NPP Bar Blog

Manager Communication : Very busy night, with all second round screenings selling very well.  Trees also had a pretty big crowd, that ebbed and flowed with seatings, from about 5:30-11:00pm.  Busy throughout the building, but staffing levels seemed pretty appropriate and most everyone was in high spirits. JH Customer Comments: BAR Staff Observations : Really great work tonight, with bartenders being very flexible about some on-the-fly schedule changes.  Eliel and Tevon were great at a very busy lobby all night, and Ashley, Matthew, and Natasha were another dream team up at Trees.  Great communication and delegation behind both bars, and everyone was great about pivoting from theater service to guest facing based on service needs. Once the second round had gotten through all of the initial service pushes, both bars got restocked, and Tevon helped me finally unload and organize all of the deliveries that arrived today in the liquor room and walk in.  Ashley and T...

Manager Communication: Busy open today with a lot of the kids movies starting strong. There was a good amount of walk ins as well. Summer is definitely here. EA Customer Comments: BAR Staff Observations:  A bit of a rough start for both bars today as both ice machines were serviced and it went up until about the opening bartenders were due in. It was a rocky first round again with coca cola not showing up to maintenance the compressor. I will call them again first thing in the morning.  FOH Staff Observations: Hiring/Training: Sick Leave/ Call outs: Special Events? Darcy Cadman. Private event in Trees Mezz. EA Staff Meeting Agenda notes: 86ed / counts on items: Crosby Sauvignon Blanc. Are we going to just wait until next week before we go live with Daisy or should we just serve it. EA Prep List: Still waiting on  Ballantine  for the Indiana Jones Special. The infusion should be done immediately and then batched. I went ahead and finished the batch sheet and upda...

Manager Communication: Lots of walk ins during the first round. With schools out, numbers jumped quite a bit. EA Great evening, great theater pops and Trees was great. EL BAR Staff Observations: Chester is out with a torn ACL and will be out for the foreseeable future. Matthew was kind enough to close the lobby bar since Gabrielle couldn't cover and it was too short of notice to get anyone here. That being said, it was a tight day today for the bar staff, but everyone was willing to pitch in and help out. EA The staff worked great together being a person down. Ashley had a great close. EL Hiring/Training: With Chester out and Andrea's availability changing, should we reach out to Jeshua for hiring? I know there was the whole conversation with Kelsey as well if we decide to move internally. I'm not quite sure it is the right time to train someone from scratch, but it may be one of our only resorts outside of an external post. EA Sick Leave/ Call outs:  Chester Rhodes 6.5hrs ...

Manager Communication : Pretty busy first round, with some late round pops of service.  Trees again had a pretty decent dinnertime crowd.  BAR Staff Observations : Lydia and Maya set up both bars for open, and Miguel arrived just before doors.  First round was very buys at both bars, and the soda ferry system was utilized pretty heavily, with myself and Miguel switching out every few trays.  Maya was really on top of communicating soda needs, and crushed a solo lobby service.  Lydia and Miguel were kept very busy throughout the evening, with Lydia getting out of here shortly after I rerouted Th5/7 at 10:30.  Both Maya and Miguel closed each bar without issue. FOH Staff Observations : Just some notes to keep an eye on this weekend, related to the glasswasher at Trees:   - Servers need to be more proactive about prebussing.  Trees gets absolutely swamped with glassracks during flips, and that is the only time glassracks are currently being brou...

Manager Communication : Very busy dinner round, with both bars getting pretty steady service tickets from 6:30-8:00.  Trees also had a pretty decent crowd for the majority of the evening, lots of groups and lots of food orders.  All movies sold pretty well, and Tetsuo sold out Th3 in the last round. JH BAR Staff Observations : Eliel and Darius had both bars up and running by the time I got in, and both bars were restocked and ready to go when the second round began.  Eliel got a good amount of batching done, and helped Lydia navigate a very busy Th3/5 rush during the dinner round, while Darius and Tevon handled a very busy Trees.  Both openers were able to get out of here right as the third round began, and both Lydia and Tevon closed each bar without issue. JH Staff Meeting Agenda notes: The freezer at Trees was frozen over again. I had to scrape it down to get it to stop overheating. Good to add to both the weekly email and on the staff agenda for the menu change m...

