NPP Bar Blog

Manager Communication: Slow day today outside of the events, but they provided a nice boost. American Astronaut sold a little over half of the theater and was a nice drink rush, both to the bar itself beforehand and during the show. The theater 3 late round event was a great success, lots of energy in the lobby and then consistent food and beverage ordered in the theater. No issues. Concentration of business to the end of the night allowed tight staffing, with Tevon cut at 7:00 pm after doing some projects and stocking both bars and Eliel able to go home to take care of an injury (Incident report was filed) BAR Staff Observations: First shift working directly with Natasha in a while and she has developed really well. Super efficient and personable in the lobby. Sick Leave/ Call outs: Eliel left early due to an injury. Jenn called out feeling sick, waiting on Covid test result. Special Events? Th3 White Goddess Premiere, Th1 American Astronaut Prep List: Well prepped, will just need som...

Manager Communication: Pretty slow day overall.  A little dinner pop but nothing big.  Customer Comments: BAR Staff Observations:  Everyone was great today. They also did a great job staying busy and cleaning around the bars.  FOH Staff Observations:  Pretty good team on a slow day. 86ed / counts on items: Barrier White Mobilebytes Issues: The CC reader in Trees lounge was in and out today. We used the supplemental terminal which works fine. 

Manager Communication :  Day started on the slower side, which gradually picked up, but never really "busy" while I was there. EL Gucci continues to sell really well in the dinner rounds, along with a couple others today. Middle rounds were decently busy for a Sunday, with a fairly steep drop off in sales in the last round. Not too much of a bar crowd after 8:00pm, as the holiday weekend has caught up with people who are heading back into the office tomorrow. JH BAR Staff Observations :  Great team today. Natasha & Chelsea were solid on the opens and the mids Ian and Isi were a great help. I cut Natasha at 3:30 as soon as Isi started, Chelsea got cut at 4 when Ryan arrived. EL Ian primarily worked in Lobby with Ryan, as Isi and Tevon were able to handle Trees handily during the dinner round. Isi batched Eyes of Ibad, Ian restocked wines in the walk-in, and Tevon and Ryan slid into an easy close with the quiet last round. JH 86ed / counts on items :  Barrier White is 8...

Manager Communication: Another day that started off slow, and then had sales rise steadily throughout service. JH Same flow as yesterday, lots of day of tickets and walk in ticketing to boost theater sales. Theaters 1,2,4 and 6 sat back to back for the dinner round, which drew both a huge crowd to Trees and also hit the bar hard and consistently for a solid hour and a half. We had a good bar crowd and energy through 10:30 pm and then it tapered off. Late round felt slower than usual for a Saturday, but otherwise the day flowed very well and was easy to manage labor for.  Cut openers once they had gotten breaks and also had closers in; they did final stocks for the bar and clocked out. Then the mids were needed through the end of the dinner round, but the late round was tame enough to cut Gabrielle by 9:30 pm and Tevon upstairs by roughly the same time. Nice staffing that was perfect for the day. BAR Staff Observations: Starting to sound like a broken record but truly everyone is ge...

Manager Communication: Busy day! A steady opening round and then busy subsequent rounds that built substantially as the day went on. We had about $5k in tickets sales when I came in and that number kept climbing as the day went on. Well spread through every theater, so the rushes were busy but very manageable.  We had good bar business from 3 pm onwards, with the bar filling really well before and after House of Gucci. Seems to be a movie that drives really good sales and lots of F&B. Was able to break openers when swings got in, swings when closers got in and closers before the swings left with no hiccup in service. Also worked in time for Eliel to batch due to long movies. Cut Dylan in lobby by 4 pm; slow downstairs until the dinner round. Cut Trees opener at 5:30 and then the lobby and Trees swings by 9:15 and 10:30 pm, respectively. BAR Staff Observations: Great opens by Dylan and Jenn. Trees was substantially busier than lobby today and Ashley, Ryan and Jenn were a really ...

