manager Communication: Slow day with Midsommar and Hollywood doing the heavy lifting. Had the same problem in theater 1 for the first round of 35 mm as yesterday.  Will address in customer comments. Had Dylan prep and stock, and cut him by 9. Customer Comments: Theater 1's sound was malfunctioning for the dinner round of 35 mm Hollywood.  We caught it early and I made the announcement to the theater that we are so sorry, and will be playing the DCP and that we were going to give them passes to come to join us another time on the house.  One woman responded loudly that she was never coming back and would like a refund and "I think I speak for the whole theater."  One person responded that "No, I'm good with the passes." and the whole theater laughed.  I think most people understood.  I tried to help her save a little face by saying that would be fine and we would refund her.  It was a tough situation. For the 7:30 Midsommar, a group of 5 men...

Jesse Sunday 8.11

Manager Communication:  Outside of our sold out 6:45 pm Once Upon a Time, a pretty slow and steady day overall with a big drop off for the last round. Again, nicely specifically busy days like this let us control staffing really well. Kept 3 on the for the 6:45 pm rush and then cut to 2 up and 1 down. Didn't keep Caleb all the way to the close as we reaaallly slowed for the late round. Got lots of cleaning and batching done throughout. Customer Comments:  Had a few guests upset about the 35mm issue in theatre, we gave out passes and refunded the $3 difference, more on this in the FOH blog. Also had a D&D couple in theatre 7 put in a huge food order (in excess of $140 of food for 2 people right away) so we looked into their order and found that they had two different ticket orders with the same card but two different email addresses that did not match the names on the card. It got declined. We asked them for an alternate form of payment, they gave us a debit card that...

Jesse Saturday 8.10

Manager Communication:  A steady but never busy start to the day through the 4 o clock round gave way to a nicely busy night! Even with slow daytime sales, we picked up a ton once the sun started to go down. The bars got really nice business from the BRIC concert as well; filling the front of the bar and tables around 10:00 pm when we were handling the also pretty busy late round. Kept 3 on upstairs through 10:30 pm, then cut Ian after a small stock. Got batching done during the day, slower sales without a lot of pickup downstairs let me cut to 1 bartender by 9:00 pm. No issues, a really good service. BAR Staff Observations:  Adrianna did a really nice close tonight and handled the lobby very well. Ryan kept service running while Dylan handled guests, especially impressed by him during the rush from the concert. FOH Staff Observations:  We are really hitting a stride with servers handling most of the drink running, no tickets ran over 7-8 minutes from the ring time ...

Benjamin Friday 8/9

Manager Communication: Steady night, shorter lines for the sold out shows, which allowed for a more paced out drawn out theater rush.  the numbers slowly grew.  It also allowed for much nicer feels in the bar, and more bar business before and after shows. Solid and steady business throughout the night. Got very prepped. Customer Comments: Had a customer show up late to the 10 PM Once Upon a Time, when Corey asked for the tickets he was confrontational.  He said "do you really want to start a scene," and when I approached, the women with him had produced the tickets.  They were nice and seemed mortified, he was not nice, but once his things came he settled a bit.  There were no further problems from him, but his dine n dash name is Cory Lietzau-Mourer.  corylietzau@gmail.com BAR Staff Observations: Antonio has a hard time finding a second gear, and should not be solo on the bar during higher paced times. I talked to Eliel at the end of his shi...

Jesse Thursday 8.8

Manager Communication:  On the slower side comparatively today. Once Ian got in, sent Susan to the back to finish a prep list and batch us up. Cut to 1 bartender up after the dinner round due to slow sales on the late rounds and Jenn held it down no problem. Had lots of spare time today for both batching and cleaning projects; got the liquor room organized, wiped out low boys and the bar tops under the glass mats. BAR Staff Observations: As expected, Jenn was highly efficient with her HiRes close, keeping wells open when needed and breaking down tasks as she went to make her final close easy and fast. Ian is great, only needed support for a hot minute on lobby bar balancing service and ticketing/guests. FOH Staff Observations:  Shannon is incredibly prompt coming for her drinks, as is Kaela and Liv. Most notable today for helping run drinks efficiently. Servers do need to generally remember to return with trays for service. 86ed / counts on items: No backups for Austin...

