Working the Bar in Beautiful Downtown Sodom & Gomorra (chapter 3)

Chapter        3

    CAPTAIN YOUNG’S SEAFOOD EMPORIUM (1987) was an upscale, fine dining establishment, right a crossed the boardwalk from Caesar’s Palace in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Bert and June were the owners, and Bert’s sister “Sis” was the bookkeeper. We all got along very well. Years after they built the restaurant they added the outside bar. It was in a “greenhouse”. In theory, it was very beautiful to sit out in the sunlight. However, the reality was much brighter. The sun was so bright at times, that it was difficult to see inside from the glare. In addition, it was soon apparent that the sun was going to have another effect; at times, it was so unbearably hot inside the “greenhouse” that it actually heated the entire dinning room, inside the restaurant. The air conditioner could not keep up even if you turned it up to frostbite. A short time after completing the “greenhouse” the contractors were contacted concerning the problem. They suggested adding a mirror glaze tint to all the windows in the “greenhouse”. This transformed the “greenhouse” from the desert into a tropical island. The inside of my bar was normal but, the outside of my bar, where the customers sat, was shaped like a large boat. Architecturally it was beautiful, but the architects didn’t know squat about how a bar works. It was about 4 inches above industry standards, which is a little uncomfortable for the customers. The center of the bar was wider than the ends, making it difficult to clean or reach to serve, unless you were extremely tall. The outside edge of the bar had no lip on it, so if a customer spilled something on the bar, it was only a matter of seconds before it was all over the customer. In addition, the center of the bar where it was wider did not have enough support; as a result, it leaned toward the customer.

    I did very well in Atlantic City. Many people said to me, “You are not from around here, are you?” I would ask, “Why did you ask me that?” The people from that area can sometimes be quit rude. 
    There was a seedy under belly of society, feel to Atlantic City, which I didn’t like. I was raised in a small farm town in Ohio, and I did not like the BIG city. Some homeless people slept under the boardwalk. Sometimes you can see them eating out of the garbage cans.

    Some of the waitresses were very rude to other staff members and to the customers too. I had a customer who I always called the Moose man, because he only drank Moose Head Beer. He was my most frequent customer. This was more of a transient client base. Our clientele was comprised of travelers from everywhere else. Some people were here in AC for the day, some in AC for the weekend.

    One day I got some high rollers into my bar who said that they had hit it big in Caesar’s Palace. I was not much of a gambler, but I was happy for them. Their bill was about $4400 including tax. They handed me three twenties and told me to keep the change. I was thinking a $1600 tip is over thirty percent and I thanked them very much. When I went to put the cash into the cash register I realized that they had given me five twenties (100 bucks) so I said, “Just a minute gentlemen, you gave me $4000 too much!” The man looked at me and said, “I know how much I gave you, I told you too keep the change.” WOW this had now become a $5600 tip on a $4400 check. 
    This was the biggest tip that I had ever gotten before in my life, and will probably never see the likes of it again. Of course, I mentioned this to some of the other servers. I assumed that this had happened to them a few times in their career in Atlantic City. However, this was not the case, some were happy for me, but as the news spread quickly around the restaurant, some were down right pissed off. I suppose that this was more uncommon than I had originally thought.

