When I got my first GM job almost 9 years ago, one of the first questions I asked my new boss was, “What is my costume?”

He said business casual. Slacks, dress shirts, tie.

So on March 25, 2013, I showed up to work dressed accordingly. And that was my costume for three years.

Slacks.

Dress shirt.

Tie.

Over the course of those three years I collected lots of fun ties. Tasteful. But fun.

What I didn’t know when I started was that EVERYONE who worked for the parent company wore jeans. T shirts. Tennis shoes. It was super, super, super casual.

I could never buy into it. And I never allowed my management staff to buy into either. I wanted us to be a step above everyone else.

I held onto my tie until 2016.

One day I took it off. And they are still hanging in my closet.

This was all brought to mind as Adam and I went from restaurant to restaurant in NYC.

The costume for managers in NYC is very different than a manager in Maine. In NYC everyone wears suits. Not just ties, but the jackets too.

Even a lot of hosts are dressed in suits if they are male.

Suits.

And most of them looked nice. Not bought at the outlet mall in Secaucus. And every time we were shown to our seats I commented, “Aren’t you glad we don’t have to wear suits?”

I can’t imagine doing my job in a suit. I’m sweating just thinking about it. The patio. The bussing tables. The running drinks and food.

Of course maybe people would be less likely to yell at me and treat me like I’m stupid if I had on a suit.

Reminds me of the story of a coworker at one of my sister properties in 2014 who had a guest look at him, call him a child and asked to speak to a grown up.

Maybe I should wear a tie on Wednesday?