Manager Communication: Easy open with the later time today. Smooth not too busy first two rounds. EL Dinner round was a bit chaotic. Got a call from Nathaniel as soon as I was in regarding flat soda coming from the guns on the ground floor. After inspecting both the NuCO2 tank in the soda closet, I narrowed down the problem to the compressor in the lobby bar.  That being said, I was able to coordinate with Wyatt, Carly, and Nathaniel on a game plan for the rest of the sold out afternoon and dinner rounds. We decided that it wouldn't be cost nor time effective to buy outside soda since the compressor for Trees was working fine. I elected to use CH2 on the walkies since no one uses it and coordinate with Carly and Jenna to radio up on the fly soda needs. It worked out and we got through a busy dinner round.  This, in conjunction with a struggling ice machine made for a hectic, but workable Sunday. Thank you to all the FOH managers for helping us get through that mess. Other tha...

Manager Communication: Soft open to the building as most of the bigger theaters opened later, but then a meaty afternoon and start to dinner. EA Solid service all night. I moved Lydia up to trees after dinner to get through the last big rushes. ND BAR Staff Observations: Easy open for both Miguel and Maya despite the ice machine in Trees being down. Theater 4 was sold off the bat, but Maya kept pace with little help needed until theater one opened. Miguel prepped garnish and held down the lobby. Great support from Ashley when she got in which helped us catch up and allowed me to batch some 86'd cheaters for Trees cocktails. EA Everyone was great tonight. Gabrielle really only has one speed upstairs, which is really noticeable when everyone else is cranking, but she is good holding down the customer facing bar service. ND Special Events? BRIC show tonight, it did not seem like we really got any business coming from the show. ND Maintenance: Ice Machine in trees struggled to make ice...

Manager Communication: Great Night tonight all things considered. Service was smooth and Trees had a good crowd till about 10:30ish. BAR Staff Observations: Great team today. Tevon and Darius opened strong, Closers Andrea, Ashley and Matthew were all great.  86ed / counts on items: Radish Spirit and Beet Street were 86ed pretty late and I wanted to wait to make more.  Prep List: Beat Street and Radish Spirit? More Cantina Machine. There is a case of Titos and the open case of Method vermouth in the walk-in by the high life, please let batching staff know to use the cold stuff. 

Manager Communication:  Pretty good Thursday. Nice opening for Asteroid City, looks like another busy weekend ahead. Nice Trees action but not very busy.  I removed all the "I Can Do Both" from the bars and stocked Trees with 3qts of Cantina Machine and Lobby with 1qt. There is a backup batch in the walk-in. BAR Staff Observations: Great opens from Tevon and Ashley, Tevon batched and helped a bit  FOH Staff Observations: Trees Service bar was great today with the servers. They were organized and diligent.  Special Events? Multiple Maniacs had a great crowd and nice after crowd at Trees.  86ed / counts on items: Jungle Bird Prep List:  Jungle Bird, Old Fashioned  Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: I ordered nu-foamacide from amazon today, we are very low -ND

Manager Communication: Quiet day in the building. Spider-Man held us down for the dinner round.  Parkslope Parents were in today as well as Shay's group. Eliel greeted the coordinator had set all of them up with some space and popcorns for the group. EA Pretty good busy evening. EL Customer Comments: BAR Staff Observations: Very calm and easy open for Matthew and Maya. They were able to get some prep done as well as sidework. Not anything else of note. EA Ashley batched and closed lobby. Matthew swung up to Trees to help a bit. Gabrielle closed Lobby. Great team work. EL Special Events? P Slope Parents had a big group and Shea's Hampton's Film Festival meet-up group hung out in the Mezzanine as P Slope held down the main tables. Both had a great time and were happy when they left. EL Maintenance: Followed up with NuCO2 regarding the empty tank. They verified that we were on their route and that someone would be by overnight to fill up the tank. Nick, could you check this w...

