Monday 8.18.25 Ariel & Lauren NPP Bar

Manager Communication:

I turned the lobby ice machine on when I came in. It did not have an error code. It was making ice before service. Will monitor throughout shift to see how it is doing. - AB2

Ice Machine was working fine in Lobby later on.

We had the dirty water main issue today. Twas not fresh. I started the shift by only offering beers, wines, bottled juices, and bottled water and lemonade/iced tea with no ice. Once we were certain the ice was clean, we moved to cocktails to then moving into normal service. - AB2 

Well fun times in constructionville with the brown water sagas.-LB

Alex let me know when he was leaving that there is some brown staining in the 4/6 sink from this version of Watergate-LB

I think Lauren and I could both agree that we need to order more filters for the water since the current ones we have went through a lot today. I would order asap and replace once they come in. - AB2

Updated trivia tents and printed for tomorrow. 

BAR Staff Observations: 

Both Greg and Lydia had concerns and were unsure of how exactly to handle everything. I had never experienced this myself so I was also rather unsure. We were all unsure of when the brown water would end. At first we thought 20 minutes then 45 minutes, then an hour, etc... At the end of the day, the team was present and had the priority of finding a solution together. I appreciated having them today as I was learning in real time with them. - AB2

The bar team was very resilient today. Lydia and Greg had a rocky start wishing to have more direction and information.  Greg noted that the HCAAP protocol mentioned in the DOH training was not really addressed. This was something I was also concerned with the first time I witnessed the water main break issue for NPP.  Bartenders, for better or worse, like to control their space and know what is going on.  If the DOH had come in during this issue, I don't know what would have happened. I do think that being in a position to not be able to wash your hands in clean water  does come at odds with everything service industry professionals are taught. What I heard from our team was that they would like to know the protocols in place to feel like they are able to serve customers in a safe way. Communication regarding this would have gone far. Ariel was managing the best he could, but it felt like servers also just had heresay of what was going on as they arrived. 

We have a lot of equipment that draws tap water so of course the bar department is heavily impacted by this kind of issue.  Ariel was really engulfed in trying to fix whatever was a concern on top of the normal course of business of putting away orders, checking on product pars etc. If this has happened twice in under a calendar year, I think a protocol to give people information would be prudent.  A list of items we can serve, can't serve and then update as we go.  

I also think that having protocols in place for the lack of elevator is also prudent as we are required to have the access to accommodate ADA guests and ADA staff. I recognize this is an old building, but oftentimes it feels like everyone is reticent to act with agency regarding malfunctions. Even a flowchart for what type of issue and who to contact would be useful in the moment. 

I went to consult the facility binder to see if there is anything relevant in this situation and noticed that it is quite out of sync with the current staff.  If we could add protocols for the water issues, elevator situations (I really wonder how we would operate without the main elevator), and any other somewhat absurd happenings.  Is there a situation in which we would actually close for the day and not be open to the public? These feel like situations that all of the managers should have some idea how to operate business as the unusual in this life is becoming a bit more standard. -LB

 

There is another CO2 leak that caused beeping in the lobby CO2 closet, would love a flow chart for this situation as well. Propping the door for dissipation of the leak is a fix, but it feels like a band-aid to something that might require more attention. On a day like today, having this come up was salt in the wound.-LB

FOH Staff Observations: Sarah is a shining star. She really works hard and is looking for ways to support anyone who needs it. Sam was also helping a ton at the Trees service pass today.  It is extremely appreciated by the bar team.-LB

Honestly, every opening server was great. Sam in uptown (4/6), Raekwon & Sarah in Midtown (1/2), and Siete & Kyah in Downtown (3/5/7). All were super helpful and had a lot to take on. I brought out bottled Poland Spring waters to 4/6 station and to the bars. Sam handled everything uptown solo. Raekwon got hit with 60 people in TH1 and BODIED that theater with the help of Sarah as support and giving as much attention as she could for the Theater. Siete was on top of everything downstairs and Kyah wasn't phased by the mayhem. - AB2

I think most of the staff was good today. Most were looking for direction and wanted to know what was next or what to do/what we can or cannot serve. I was running around communicating to servers and also making sure the bars were doing ok. As this was my first time experiencing this, I felt like I was learning in real time with the rest of the staff. I appreciated their care and concern. - AB2

Abe had a lil Rush while he opened his TH5. He got an iPad from TH3, it happened to be a TH4 iPad. He rang in a bunch of orders that ended up being sent to the abyss. He walkie'd immediately and I was luckily super close. I routed his iPad to the proper printer. Some drinks were rang in on the wall unit so those were good to go. Siete remembered all the drinks they ran and Abe and I headed back in the theater to peek at who didn't get what. We figured it all out and everyone got their drinks before the movie started. Wait times were not bad at all since Abe walkied us immediately. I had to void a lot to "Item was not made" just an FYI for Discounts & Adjustments. - AB2

Hiring/Training: Gus stopped by to discuss scheduling and configuring our next moves regarding staffing over here. Excited to add some new team members to the mix. -LB

86ed / counts on items: We are low on vanille de madagascar. 

Prep List: 3 Lemonades, Tea, Violet, Margarita keg, 2 FWWM, Old Fashioned keg. I didn't make an Are you entertained since we are out of cognac park . I could do Pierre Ferrand tomorrow. Pretty spent after today.-LB

Thank you for batching today Lauren. I did not have Gabrielle batch today due to the water main issue. - AB2

Ordering/Receiving/Shipping: Phony Negroni, To Rise, US foods. 

Baldor coming tomorrow. 

Maintenance: I asked Markenson to bleach in the walk-in tomorrow under the batched products.  

Every theater sink that has an aerator on it should be unscrewed and cleaned. I found Theater 5 was full of mud after this water main issue last time, months later.  I have done all of the bar sinks and ordered new aerators for them since some are missing.

 I also ordered a new hose for the bars to rinse the frozen machines, burn ice, etc since we lost a hose. 

We also should change the water filters in the building sooner than later since today's water main has likely made them lose some of their usefulness.-LB

There is another CO2 leak that caused beeping in the lobby CO2 closet, would love a flow chart for this situation as well. Propping the door for dissipation of the leak is a fix, but it feels like a band-aid to something that might require more attention. On a day like today, having this come up was salt in the wound.-LB

The CO2 stated it had a leak so definitely something to look into. It was at .6% when it should be at .5% so not too bad but better to fix soon before things get worse. - AB2