NPP Bar Blog

Manager Communication: Congratulations to everyone on receiving an A from DOH! -DL BAR Staff Observations: Ian and Tevon were great with ensuring both bars were DOH ready when I came in. They made the inspection go that much easier in the midst of the tension. Ian supported Matthew and Maya in Trees until the last rush from Dune and was able to get out by 9:30. Tevon knocked out some batching while Jeshua was able to handle lobby by himself. -DL Prep List: Winter GT kicked at the end of the night.  Tevon made 3 batches of the Dune special to prepare for tomorrow. -DL  Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: Manhattan delivered a case of Sorrel Liqueur rather than just a single bottle. I already contacted them to pick it up this week. Please leave in box. -DL

Manager Communication: The In The Mood For Love in lobby bar was froze over this morning when I came in. It was set to cold but kept itself to a freezing temperature all night. After calling it in to Elmeco they confirmed we have an issue with the part that reads the temp in that specific side of the machine. They're shipping a new piece right away that should be here by the end of the week for free. We can install it ourselves or call a 3rd party tech from the area to install it but the customer service rep said it's an easy part to swap out. -DL Bar mats- Gil pointed out to me they were extra sticky this morning. May be time for us to order more. If anyone can communicate where we get them from I can place an order this week to ensure we get the same ones. -DL I swung Matthew up to Trees to support since TH1 and TH2 were both sold out and had their drink pushes line up at the same time. They didn't order as much as anticipated, however, so he stocked both bars and was ou...

Manager Communication: Quiet Monday. Spent most of the early day getting prepped for NSF this week. -DL Dinner round was pretty busy on the first floor, and The Last Dragon screening in Th1 was the most popular screening of the night.  People loved it, and were ordering food and drink throughout.  Trees actually had a fair amount of couples come in for a weeknight, just to hang out on Mezz with some bevvies.  Decent late night crowd for a non-Trivia Tuesday. JH BAR Staff Observations: Kept Gabrielle on to get through The Last Dragon seating, and she was able to get out of here after Lydia got a restock in.  Ian batched us up and was back in Lobby in time for Darius to slide into The Last Dragon .  Once Lobby was routed and shut down, Ian was able to bop up to Trees Lounge to help Lydia with the last call crowd, and then Lydia was well onto their way closing once the last guests left just after midnight. JH Special Events? Empty bottles are in the liquor room ...

Manager Communication:   Very smooth day across the board. Due to sales, Jenna was cut once everyone had family meal and bars were set for the night. Ian caught us up on the more treacherous batching (it was bloody concentrates y'all) and was then free to go. Frozen machines got cleaned. AB BAR Staff Observations:  Ian was a delight to work with tonight, going above and beyond to make the most out of a slower day. AB FOH Staff Observations: I've noticed staff, particularly runners, hanging around Trees while still on the clock. It appears like innocent banter with a coworker that has already been cut, but for long periods of time. I also feel uncomfortable putting an unknowing bartender in the position of possibly serving them. AB Prep List : I got us up on most of the Shorts Fest prep. I made a double of Lemon Verbena-Jalepeño syrup and a double of the Lion's Mane-Mushroom syrup, I just didn't have cranberries for the Ranchiversary prep. AB We'll need to start a W...

Manager Communication: Busy morning over here while the second round fizzled out a bit. Notting Hill & Space Jam were bumping. Kelsey and Maya slayed service in Trees while Miguel prepped so much for the team! He got us back up on fresh juice and roll-ups. AB Darius was able to take apart the coco lime side of the frozen machine in lobby and readjust the piece that was making it leak. He cleaned and refilled it to make sure it was good to go. Was able to do this and still get out at a regular time. -DL Customer Comments: Getting a lot of people trying to bring young children in during the late rounds. Just something to have the lobby bartenders keep an eye out for. -DL BAR Staff Observations: Darius was amazing in lobby this evening. Kept a smile on his face throughout his whole shift in lobby while directing the many first-timers that visited. I swung downstairs to help him with Filmbot a couple of time and for a restock but he was pretty much a one man machine. -DL  FOH St...