Manager Communication : Slow first round, that led into a fairly busy dinner round on both floors, and then a gradual slowdown. House of Gucci continues to be the most-sold showing in all rounds. Had some technical issues (addressed in Maintenance ) and two back-to-back guest issues during the last round (which Harry will elaborate on in his blog post).  BAR Staff Observations : Everyone was great tonight. Both floors had a bit of a dinner round crunch, and were able to get drinks out efficiently and did a lot of effective prestocking and restocking. Was able to break openers when closers came in, and kept all of them on through the second round.  A few general notes: we need to make sure bartenders are pulling product and restocking it abiding by the rules of first in, first out, particularly with juices and batched cocktails. Lobby had a bunch of excess juice stocked at open, with a very expired grapefruit juice all the way in the back.  Similarly, making sure bartender...

Manager Communication: Roughly the same flow as yesterday, with a slow opening round, busy dinner round and then tapering off to slow late round. We did a decent amount of walk in ticketing pick up, but overall things seem slower this week.  Was able to cut Ashley after Eliel did some batching and Jenn is stocking both bars and staying for the 9:15 House of Gucci and then leaving after that due to a steep drop off in late night business. Good staffing for the day. Still fit in time for breaking the staff when closers got in (openers broke or opted out) and then right before openers got cut (closers broke). BAR Staff Observations: Very good team today, absolutely no issues. Prep List: Took advantage of the day to really stock up before the weekend, we won't need anything for service tomorrow but may need more of the Gucci special or Paper Plane tomorrow Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: Baldor in today (they are still out of mint, Eliel will bring some from the store tomorrow), so did Un...

Manager Communication:  Pretty cool day. Busier than expected.  House of Gucci had a great crowd for the dinner round. Keep bringing in those movies.  Sound was off towards the end of Tenet. You could hear a little of the music in a very low frequency and no audio. A few customers complained to the servers and to Ashley at Trees. Alec couldn't figure it out and ultimately the film was ended during it's final act.  Checks were already dropped. We gave passes to everyone and apologized. Update: A little bit before everyone left Projection figured out that the bass was so strong it tripped a breaker. People still missed a chunk but Alec was able to play the last reel for the people who wanted to stay.  Customer Comments: One couple wanted a refund when Tenet went down. They traveled from "deep in long island" and didn't know when they could use the pass. They said they enjoyed the theater and the service and were sad about the movie.  BAR Staff Observations: T...

Manager Communication:  Slow Monday but we had a few decent theaters.  Another Round did well in theater 3.  Ian and his wife Lisa came to celebrate Lisa's birthday and invited friends to Trees Lounge. They were definitely responsible for creating some good business for us.  Customer Comments: I was told that one customer from theater 7 complained after the movie that they wrote down Interboro on a flag and the server brought back the IPA when they wanted the Gin n Juice. They said the server should've double checked with them. Isi told me shortly after the customer told her.  I looked for them but Isi said they already left.  Isi also offered them a drink and they declined.  BAR Staff Observations:  Jo and Isi had great opens. I cut Jo after Dylan came and Isi had a break. Dylan did a stellar job juggling Lisa's Birthday friends and service bar.  FOH Staff Observations: Juliana and Katerina did a great job juggling 3/5/7 with Another Round i...

Manager Communication :  Pretty Chill Sunday Brunch today. EL Dinner round was decent for a Sunday, and the final round was fairly quiet. Trees had a fairly steady crowd at the bar all the way into the last round. JH BAR Staff Observations :  Chelsea and Dylan had great opens. It was slow so I cut both of them when Tevon and Isi arrived.  The rest of the afternoon was pretty good.  I had to jump in to help at the lobby for a few minutes but nothing wild. EL It was a relatively easygoing night, so mids were able to get cut relatively early, after bars were restocked.  Ian was a great help emptying some partially full boxes in the liquor room, as well as restocking the wines in the walk-in. Gabrielle and Ryan were both great at transitioning from the last round into closing. JH FOH Staff Observations :  Everyone was great. EL Alex has been a huge help on walkie, and is quick to delegate when it gets busy. Danny was also very helpful with dealing with the ‘Lad...