Manager Communication: Slower day in the building, but a large presence at Trees for Trivia. It was a quick one tonight, but lots of drinkers. They loved the Terra beer and went through two cases of it. Otherwise, smooth night. EA BAR Staff Observations:  Both bars were well into the day by the time I rolled around. Stellar work from Darius, Maya, and Ian at Trivia. Everyone held it down and service went off without a hitch.  Andrea was clutch coming in for 5 hours to help close and cover for Eliel. EA FOH Staff Observations: Barry was super helpful today at the service bar in regards to supplementing bar help with glasses when we were busy with trivia. EA Staff Meeting Agenda notes : Vlad was incredibly helpful clearing and replacing the slatted shelves in the liquor room with the new ones from kitchen. JH 86ed / counts on items: 86  Ruby Hibiscus and Soju. EA Prep List: Lemonade, Firewalk, Strawberry Lemonade, City of God, Michelada. EA R&D comp checks: Over/Short ...

Manager Communication : This was a rough one.  We opened up with Th4/6 with the same start time and both sold out, which definitely was a crunch at the top of service.  And that level of busy-ness continued throughout the day, with the majority of theaters either selling out, or getting very close to it. Honestly, beyond changing kegs or soda bags, I worked service bar at Trees from when we opened until just about five o'clock.  Service ran smoothly, but the weight of the day was definitely felt across the building.  However, staff was really great about pushing through and keeping service moving. We do have a summer break from holiday Mondays until Labor Day, but I am expecting July 4th (Tuesday) to be much the same as today, if not even busier.  If we are doing a full four rounds that day we will definitely need more staff scheduled across the building. JH Dinner round kept us busy as well, but like Jenn said, many staff members were running out of steam towar...

Manager Communication : Busy afternoon EL Very busy afternoon and dinner rounds alongside a decently sold late round as well. Lots of foot traffic in the lobby and outside the building. Pretty solid holiday Sunday overall. EA Customer Comments: Had an incredible amount of people stop bartenders mid service to ask for water despite being directly in front or around the station. Perhaps it's worth revisiting the idea of bold signage around the stations, although I'm not sure too sure how much clearer we can make this.  BAR Staff Observations : Great opens and mids. Good teamwork EL Outstanding work from the team today. Miguel was a champ for staying an hour past his out time to help us with rushes and restocking. Maya and Jenna ran the lobby with little to no support needed. Miguel, Chester, and Tevon handled Trees with ease despite multiple sold out rounds on all floors. Guests always had what they needed, glasses were always restocked, and there was clear communication across t...

Manager Communication:  Steady day at Trees with a sold out dinner and almost sold out late round. Not a lot of traffic in trees until after the last movie was seated. We had a few guests come in and hang before leaving at last call. EA BAR Staff Observations : Andrea and Miguel had great opens, and were able to keep up with a fairly busy first round.  Ashley and Lydia were able to get both bars restocked shortly after coming in, and the rest of the afternoon went by smoothly. JH  The service for dinner and late round went very well as well. Because there was not a lot of traffic at trees, I was able to get Ashley out after some batching and a restock. Lydia was out shortly after that as lobby was reset also. Easy closes on both bars. EA  FOH Staff Observations: Great hustle and work from all FOH today. No one seemed stressed and drinks flew out of the service station. EA 86ed / counts on items : 86'd Ruby Hibiscus. JH Prep List : Used the last of the Don Q to batch ...

Manager Communication : Pretty busy first round, with a lot of guests arriving very close to showtime throughout the building.  Dinner round was busy, too, with almost all theaters selling out, or getting very close to it. JH Busy Evening. Busy theaters and busy lobby bar and busy Trees Good night.  BAR Staff Observations: Great job all around, great teamwork.  FOH Staff Observations: A few servers were crowding the service station, fidgeting with tickets and drinks before they were ready, interfering with trays as I was actively working on and showing eagerness but bad etiquette. Some were on the newer side but some weren't.  Jovani, Brendan and Kelsey were really great running drinks and helping conduct traffic. Kaity and Erech were great help as well when they helped with trays. EL 86ed / counts on items : Ruby Hibiscus 86ed  Ordering/Receiving/Shipping : Baldor arriving tomorrow. JH Maintenance : The new bubbler at lobby was put into service today, and ran w...