Manager Communication: Notting Hill & Space Jam were super popular this morning, and I anticipate the same for tomorrow morning.  Plenty of the smaller theaters selling out now that we have the shorts programming and Poor Things out of the big theaters, with ticket sales growing steadily throughout the day.  Scheduling was great today, really well timed, and service was very smooth.  Just busy enough that I never pulled any Leads for batching, but we will definitely have extra hands and time this evening to catch up on the few small things we need to make. JH    The last two rounds continued to stay busy. A lot of last minute walk-in that caused big jumps closer to the start time of the movies. Still found a lot of time to restock Trees and get some batching completed in order to get a bit ahead of tomorrow. DL  Customer Comments: Had 3 women in Trees this evening that gave Lydia and Gabrielle an issue towards the end of the night. They had one round...

Manager Communication :  Hello, busy Friday! We had an all-star team to keep up the pace. Drive Away Dolls definitely has a heavy drinking crowd, and had lots of walk-ins similar to Bob Marley: One Love. Tevon got us batched up for the weekend, reset Gabrielle in Lobby, and was cut. Ian held down Trees with Darius and Matthew until the last TH1 push settled down. From there, Trees got stocked and we finished the night as smoothly as possible. AB I know we are all aware of our quirky pool-pocket-problem. The center pockets now fall out to the ground if a ball falls in. Thankfully we had some handy black duct tape, and I got a little ghetto with it so folks could continue their game. Just touching base if we ordered new ones already. AB   Customer Comments:   A couple in TH2 were brought to our attention by Alex in the last round of Bob Marley: One Love. They arrived very late and were clearly intoxicated and didn't respond well to not being served. Daniella and I stay...

Manager Communication: Rainy weather kept things pretty quiet. Shaft in Th.1 gave us our biggest rush and we had a good crowd in Trees for most of the night. Ian stayed until Th1 settled in and was out around 10. Matthew swung up stairs after closing lobby so that Tevon could restock and push threw the rest of closing. -DL Customer Comments:  Had someone come in and ask if we offered discounted tickets to WGA members.  They said that their friend had said we did, but even they were unsure.  I explained that at the moment we do not (I couldn't find anything about it on the Drive or the general email), but that their friend was welcome to reach out via email if they had any further questions. JH Prep List: Matthew batched a few syrups we were low on. -DL Ordering/Receiving/Shipping:  I placed a Harney & Sons tea order, so let's keep an eye on the side entrance for a big box of tea sometime this weekend. JH Southern arrived today. -DL Maintenance: The handicap sta...

Manager Communication: Quiet start for the first round. Kelsey was able to juice citrus as well as clean the bubblers in lobby before swinging upstairs to cover for batching. Matthew got a lot cleaning done behind the bar at trees during his down time. -DL Matthew got the walk-in looking real fly. Darius held down the pass for the very sold TH1 The Sweet East.  Once the bubblers were knocked out and the bar was stocked, both openers (Kelsey & Matthew) were cut. Jeshua was his usual self in Lobby. Overall a very calm Wednesday. AB Plum bitters finally arrived! I have two Winter G&T  kegs charged and ready to go in the walk-in. They were finished after last call, if we can just double-check this is un-86ed by the first round. AB Dana will you do the honor of ordering me a bottle of Giffard Rhubarb? I ran out of our little sample when R&Ding and will need some for next week. Thank you!! AB BAR Staff Observations:  Darius and Matthew were the greatest little team...

Manager Communication:  After The Lego Movie , the bigger theaters were pretty mellow the rest of the night.  Trivia definitely led the charge at Trees Lounge tonight, with a pretty big crowd. JH Staff Meeting Agenda notes:  Let's make sure that opening bartenders are double bagging the recycling bags at Trees and labeling all staff checks.  I'll reiterate both in this week's email, too. JH 86ed / counts on items:  All Buffalo Trace and Makers Mark is stocked behind the bars.  Both are due to be delivered this week. 86'd Winter G&T.  Amazon will be delivering the Plum Bitters tomorrow.  Once they arrive, let's make and charge some Winter G&T kegs. JH Ordering/Receiving/Shipping:  US Foods arriving tomorrow. JH