Benjamin Wednesday 8/7

Manager Communication: Steady day, really good dinner round, and good bar business. Really good crowd for the Dolly movie.  I printed passes at Blessing's request for  Kevin. Jenn's signed job description and rate of pay have been added to her file. Customer Comments: We had 2 walkouts.  Both servers were talked to.  More info is in Rachel and Gerard's blog. I had a rude gentleman keep eating outside food in theater 6 after multiple times being talked to. The second time I had to interact with him, I asked him for his food.  He had just finished it, and I told him he was not welcome back at this theater.  We did not have info on him, but I do not think he will come back.  BAR Staff Observations: Good support and teamwork.  Jenn got us batched up, but there is of course lots more to do tomorrow for the weekend. FOH Staff Observations: There was a bit too much cellphone use in theater 1 server station. Hiring/Training: Showed Jenn ...

Jesse Tuesday 8.6

Manager Communication:  Steady night tonight in the theatres, on the slow side for sure compared to recent business but trivia was a great boost. Navigated service tonight without issue, Eliel ran floor service for trivia and was out by 10:30 pm when it was done. Dylan efficiently closed down lobby without issue, Malka and Ryan did the same upstairs. Balanced service bar and trivia well, got some batching done. Customer Comments: A really positive trivia crowd tonight, lots of praise for the staff from our trivia guests. BAR Staff Observations:  Dylan is self-sufficient and solid on lobby bar or HiRes, great on a trivia night to know that the bar is being well-handled. Ryan and Malka are good multi-taskers, honestly a great crew on today ideal for the balance of service. Special Events?  Trivia is really hitting its stride. Solid number of teams every time, eating and drinking a lot and the event is getting easier to run each time with better and better feedback. ...

Benjamin Monday 8/5

Manager Communication: Slower night, got lots of batching and cleaning done. staying late to teach Jenn the full close. Customer Comments: Renee Michelle spilled a water on a customer, but they had a nice sense of humor and were very nice.  We comped their popcorn and dessert, and we found out tomorrow is their birthday, so they were happy. I did a cash refund for a gentleman who had an emergency right before the 9 pm Hollywood started, he had just bought the ticket in cash, and he came out panicking, so I just gave him the cash and refunded the ticket after he had left.  He apologized and thanked me. BAR Staff Observations: Jenn held down the bar while Susan knocked out prep, and got us up to speed. 86ed / counts on items: Prep List: Good on ingredients, will need White Negroni when Salers comes Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: We received 5 cases of Plymouth instead of our 5 cases of Absolut.  They are on the drop shelf currently. Maintenance: Mobil...

Nick Sunday 8.5

Manager Communication: Very smooth night tonight. Sundays are much more manageable than Saturdays. Staffing was good. Service went well. I was able to spend some time with Whitney tonight going over bar stuff. Customer Comments: Had a very upset customer come out of the 35mm show that went down tonight. He already emailed, More info on his info email. BAR Staff Observations: Good crew tonight. Caleb is really great on the service well. It's too bad he only has one day of availability from him. Prep List: Susan is going to make Kung Fu Hustle and ginger syrup on her prep tomorrow. Other than that we should be good to go.

Nick Saturday 8/3

BAR Staff Observations: Starting next week we will be back up to 8 bartenders all day on a Saturday, which will help. People seem very worn out when clocking out here. Hiring/Training: Vanessa had her last training shift today. Her first shift will be next Saturday. Special Events? Wedding after party. There were only about 30 people. They were all really great. We kept it going until 2:30, but they still were not even close to their minimum. I added on plus tax and gratuity. It made it a very lucrative night. Prep List: We will need to get someone batching tomorrow when Rebecca gets in. There should be plenty of everything for the morning, but there was no time tonight to get fully batched up. Ordering/Receiving/Shipping : Benjamin, can you place a Baldor order tomorrow for Monday. we are out of maraschino cherry and thai basil, and other things.

Benjamin Friday 8/2

Manager Communication: One of our busiest Fridays.  Very well handled by the bar, this crowd drinks.  Theater 1 for the 9:50 show was the largest and longest drink rush I have seen come from that bar, and Ryan worked the station calling out to Ian.  They powered through it with the longest ticket time being about 15 minutes on a crazy board.   Customer Comments: I had to refund a group of 7 who tried to bring 2 little ones to the late night Hobbes and Shaw.  It seems easy to not see our age policy if tickets are purchased on a cell phone or mobile device, as you actually have to scroll down to the bottom to see it. Tough big party in theater 4 for the last round  Megan detailed it. BAR Staff Observations: Upstairs and downstairs worked well together, each making good use of their very different pacing and scheduling.  It actually made everything work well together. FOH Staff Observations: Really good drink running support, also aided by t...

Nick Thursday 8/1

Manager Communication: Another busy night, not much to report. Staff rocked it out.