Manager Communication: Slow brunch today and a slightly busier but still comparably slow early round. Things started to pick up leading in to the dinner and late rounds and we got some nearly sold out large theaters and sold out small theater to give us a strong push to service and the bar from 7 pm through 9 pm. Once that died down, I was able to keep cuts and labor tight to the slowing business. Bar business continued through the close with a full bar, very nice to see happening consistently. No major issues. BAR Staff Observations: Chelsea and Natasha did a great job opening, and Ian, Ivan and Ryan were great support when they came in. Was able to have Chelsea and Natasha take a break during the second round of films. PM bar breaks also fit nicely into the service lulls, we are definitely finding a flow of accommodating this without impacting service.  Everyone acted quickly with the DOH false alarm. Comforting to see how efficiently the staff in stations and the bar hit their 2...

Manager Communication: It was a chill Thursday. Not very busy, but you wouldn't know that if you came in to Trees Lounge at 9:45pm.   Customer Comments: BAR Staff Observations: Slow day on the early side so Tevon and Gabrielle were both cut at about 6:30pm.  Natasa Ian and Jo rocked out.  FOH Staff Observations: Everyone was pretty chill today.  Hiring/Training: Taylor Jo closed Trees Lounge with Ian.  He said she was so good that he felt unnecessary.  She was on point all night.  I'm very happy she's here.  Special Events?:  The event in theater 4 was great. Great crowds, and a bunch of people stayed for drinks afterwards.  It feels pretty good to see a big group of folks buzzing around Trees all joyful.  Staff Meeting Agenda notes: 86ed / counts on items: Prep List: Jesse made ginger syrup. I made a keg of French 75 which will need charging. Jesse said he'll do it in the morning, as well as prep an old fashioned keg. 

Manager Communication: Slow Wednesday around these parts. Kept bartenders focused on some organization behind the bars and clearing out some clutter and then made aggressive cuts per business. Had lobby opener out by 7:30 pm, Trees opener out by 7:15 pm. No issues with service. BAR Staff Observations: Excellent crew on today, Ashley in particular keeps herself busy and is a great addition 86ed / counts on items: Still hanging on to a 1 count of Finback Prep List: Batches solid, cocktails for the event tomorrow done, kegs are charged. Rolling into the week well, will have some big batch days tomorrow and Friday in prep for the weekend. Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: Interboro, Empire, T Ed came in today, the rest enj route tomorrow along with a Baldor

Manager Communication : Theater service was pretty mellow tonight, but Trivia was packed and kept bar busy throughout.  BAR Staff Observations : Everyone really pulled their weight tonight, which was a huge help since we were down a bartender. Tevon was moved from Trees to Lobby once Ian arrived, and prepped a bunch of roll ups for Trivia. Eliel, as always, handled floor service for Trivia handily. And Ian really helped out by working Trivia and closing Trees.  FOH Staff Observations : Eric was a huge help during trivia, and is generally always great at communicating when bar has heavy food service.  Sick Leave/ Call outs : Natasha K. was feeling under the weather, so was unable to come in for her closing shift this evening. We ended up having Ian come up to work Trivia and close Trees, and Tevon migrated downstairs and closed Lobby Bar.   Special Events? Trivia was packed and bar service was fairly steady throughout.  86ed / counts on items : We are out of Lam...