Manager Communication:  Very busy first round with The Lego Movie selling out and being one of the first theaters to open.  Service ran really smoothly, with plenty of servers pitching in to run trays up to Th1.  The day stayed relatively steady afterwards, with lots of walk in ticketing. JH I don't think anyone could predict how wild the rest of the night would become. The Adventures of Buckaroo crowd came early and filled the bar. Meanwhile, One Love  guests came to the bar after their movie. It looked like a Trees buyout sans DJ. I barbacked and supported Darius for about 2 hours. Darius absolutely crushed service, all guests were in great spirits. Once Tevon was rerouted, he jumped up to Trees to help reset after. Frozens got taken care of problem-free. AB BAR Staff Observations:  Definitely needed that Lobby Mid shift today, and having Jeshua come in just before doors really ensured a smooth start to service this morning.  Jenna and Lydia set up both ...

Manager Communication: First brunch round stayed quiet, but numbers picked up later in the day. I pushed Kelsey's Lobby Mid shift back to 12:30PM due to sales. Miguel prepped for both bars in Lobby while Kelsey and Maya held down Trees pushes. Tevon got us batched for President's Day tomorrow. Singlecut Kim Hibiscus Sour is now live. AB Maya mentioned to me that she updated her availability on Schedulefly and would prefer to have a 3rd shift added. I recommended she email Dana directly to communicate what her options might be going forward. AB I put my name down on First Run Specials doc for  Love Lies Bleeding. I would love to take the lead on a potential special if we get a screening opportunity! AB Busy night especially for a Sunday. Lately we been getting a lot of walkins for Trees during the later hours. A lot of people just coming in for the bar and not seeing movies. Tevon was great with directing people through the menu as well as knocking out tickets alongside Jeshua...

Manager Communication:  Easy going morning, with Th3 leading the charge once doors opened.  Ticket sales definitely picked up as the day went on, and Trees built up a great crowd by three. JH The night definitely picked up throughout the building, Trees had a ton of walkins around the same time as the dinner rushes and family meal began. Ian was able to support both Darius and Jeshua during the rush while I was able to handle the glassware from the flips. Matthew supported Gabrielle in the lobby until around 8:30 when we were able to cut him. It seemed like there was a lot of broken glassware tonight. May be time to order more glassware in preparation of Dune. -DL Customer Comments:  Had an older couple at Trees sitting under the projection screen eating outside food around 4:30pm.  Ian gave them a heads up that they couldn't do that, and then let me know when they continued to do so.  I went over and the man immediately got very agitated and stood up to argue w...

Manager Communication: It was nice feeling busy again! Ian and Tevon split up the batching throughout the shift. Tevon rolled silverware for Trees to get us through the weekend. Ian held down the pass and left once the bar was stocked and the floor was clear. Gabrielle had such a smooth, yet busy, shift in Lobby. Matthew and Natasha handled a full bar like champs for the rest of the night. AB The Gose button got taken off the main bar-speed page and a few servers rang in the Singlecut Hibiscus Sour. I communicated with leads the situations and asked them to guide other servers toward the beer draft page, where the Gose button still lives until we completely change over. AB BAR Staff Observations:  Shout out to Ian and Tevon! Leading by example tonight. AB FOH Staff Observations:  Kelsey was a supporting machine. AB Prep List:  Will need Orgeat Syrup ( Fistful of Dollars ), Hakuna Matata , Turmeric Ginger Syrup ( Y Tu Mama ), and Cranberry Ginger Vanilla Syrup ( Cosmopoli...

Manager Communication:   The later round made the night after a pretty slow day. Matthew was more than capable to handle things downstairs solo. Jeshua suported Tevon in Trees until Ian finished batching. -DL FOH Staff Observations: Jay was great once again tonight. Constantly bringing glassware to Trees and running drinks to other theaters.   Special Events? Party in TH 6 with Superbad had a lot of people show up to Trees prior and gave a good late night pop. Staff Meeting Agenda notes:  Ian was able to prep a batch of the Madame Web special, and we are expecting Red Stripe to arrive in the morning. JH Ordering/Receiving/Shipping:  US Foods arriving tomorrow. JH Manhattan arriving tomorrow along with the Red Stripe. 