Manager Communication: Pretty good night. Busy theaters and nice Trees crowds. Especially at the end! BAR Staff Observations: Great work all around, from Openers Tevon and Ashley who batched, juiced, and worked the party, to Ian and Matthew who closed and stocked Stella for tomorrow. Matthew also helped me set up the lobby bar bubbler.  FOH Staff Observations: Great hustle all around getting drinks out.  Special Events? Banchan Social Club's Past Lives afterparty was super fun and had a great bar crowd.  Staff Meeting Agenda notes : There has been a trend the past few weeks that when it is time to change menus, we realize that lobby bar only has one.  We keep two down there, and today is the third time in several weeks that one has vanished.  Just a reminder that if there are any stray or extra menus in stations or theaters (I've definitely seen guests misunderstand our service model and walk away with a bar menu), to bring them back to lobby. JH 86ed / counts o...

Manager Communication: Pretty good evening. We had some real theater action today. Trees had a few pops but not much action there. Customer Comments:  Gave a cash refund to a guest a few minutes after they purchased the tickets because they didn't want to sit in the th5 front row and they didn't want to watch anything else.  BAR Staff Observations: Great jobs all around from Matthew who opened Trees, Gabrielle at Lobby, Ashley closing Trees and Chester closing lobby. Ashley prepped some bloody concentrate and Gabrielle helped at Trees in their absence. Matthew got out shortly after the last theater pop.  Special Events? Karaoke started late due to a bad adapter. Once it was fixed it took a while for people to start signing. Eventually it was a nice little Karaoke.  Staff Meeting Agenda notes : I dropped off the FedEx package at the drop off location Edgar mentioned in last night's blog.  Hopefully this means no more FedEx updates in this space for a good long wh...

Manager Communication: Pretty mellow day in the building today with a small bump for dinner. Not much going on at either bar otherwise. Straightforward day with an easy close. EA BAR Staff Observations: Bar was well into service when I got in. Eliel was cut from the floor relatively early to work on Film Feast things. Maya stayed on until the crowd for Mommy's Dearest was settled in. Lydia and Tevon closed the night out at their bars. EA 86ed / counts on items: I sent out an email to all bar mgmt regarding sales on items that are changing so we can slow down our batching as we approach menu change. EA Prep List: We'll need a couple of cheater for Trees, a small amount of warchild syrup needs to be made (less than a quart), I think a single batch of Part of Your World, Michelada, and Lemonade. EA Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: I reordered chili sugar for the spiderman cocktail as the last one was lost in transit and we're running low. Also ordered was more spider gummies as th...

Manager Communication: Pretty hot and sticky day with spotted rain here and there. Although we sold a good amount of tickets for a rainy Monday, Trees never really got busy except for a small pop right before doors opened for Frankenhooker. EA BAR Staff Observations: Darius handled a solo lobby shift today with relative ease. He was great about calling down a manager when there were more walk ins than he could handle during service and was quick about drink tickets. Miguel started us at Trees and stayed through the opening of Frankenhooker to make sure Jenna was situated. Speaking of Jenna, she dug us out of a sticky situation with coverage. Infinitely grateful for that! Other than that, it was an relatively easy night compared to the weekend. EA Sick Leave/ Call outs : Jenna was able to come in and cover Lydia's Trees close. JH I added Lydia to the sick calendar (8.0 hrs) EA Staff Meeting Agenda notes : To no one's surprise, FedEx did not pick up the package today.  I called a...

Manager Communication: Pretty busy morning and afternoon but it all went smoothly.n EL The afternoon and dinner rounds were pretty much sold out with all theaters firing on all cylinders. Again most of the action was in the theaters which led to a quick and expedient service from the bar team. The late round saw great numbers as well keeping us busy until last call. EA BAR Staff Observations : Natasha opened Trees and Maya Opened Lobby. Both had great shifts. Miguel then Darius were much needed mids, who arrived right on time. They were all able to keep up with the flow of tickets and doing wonderful resets right after. Great teamwork all around! EL The second half of the day tapered off with both the mids supplementing service at both bars until they were cut for the night. The end of the night concluded naturally with guests in the last movie shuffling out quickly, while Tevon and Jenna closed down the bars and cleaned the frozen machines.  Pretty easy and organized Sunday. EA ...