Manager Communication: Pretty good evening. Slow first and last rounds besides Josie and The Pussycats.  Lobby bar had a busy dinner round.  Customer Comments: It was great to see the Josie crowd so involved with Cat ears and big cat patterns.   BAR Staff Observations: Ashley and Isi had good opens.  It was slow first round. For the dinner round I moved Ashley downstairs to help with the 3/5/7 load-in. The load-ins were consecutive and fifteen minutes apart.  Natasha K did a great job with the Josie crowd and I helped a bit for that load-in but otherwise she had it on lock.  Isi was concerned about the routing time. She said she didn't think I was interpreting the last email on it correctly. I spoke to Emily who was here and she spoke to her.  FOH Staff Observations: Shani is pretty fast coming down from 4/6 to pick up her drinks. Kaya, Lauren, Isabella and Kelsy rocked out the Josie and the Pussycats with matching big cat prints and cat ears. It'...

Manager Communication :  Pretty chill brunch which slowly picked up later in the afternoon. EL  Dinner rounds were similarly mellow, but steady tickets at service bar until the last round. JH BAR Staff Observations :  Natasha and Ivan did a great job opening.  Ian and Tevon were great help as mids. EL I was able to get both Ian and Tevon out a little early since the last round was slow, but both left Ashley and Ryan in a good place to close. JH FOH Staff Observations :  Great Team. Miguel is like a superhero. EL Sick Leave/ Call outs :  Isi called out. She spoke to Jesse. EL Special Events?   Spoke to the plant guy about keeping up the tree.  I sent an email about that. EL 86ed / counts on items :  Finback Pilsner EL Prep List :  Made Eyes, Ennui, Jungle Bird, Lemonade and Simple Syrup with Tevon's help. EL We have back ups of all shelf cocktails. The Old Fashioned keg kicked, so we will need that and Hibiscus syrup made tomorrow. J...

Manager Communication: Laid back opening rounds, but definitely more sold than previous brunch opens. The early afternoon storms definitely pushed some more guests in for the mid rounds. JH Early afternoon and dinner ramped up to standard Saturday numbers. Service bars on both floors had consistent but very well handled rushes from 5 pm through 9, and then the late round slowed down a bit. Lots of bar business today, consistently through the shift and into the night. Ian even remarked we seem to already have more bar guests than before Covid, have to say I concur. It adds great energy to the bar. JM Customer Comments: BAR Staff Observations: Chelsea and Natasha did a great opening, especially since their opening time was ten minutes shorter than usual. Ian was a great help batching, and both Gabrielle and Ivan helped both bars transition into dinner service. JH PM teams were on point today, nice to have Ivan on a later shift. He rocked service bar with Ian and Tevon took guests. Every...

Manager Communication: Busier weekday start than usual today due to school closures, we should expect more families now with younger kids getting vaccines for sure. Drink rushes still extremely manageable for one bartender; kids and families drinking mostly sodas, maybe a drink or two per ticket. Customer Comments: BAR Staff Observations: Great job by the staff. Natasha Nobre had her first lobby bar close and it went really well.  FOH Staff Observations:  Everyone rallied today.  Hiring/Training: Jo had her first training shift today with Chelsea. Very good day for it, she got to see a bit of everything. Her nitehawk knowledge is good and she was very efficient, her primary focus is going to be bar essentials like cocktailing. Special Events: Foxy Brown! Great crowd before and after the movie. The DJ was tight, and folks stuck around a drank a bit. After 1-2 rounds and people were ready to go which is to be expected on a Thursday.  Prep List: We need Lime Lemongrass...

Manager Communication: Steady dinner round and slow otherwise. Got lots of sidework done in prep for the busier days coming up; roll ups, batching and organizing behind the bars etc. Some bar business before and after the dinner rounds through around 9 pm but no patio business save for 1-2 tables.  BAR Staff Observations: Ashley is really proactive about tasks, not just behind the bar but also recognizing needs for batching and offering without being asked to stock that stuff up. A huge help. FOH Staff Observations: No issues today, super smooth drink service Staff Meeting Agenda notes: Th7 set up changed downstairs, really efficient design by Ryan Prep List: Really healthy product stock, going to use tomorrow to double down on the high sellers and enter the weekend stocked up Pay Outs: FYI did a pay out from the bar for $20 to Nixon. He helped me carry about 60 cases of wine and liquor upstairs, so I wanted to give him something that wasn't drink tokens, since that didn't seem...