Manager Communication: Busy start to the day with it picking up through the rounds. Had a handful of walk- in for Trees before the larger theaters opened up with some action. Gabrielle had free time in the lobby with and was able to clean the bubblers before the closers got in. -DL Everyone absolutely crushed it tonight. Gabrielle and Matthew both stayed longer than anticipated and were happy to do so. Big theater pushes, large bar crowds. Keeping up with glassware and product was a lot to handle. Jeshua ran upstairs to help Darius in Trees after Lobby closed. It might be beneficial to run with two Trees closers next Valentines Day. AB BAR Staff Observations: Darius held down all of the sold-out drink rounds, :clap emoji: :clap emoji: AB FOH Staff Observations: James supported literally everyone, myself included. AB Lost & Found: Keys in Lobby at end of the night with a bird keychain. I put them in the safe. AB 86ed / counts on items: Lunar Seltzer is on a count at 17 but will ...

Manager Communication: Not much going on to start the day. Miguel was able to get in on time even with the rough weather in New Jersey today. Darius and Miguel communicated perfectly between each other in terms of fruit needs. -DL Service stayed pretty mellow throughout the night, with both bars sailing through service without issue. JH 86ed / counts on items : Singlecut Gose low. Will switch to Singlecut Kim on Friday and update menus on Thursday night. -DL Prep List: Ian got some batching done, so we are ready for Valentine's Day service tomorrow. JH     Lost & Found?: Orange beanie found near Kung Fu Kickball. -DL Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: Empire delivery was delayed until tomorrow. -DL

Manager Communication:  Very chill evening here. Lydia and Jenna got out shortly after family meal. Tevon held down Lobby and we R&D'ed a little for Spring menu in the downtime. Gabrielle kept the good times going in Trees. AB Once the gate was down, Tevon swung up to help Gabrielle with the newer frozen machine. I will say, this was a pretty miserable experience without hot water. I jumped in and we did the best we could utilizing hot water from the coffee maker. Tokens were given. Burning ice for three wells with only cold water was also rough. I think this could have been monitored by bartenders and kept up with better. That being said, running the bar with only two ice wells tomorrow might be more practical. AB It came to my attention that all product coming out of the soda gun @ the Trees service pass has an awful metallic aftertaste. We shut it down for the night and have been soaking the gun in hot water. It appears to be very clean and this is the soda gun with the most...

Manager Communication:  As per usual on Super Bowl Sunday, we were running pretty low numbers. Sundays on Fire was the biggest hit this morning. Kelsey and Maya kept the pace at Trees while Miguel prepped for both bars in Lobby. Miguel got cut and Maya shortly after once Tevon was in to batch us up.  Quiet evening throughout the building. Kelsey was cut around 5 after both bars restocked. Tevon stayed until 8:30 after getting some work done on cocktails. Darius handled lobby fine with not much help needed. Filters are changed in Lobby. -DL BAR Staff Observations: Tevon and Jeshua both have some good ideas for the next menu. Both are working on the drinks to hopefully submit soon. -DL Special Events? The Big Game went smooth. Everyone seem to enjoy the OT.  86ed / counts on items: Prosecco is low but will arrive on Tuesday with Empire. -DL Over/Short on Banks: Pay Outs: 9780-Travel- Transportation for Liq to WB-$43 5460-Bar Grocery-$18 Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: The ...

Manager Communication:  Mellow morning, with You've Got Mail being the biggest push of brunch.  The smaller theaters definitely began to fill up as we got into the middle and later rounds. JH Had a big pop in Trees around 7:45 with Th. 1 opening up and the guests arriving early for the event in Mezz for Brandy. A lot of cocktail drinkers kepy Tevon and Jeshua busy while Ian and myself handled the rush from Th1. Ian was able to leave not long after the event got into full swing. -DL BAR Staff Observations:  Maya and Natasha did a great job opening both bars, and Natasha cruised through the You've Got Mail service push.  Once Matthew got in, we made sure both bars were super prepped for the rest of the day, and then Natasha got out of here shortly after Ian got in.  Ian got through some keg batching and syrups, and Maya was able to get out of here once Ian was back behind the bar. JH Special Events? Congratulation party for Brandy went great. A lot of guests in ...