Manager Communication:  Pretty busy afternoon, evening, and late round today. The bulk of service was spent on theater drinks as Trees was relatively calm considering the amount of people in the building. EA BAR Staff Observations : It was a mellower first round than last weekend, so service was pretty smooth throughout the day.  Andrea was well-prepped for ST&B, and Natasha set up Trees with cut citrus.  Once mids came in, I had them both hang out at Trees to navigate some sold out Spider-Man screenings.  Matthew and Andrea both went down to lobby once Gabrielle arrived, and I pulled Natasha to get some batching done after restocks were done. JH Mids and closers absolutely crushed it. Maya and Matthew ran the ticketing and drink tickets for the ground floor with relative ease. At times even coming upstairs to check on Trees. Ashley, Ian, and Gabrielle took care of everyone @ Trees as per usual. Busy, yet organized and easy shift with the team today. EA FOH Staff...

Manager Communication : The whole building was mostly sold out tonight. service was smooth FOH Staff Observations : Staffing levels for servers meant that drinks rarely lingered at the pass at Trees, which was helpful in keeping space clear for bartenders to complete tickets.  I have been noticing a 'crush' of tickets usually hitting Trees right about five or so minutes after Spider-Man begins, which I'm sure is due to late arrivals and people making decisions after having time with the menu.  Just something to be aware of when moving bodies around as drink support. JH 86ed / counts on items : Athltic Cerveca was OOS this week, we are not on a count yet, but it probably will not make it through the weekend.  Prep List : We are prepped up for the weekend. There is a batch of mermaid cocktail back there just waiting on blue curacao Filmbot Issues : I opened Filmbot today and put the bank at $0.00 instead of $200.00.  I let Wyatt and Jared know, just in case this causes...

Manager Communication : Nonstop busy service from the moment doors opened, a brief lull before Th1 opened for the second round, and then very very busy service pushes at both bars from 5:30 until 8:30. JH STB brought in a decent amount of people for the late round along with Spider-Man crossing the 100 mark. Kept Trees busy for the majority of the night. Really strong traffic at Trees for the day as well. A bunch of Spoons guests came out from the show for a one and done kind of thing.  The frames for the bar signage came in today. I will be getting those together and mapping out a spot for Juan to put them up on my next shift. EA BAR Staff Observations : The team today really crushed it, keeping up with every service push and never letting bar guests linger too long before taking their orders.  Ashley and Tevon communicated really well before open, so Tevon was able to set up Trees with cut citrus and a small restock while Ashley took on two very nearly sold out Spider-Man sc...

Manager Communication: We were down a bartender today and playing product catch-up from all the craziness yesterday, so it was pretty non-stop busy. Service was smooth though, everyone did a great job.  Customer Comments: Had to give a final warning to a group of about 10 teenagers with outside food in the last round of Spiderman. There were no issues with them after that.  BAR Staff Observations: Gabrielle volunteered to open and close the lobby today. Ashley help with a bunch of batching and Matthew held down a busy trees. They were all heroes today.  Sick Leave/ Call outs: Chester had to schedule a last minute medical procedure today. They could not get their shift covered. Gabrielle stayed to close downstairs, but we could have used another bartender today, so it was not ideal.  Special Events? Rocky Horror Picture Show! No Issues!  86ed / counts on items: Still out of Tecate 😒 should be in tomorrow.  Prep List: We will need a keg of Old Fashioned...

Manager Communication: Building was in the swing of things when I got in with both bars up and running. The building was a bit chaotic all at once with a sold out Spider-Man, Fugazi, and quite possibly the busiest trivia (27 teams, not counting the ones that started, but left half way through) we have had to date, but we managed to come out on the other side. EA Customer Comments: Had a couple wander the building aimlessly today around 4:30pm. Rebecca spotted them in 4/6 for a showing of Mario and I caught them coming up the staff stairs near the MOD. They didn't seem to know how to get where they wanted to get to. They ended up not having tickets and eventually left the building once I asked them if they needed further help. EA BAR Staff Observations: Bar team held it down tonight! It was Maya, Lydia, and Ian up in Trees for Trivia and Miguel down in the lobby handling business. After a rough start tonight with Fugazi overlapping with Trivia, the team got into a tight groove and w...