Manager Communication : Overall, a pretty mellow night. There were a couple of decently-sold theaters during the second round, which was nice.  BAR Staff Observations : Eliel and Tevon both had a solid open, and were able to get out of here a littler early after Eliel did some batching and Tevon helped restock both bars after dinner. Both of them, as well as Ian and Natasha, were great to have behind the bars for Jo’s trail. Ian was also super helpful after he closed Lobby and did a restock for Natasha at Trees.  Hiring/Training : Jo came in to trail as a bartender from 6-8. She got a chance to be behind both Trees and Lobby as they got a little theater crunch, and seemed quick to pick up on service behind the bar.  Having worked as a server here before, she’s definitely ahead of the curve with regards to understanding how service runs at Nitehawk.  Prep List : Eliel was able to batch some stuff before he left this evening, so the walk in is in pretty good shape....

Manager Communication: Pretty chill day overall.  Dinner rounds had a pop but not a big one. Trees has been busier but there's still a consistent customer presence.  Customer Comments: Helped a couple pay for their theater 1 tab at Trees lounge. They left Spencer early, said they were regulars who loved all of the service but not the movie. I offered them passes for their next visit but said that wasn't necessary and that they love coming over and supporting the theater. Good people.  BAR Staff Observations:  Everyone did a great job.  Sad to hear it's Naaj's last day.  FOH Staff Observations:  I helped run a few trays to 4/6 during the dinner rush. They all seemed like they were doing everything right, just needed a little extra help.  Special Events?: The photoshoot went great without a hitch. I did remind them to try and catch the good light up at mezzanine.  Prep List: lime Lemongrass cordial was completed today.  Lost & Found?: ...

Manager Communication :  Pretty good open. Started slowish and increased throughout the day. Great Crowds at Trees on the early side.  Some folks seemed to come just for Trees. EL Dinner rounds were very busy, but slowly tapered off as the night went on.  Two teenagers tried to come in during the busier part of dinner rush, but would not put on masks or show proof of vaccination to Kelly. When Kelly told them they were not allowed to enter one of them said, ‘Well I live across the street so expect me to become a problem.’   They both then sat at one of the patio tables, and Kelly told Chelsea, who was working Lobby Bar at the time.  Chelsea told me, and I told Jeannette. However, when we went to check if the two were still there, they were gone. Kelly and Chelsea would be able to provide a description of the girl who made the comment. JH BAR Staff Observations :  Very strong opens by Chelsea and Natasha K. Ian and Tevon came and helped bars that were only g...

Manager Communication: Quiet open, then service really ramped up after noon JH The afternoon, dinner and late rounds were non stop. Nearly every dinner round show sold out and strong ticket sales in every theater even for the latest of rounds. Bar business was consistent and very busy from 5:30 through 8:00 pm with a constant flow of guests drinking and dining at the bar before and after movies. Tater Tot Tour brought in about 10-12 tables of folks, not a bad showing for that at all for some early afternoon bar business. The bartenders got tested on both floors tonight with lots to balance and rushes went off with few to no issues. Weekend crowd especially is going in for multiple rounds throughout the movie. Overstock, even if you think you have enough. These crowds are ordering a lot. Customer Comments: Had a lot of great lingering bar guests tonight with substantial tabs, everyone was very pleasant and having a great time. I think the combination of lots of great movies and the holi...