Manager Communication: Slower numbers for theaters this Friday, but Trees maintained a big crowd nonetheless. Gabrielle wanted the early cut, and Darius did a great job solo in Lobby. Once Matthew and Natasha were in, Ian and I prepped to get us ready for the weekend. AB There was a credit card switch-up tonight, thankfully we caught it while both parties were still at the bar. I adjusted each payment accordingly and buybacked an item on each. Both parties were very understanding and in good spirits. I spoke to Matthew and Natasha about slowing down in the cash-out process. AB BAR Staff Observations: Ian was the positive energy this building so desperately needed today. AB FOH Staff Observations: Sarah & Jay seem to really fit in here at Nitehawk. AB Prep List: Will need apricot syrup. Winter G&T  will kick very soon. AB    Maintenance: Water heater is being repaired tomorrow morning. The glasses were coming out clean in Trees but some with a soap residue. I was...

Manager Communication: Very calm start to the day with not many guests in the building for the opening round. Spent majority of the time getting things ready for tonight Newfest event. -DL Matthew got us all batched up and Jeshua left after both bars were reset for dinner. Ian held down the drink pass for two sold-out pushes. Darius and Gabrielle kept the NewFest folks extra cheerful. We blazed through a keg and a half of Winter G+T , if we can start that prep early on tomorrow or when I get in later. Matthew was such a delight in Lobby, and helped me and the team reset the floor once the crowd cleared out. AB  BAR Staff Observations: The whole squad today! Darius, Gabrielle, Ian, Jeshua, and Matthew really took the extra care tonight to help their team. AB FOH Staff Observations:  Becca and Vincent were a delight to work with in Trees. While passing apps for the party, they were also finding ways to help bartenders with glassware, etc. AB  Special Events? The NewFest ...

Manager Communication: Very easygoing night over here. Darius wanted the early cut. Matthew and I used some downtime to prep a bunch for the HBO event tomorrow. We have 2 full charged kegs of both Winter G+T  & PRY Spritzer . Jeshua and Kelsey held down both bars for the rest of the night. Even with low numbers, we had a good amount of guests ordering food & drink at Trees. Paddington II crowd came up for a round after their event. AB Hiring/Training:  Kelsey had her New Hire Review with myself and Ashley today.  It went well and she is eager to pick up more regular bar shifts as they become available. JH Staff Meeting Agenda notes:  For the next NoBudge, let's consider adding a short Trees closing shift to help alleviate the after screening Trees crush.  It's a lot of guests, and a lot of guests who need to be id'ed. JH 86ed / counts on items: 86: Helles Lager. 86 Ramazzotti, no current back-up of Fistful of Dollars . It should be in tomorrow. AB Prep...

Manager Communication:  Fairly quiet day with Trivia being the main point of focus for Trees. JH BAR Staff Observations:  Great team on today.  Lobby was a breeze, and Jeshua knocked out the weekly cleaning tasks before Ian even got in for his closing shift.  Ian got some batching out of the way, and then took over Lobby.  Gabrielle did a great job setting up Trees, and stuck around until just about 10, to help with the bulk of Trivia service.  Maya, as usual, killed it on the floor, and she and Tevon pivoted to resetting and pre-closing the bar once Trivia ended, as the bar cleared out almost immediately. JH Special Events?  Trivia was back in fine form this evening, with a big bustling crowd.  Maya got on the floor a little before seven, Ian swung upstairs to help with the initial service push.  Once Trivia kicked off and everyone had their first round and food was coming up, service definitely mellowed out and Ian was able to head back to ...