Manager Communication : Very busy dinner round, with a lot of walk in ticketing for the later rounds.  That 10:15 Spider-Man grew from less than forty tickets at open to 123 at showtime.  Definitely something to be mindful of when scheduling and making cuts, as this was our latest showing tonight, it has a pretty decent running time, and definitely left remaining staff feeling a little overwhelmed.   Some drink tickets were left on the pass and had to be remade in the last forty-five minutes of service in Th1, but I honestly think that was just fatigue catching up with some servers once the initial service push frenzy had passed. BAR Staff Observations : Both bars were well into service by the time I arrived, and both were able to get in restocks once closers arrived, right before the second round kicked off.  Once service had settled, Lydia restocked lobby and was able to get out of here around eight.  Tevon got some batching done, helped Miguel with a res...

Manager Communication : Another busy day with Th1/2/3/4 leading ticket sales again. JH Yep, pretty busy Sunday from the jump for the second half of the day. Trees lounge was firing on all cylinders and cutting through all the service tickets with ease. I was able shuffle people around to fill in service gaps so that all the pushes went smoothly. EA BAR Staff Observations : Andrea held down lobby solo up until about three, and was able to keep up with several busy service pushes on the first floor. Natasha, similarly, worked the first round at Trees without issue. Timing it between rushes, myself and Natasha were able to knock out some syrups and batching to catch up with restocks.  Once Maya and Darius were in, service was just as smooth. Maya was in particularly good spirits, and was much more amenable to taking direction and assisting guests at the bar than she had been on previous shifts I worked with her (I haven’t worked a shift with Maya since right before her annual review d...

Manager Communication : The pushed back openings in TH1/2 really set us up for success with regards to the busier service pushes, especially since every floor had sold out theaters throughout the day. JH Super busy dinner as well, but the bars took it in stride. Since the big theaters went in earlier for the last round, service was a cake walk and both bars just crushed the rushes. There was that unofficial scavenger hunt that came in for like an hour to have a drink or two before moving on to another site. They were great and a welcome addition to help fill out Trees. I will try to be in contact with the coordinator of the group and see if we can set more of these up, or even host a silent disco kind of night. EA Customer Comments: BAR Staff Observations : Andrea and Natasha did a great job stocking and opening both bars this morning.  Andrea really has a good sense for how to best prepare for solo service pushes during the earlier rounds, so drinks were flying out of Trees once ...

Manager Communication: Another very busy night. Service was smooth. No issues. Everyone killed it. -ND BAR Staff Observations : Th1/2/4 were very busy in the first round, and Ashley was able to handle all seatings without issue.  Gabrielle got both bars set with fresh juice and cut citrus while holding down Lobby, which had a more mellow first round but was full of guests buying tickets. JH FOH Staff Observations : Monica was a real help during the first round Th1 Spider-Man, running drinks as support until Th2 opened. JH Solid drink support all night - ND Staff Meeting Agenda notes : Ordered ink pads for BRIC stamps, and the bridge stick for the pool table on Amazon. JH  86ed / counts on items: Our Ruby order did not come this week, it will 86 at some point this weekend. -ND Prep List: Tevon got us caught up today, but he wasn't able to get to michelada, we will need one at some point tomorrow. -ND Ordering/Receiving/Shipping : Stumptown arriving on Tuesday. JH

Manager Communication: Really great day today. The wedding was beautiful and everyone was lovely. Spiderman was busy but the drink rushes weren't too crazy. We were able to crank out theater service for both of the big theaters dinner rounds while the wedding was going.  Even with everything going on I was able to get both openers out slightly before their scheduled out times.  It did get pretty hot in the bar with that many people and the doors closed for 3+ hours on a hot day. The AC was going but it couldn't really keep up. If we have closed door events in there going forward we should turn down the AC before it starts so it can get nice and cool from the very beginning.  There were a few small things we noticed that could make things even smoother next time. Jenn and I are going to collect our thoughts tomorrow and we can follow up on Tuesday.  Customer Comments: Really nice crowd for the wedding tonight. El has good friends.  BAR Staff Observations: Real...