Manager Communication: Very busy night for the bar. We were able to keep up with service but there wasn't really much time for prep or batching.  BAR Staff Observations: Everyone was really solid tonight.  FOH Staff Observations: Tray running was really inconsistent tonight. Servers do not seem to be able to the bar to run their trays. We might need to explore other solutions.  Sick Leave/ Call outs: Chelsea called in Sick today. I am not sure if she is eligible for sick pay, but I added her to the calendar.  Staff Meeting Agenda notes: Wine and cocktails are being over poured by almost everyone. Let's keep an eye out and jigger some examples if we have to, especially the old fashioned. We will add pours to the bar email this week.  86ed / counts on items: Lambrusco, it was OOS from Empire this week.  Prep List: Old Fashioned, Jungle Bird and probably all three of the movie specials will need to be made at some point tomorrow, but we have plenty for t...

Manager Communication:  Pretty good night.  Eternals didn't have the Thursday we expected but other movies did well in their theaters. Customer Comments: Met a nice customer named Jennifer Duran who was the last GM at the Pavillion.  BAR Staff Observations: Openers did a very thorough job, and also had an easier one than usual with a very tight and well stocked close from last night.  Chelsea did not feel well and left right after the dinner push upstairs at 6:45 pm. Natasha agreed to stay and work lobby through the last round to cover. Tevon and Ryan held down Trees Lounge during the spoons rush.  Tevon closed lobby then came up to help Ryan during the after spoons.  FOH Staff Observations:  Pretty Great Team.  Special Events?: We prepped for a Spoonz Toonz and Booze hurricane but it was downgraded to tropical storm. Great crowd though. They had a great bar crowd at Trees. The negative flip definitely helped with that. It also helped the first ro...

Manager Communication : The special screening, as well later round Dunes were fairly busy. Nothing out of the ordinary.  BAR Staff Observations : Very smooth service, no hiccups. Having Ian upstairs for closing was great, as I spent a chunk of the last round checking in with Natasha as she was doing her first Lobby close.  FOH Staff Observations : During the second round, there was an issue with getting trays returned to bar after drinks were sent out. Nothing that disrupted service, but would have been a service-slowing issue on a busier night. Lauren pulled a bunch from kitchen near the end of round, and said she would let newer servers know where they could be found in the future.  Additionally, a note I meant to include in yesterday’s blog, near the end of the night a man came in to the building and began chatting with Kelly. He began inquiring about what time Kelly was finishing her shift and when she would be working next. Ryan, working Lobby bar, noticed that he w...

Manager Communication : Quiet first round, but second and third round Dune, as well as a very-sold Th4 second round French Dispatch kept bar very busy in the lead up to Trivia. BAR Staff Observations : Ryan, again, held down Lobby for the majority of evening, and Tevon and Ashley really handled guests at the bar and a pretty nonstop ninety minutes at the service bar in the lead up to Trivia.  Ashley got to do the majority of service bar tickets this evening during the rush, and communicated clearly with Tevon, who was also quick to check in with her. Eliel held it down on the floor of a very full trivia crowd, and both he and Tevon stayed until the majority of the Trivia crowd had closed out, which was both incredibly helpful and very needed.  FOH Staff Observations : Lauren was a great help at the pass this evening, making sure trays were organized and run to the proper theaters with no delay.  Additionally, the runners were amazing throughout a very packed Trivia c...

Manager Communication:  Pretty slow night. Dinner round was not horrible for a Monday.  We got a little Trees bar business at around that time.  Customer Comments: Sumer Ladd called because his friend was ill and could not make a 4pm screening of the French Dispatch. I gave him an e-credit. Saw a wheelchair customer at Lobby bar. Asked where his group's seats were, Showed them the way to their theater, radioed projection and helped remove the seat from theater one.  BAR Staff Observations:  Everyone worked pretty well. Had some communication issues with Isi and emailed Nick and Jesse about it. She still did her job and held down lobby bar which did get a little busy here and there.  FOH Staff Observations:  Everyone seemed to be working really well but it wasn't the most challenging of nights.  Staff Meeting Agenda notes:  When it is appropriate to have cocktails in the ice well and when they should go back into the lowboys.  Out time an...