Manager Communication:   Started out pretty slow over here, but that didn't last long. Jenna helped with some tasks in the back before getting cut. Lydia stayed for the NoBudge push and helped Maya get reset for service. Tevon in lobby was a huge help tonight. After he got rerouted and the gate was down, he paused his closing duties to shoot up to Trees and help Maya with a very full bar. It was definitely a rowdy crowd and they crushed it, tokens were given. AB Roll-ups should be a top priority for bartenders tomorrow with Trivia happening later in the evening. AB Frozen machines were done, Tevon took extra care of the wonky machine in Lobby and we labeled the far right side to be filled with In the Mood for Love . AB Customer Comments:  Had a guest come to Lobby right before the first round screening of Zone of Interest in Th5 began, asking if he could have a refund.  He just seemed very overwhelmed by the fact that we are a dine-in theater and was upset that people in...

Manager Communication:  Very smooth morning with some all-star brunch bartenders. Miguel and Natasha were set up by doors. We blazed though the first round with some help from Kelsey. Natasha helped get us batched up. Once Tevon got in, both bars were covered for stocks to get reset for dinner service. AB Smooth night even with a couple busy theaters. Had some traffic at trees during the dinner round but mostly people just hanging out. -DL BAR Staff Observations:  All star team today, like usual. Kelsey was able to get out around 6 after making sure Darius was restocked in the lobby. Then Darius held things down in lobby for the rest of the night. Tevon assisted Jeshua in Trees until about 9:30 and then he was good to go as well. -DL 86ed / counts on items :  Helles Lager, Lunar on a count.  Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: Helles and Lunar will both arrive on Tuesday morning.  Maintenance: Ice machine in Lobby was working just fine today. -DL

Manager Communication: Big thanks to Natasha, Miguel and Ian for holding it down during a busy morning shift with Jenn being out sick. I arrived around 3pm, and saw Natasha supporting Miguel in the Lobby while Ian supported Darius in Trees. Both made sure each bar were stocked and ready for the next busy round. Gave both of them a token for holding it down like bosses.   BAR Staff Observations: Jeshua seemed a bit off today so I had a brief conversation to check on him. He mad some mistakes with the new drinks and broke a few glasses during service. After touching base with him it seemed he was just trying to move too fast and do too much on his own. Explain to him to take his time and remember he has support here so need to feel like he need to do everything.  FOH Staff Observations: There were only a handful trays and rollers for the glassware all day in the building. The servers did great with rotating the trays we had on hand but no one know's where the rest of them...

Manager Communication: Had some good actions during the dinner round and a great crowd in Trees with the parents from PSP filling up the space until 7:30. Cleared out pretty early with just a small group upstairs for the rest of the night.  BAR Staff Observations: Matthew, Natasha and Ian did great tending to the parents and dealing with the busy dinner round at the same time. After the rush Ian went to batch.While making the Bloody Concentrate the blender fell and the blade broke off of it. He told the kitchen and said there another one on the way but he had to use the immersion blender instead. -DL  Hiring/Training:  Ashley was able to come in for a few hours to train on inventory, and did great.  She still has some training courses on Craftable to complete, so we'll do another training once that is done so she can cover when able. JH Special Events?  It was brought to my attention that several servers were getting themselves bowls of cereal from ST&B las...

Manager Communication:  Very calm here until around 8:30PM when STB folks started to arrive. Ian batched us up earlier in the evening. In lieu of an early cut, Jeshua helped me knock out a few projects in bar prep. Matthew kicked it in Lobby without issue. Tevon was the king of the cereal drinks at the pass, and Ian left when it finally settled down in TH1. AB We went through 20 whole milk cartons for TSB tonight, which seems way more than usual. I'll be here in the morning to give kitchen a heads up for ordering into the weekend. AB BAR Staff Observations:  Ian is back and stronger than ever! It made the night incredibly easy having him and Tevon for STB. AB FOH Staff Observations: Jovani was an excellent guide for newer servers in TH1 tonight. AB Prep List: We should get to some syrups tomorrow (Maple Pear Sage, Rosemary Pomegranate). Espresso Martini keg is about to kick, it is already batched in a cambro in the walk-in. We will need to prep both Fruity Pebble Aperol and ...