    On another occasion, (shortly before closing), perhaps thirty minutes or so before we lock the doors (about 9:30 pm), three gentlemen came into my bar. They were nice looking executive types. They ordered drinks, sat for ten or fifteen minutes, then one guy asked for a menu. They expressed no interest in food when they sat down, but now it may be too late to order. I asked them to wait a minute so that I could see if the kitchen is still open. 
    I went to the Chef & the Manager and they both looked at their watches, and then told me that it was okay. I took menus to the gentlemen at the bar, but only one ordered. This guy had the nerve to order a whole lobster. I don’t usually get a lot of food orders at the bar, because most people would rather eat at a table. The kitchen was pissed off that my customer ordered lobster. I could just only hope for a nice tip because I did the guy a favor, to get his order into the kitchen.
    When his food was cooked, I brought out his lobster dinner and set of the bar before him. He was very pleased. However, before he had a chance to eat anything, one of his friends said, “Hey that looks good, I’ll have one too!” I told him that I would have to check with the kitchen again. I went to the manager and the head chef again. The chef said, “Is there a problem with his dinner?” I told him that his friend asked for one too, and asked if that was okay. Reluctantly the head chef said yes. 
    I was happy to report to the second gentleman, that the chef will make the same dinner for him as well. When the food was ready, I brought it out to the second gentleman at the bar. At this time, (about 10:15 pm) before the second gentleman had time to start his dinner, the third man said, “Excuse me those really look so good, could I have the same thing?” 
    I was even more scared to go back to the kitchen this time. I said that I would have to see if the kitchen is still open. I knew that this would put me into some seriously hot water with the kitchen crew. I guess that the manager & the chef knew that it was their mistake to allow the first dinner, therefore, they are to a certain extent obligated to allow the others.
    When the third whole lobster dinner came out, before I had a chance to set it down in front of the last gentleman I said, “The kitchen is closed.” All three men were very happy with their dinners.
     I apologized remorsefully to anyone who had to stay at work longer because of my customers. Now I began to think about how greatful these men must be. I was able to do them a huge favor and surely, they will show their gratitude financially in my upcoming tip. Some people think that they should really make you work for the tip. 
    Most people think that being a waitress is one of the easiest jobs around. Although it can be fun, it is not easy. In the course of someone’s dinner, a good waitress will not only take your order, but she should get to know her customers. Your server should bring your beverages, and refill them when needed. Make sure that your order is right before they bring it to the table. Check on you to see if your food tastes OK. Clear away any dishes that are no longer in use every time they come to your table. Finally, they should entice you into dessert before you are finished with your dinner, and full. 
        Almost everyone else in the restaurant was gone. All of the other customers & almost all of the other servers had left. As they finished vacuuming the outer dinning room, my three lobster guys asked for the check. If I’m not mistaken it was somewhere around $89.85 (in 1989). I was cleaning up around the bar while they got their finances together. When they left, I waved goodbye, smiled a huge smile, and thanked them for coming. Then I went to see how much money they left me. The other servers were curious too! The check was $89.85 and they left $90. I looked at the other servers and said what the hell? They left me fifteen cents? I don’t understand! The whole restaurant went out of their way to make those guys happy at such a late hour.
     In Atlantic City at that time, I had to pay 8.5% income tax on every dollar that I sold in food & beverages. In addition, pay the bus boy 1% and he doesn’t even clean the bar. It cost me $8.54 to hold up the entire restaurant, just to serve those men. 
    After calming down, and just trying to clean up so that we could close, I found an expensive leather bomber jacket. Guess who it belonged to? Yea, that’s right, those guys left it behind. I told the staff that I would sell it to the highest bidder. The asst. manager came in to see what the ruckus was all about. I told him how much tip the lobster guys had left me & that I was going to sell the coat to the highest bidder. The manager said he was sorry for what happened but told me, and that I could not sell the coat until we were ready to walk out of the restaurant. He told me that if they don’t come back by then, I can do what I want with the coat. 
    I had my highest bidder ready. A waiter named Scott was going to give me $12500 for the jacket. Now I was happy! Just then, one of the lobster guys came back. As he entered through the door, and said what he wanted, Scott yelled out loudly through the restaurant, “Hey Nancy! The cheep bastard, who stiffed you, is back for his jacket!” Of course he was so offended that he gave Scott FIVE BUCKS, then came into the bar to retrieve the jacket. I smiled and said thank you, but did NOT say what was on my mind. Scott said, “Here is the $500 that prick gave me when I called him a cheep bastard!” 

    I used to be a cook, and worked in the kitchen of many restaurants. (But that’s another book) The owner of Captain Young’s Seafood Emporium read my resume and he knew about my experience. One Sunday I came in a little early, and asked Burt if I could make breakfast for the whole crew. (There is a lot to do, to set up, before you open a restaurant for the day, and the bar was the easiest.) So a few times, while I worked there, I cooked for the staff. This day I think I made bacon & scrambled eggs. It was a lot of fun getting back behind the grill. 

    Cooking in the kitchen occasionally, got me better acquainted with the kitchen staff. The head chef liked to drink. And, if he wanted to drink during business hours, he had to get it from me. Sometimes it would be a very L---O---N---G busy and especially hot day. But that behavior almost got me fired.