I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

The summer people are arriving.

Last night I had to be on the door at 7:00.

My amazing new host who doesn’t work Saturday’s agreed to cover till I got back from the new restaurant.

At 7:00 a couple walks through the door. I greet them and ask if they have a reservation.

They do not.

I ask her to give me a few minutes and I’ll see what I can do.

I’m sure I have a spot for her but I need minute or two to figure it out.

Meanwhile, the lobby is full of people that need to be seated.

I get everyone checked in and start seating people.

10 minutes in the lady gets upset and starts to get annoyed that she hasn’t been sat even though she arrived first. She’s far from polite about it.

She wants to know why she’s not being seated before everyone rude.

I say, I’m sorry. What was the name on your reservation?

She says I’m sorry?

I say what was the name on your reservation?

She says we don’t have a reservation.

And I say, and that’s why these people are being sat first. They made a reservation and I have to make sure I have spot for them first.

She huffed away.

On her way out she stopped to let me know their server turned around their horrible experience at the door.

Hmmm.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

Things of note today.

I arrived to work with my shirt untucked today.

I might as well have not been wearing pants the way the staff reacted.

One of my servers told me that my posts have been missing something.

I explained that I am writing fro my phone in bed as I’ve been trying to get more sleep.

Chef told me today that he’s worried about my health.

After some clarification I discovered he meant my knee. Not a heart attack.

My knee is giving me fits right now.

My cortisone shot next week should help.

I am thankful for my staff that takes care of me.

The keep my soda water cup full. The fetch things for more. They make sure I take Advil and Tylenol.

They really make my life manageable.

I just need to hold out till December.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

Something I will never understand!

Hospitality/Restaurant employees who stay long after the restaurant is closed.

Last week the manager of a local hotel dined with us and stayed 3 hours. He was with employees.

They were the last to leave by 30 minutes.

Tonight the f&b director of a local business sat for 3 hours and was the last to leave by 40 minutes.

I just don’t get it.

You’re in the business. You know people want to go home. You know it’s costing the business money.

Yet you stay and stay.

The last time I was the last person in a restaurant was in 2007.

Seriously.

Don’t do that.

It’s not nice.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

Yesterday I replied to an applicant asking is she could come in at 1:00 on Friday.

She wrote back and said 1:00 didn’t work, how about 4:00.

I suggested 3:00.

She wrote back and said great. I’ll see you at 4:00.

I wrote back and said, we won’t be doing 4:00. Thank you for applying.

I’ll let you know if she writes back.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

We opened a new restaurant this week.

The hate has been stron on social media.

Tonight I came across a post that called Chef a moron for changing the concept.

The person continued to comment on posts about decor, pricing, the menus, the concept.

I could hold my tongue no more.

I posted the following:

John if you hate the Chef and the concept so much why have you applied multiple times to work there. And please refrain from comments till you’ve tried it. You have no idea what it looks like. You haven’t been in.

Yes the memorabilia is gone. As are the rodents that resided in the walls. The raccoon that lived in the dining room. And the three years of filth.

And you loved the previous restaurant. They charged 12 bucks for an Allagash. Their prices were higher and the quality wasn’t there.

The Ramp we all know and loved ceased to exist when Pete and Kate sold. We all loved it as well.

The restaurant was for sale for two years. You had every chance to purchase it turn it into a museum and honor the history. You chose not to.

Chef German is a brilliant chef. He’s a kind man. And he’s been great for the community.

Things change. For good. For worse. They change.

But I don’t understand the people who wish for this venture to fail. Who won’t give it a chance. The prices aren’t set to take advantage as the last owners did. They are based on a need to cover labor, food, and a mortgage. Yes. There are people who will find the prices expensive. But the quality, talent and decor support the cost of each item.

Now a big shout out to everyone who made our first weekend a success. We looking forward to hosting all of you this summer as we continue to strive to be the best we can be.

Seriously.

Anyone could have purchased the property. It WAS for sell for two years.

To my knowledge there was one offer and they backed out. And they’d have changed it as well.

PS. It’s a beautiful space.

PSS. The food is delicious.

PSSS. The rats and the raccoon are gone.

And most importantly my feet no longer stick to the floor.

Come see for yourself. You’ll love it.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

As I said we opened the doors quietly on Friday.

We were very quiet.

On Friday we posted that we were open on social media.

95% of the responses were overwhelmingly positive.

The other 5% were horrible.

The building Chef bought has has a restaurant in it since 1927.

However, for the past 20 years or so it’s been called Pier77 and The Ramp.

Upstairs fine dining was Pier 77.

Downstairs was a pub called The Ramp. It was covered in sports memorabilia, political posters and stickers. The walls were covered in signatures.

It has been a iconic bar and beloved spot to grab a burger and a beer for forever.

The original owners sold in 2016.

The folks who bought it were only interested in making money. The restaurant has a million dollar view and they charged for it. 12 dollar Allagash Beers.

They weren’t interest in the upkeep of the building. Or quality. Just revenue.

The restaurant was for sale for more than 2 years when Chef bought it.

It was listed at 3.5 million originally.

They started dropping the price last summer, until it was a reasonable price.

Chef bought it.

And since December, the building has gone through a complete renovation. Not because we wanted to but because we had to.

Nothing was up to code. Things were falling apart.

My feet stuck to the floor as I walked through the kitchen and dining room.

The floors hadn’t been swept in forever.

As the renovation started their was much discussion of what to do with the pub. Keep it as is. Removal. Rediscover.

However, two days before Xmas we had a huge nor’easter. During high tide. Around a foot of water collected in the pub.

This sealed the deal. The memorabilia had to go.

And now, you’d think we committed the crime of the century.

The locals as they refer to themselves hate us. No respect for history. Taking advantage. Outsiders.

Here’s the thing.

The new space is beautiful.

The prices are less than 2 years ago.

And yes we got rid of the memorabilia although it’s in storage as Chef looks for a buyer.

But we also got rid of the dirt. The grime.

When the kitchen walls were opened they were filled with dead rats. The construction team found rats and mice everywhere. The ceilings were filled with droppings.

There was a live raccoon that lived under the dining room floor.

Yes the pub was remodeled but now it’s safe to eat there.

And it’s sad because we don’t respond because we don’t want the fight.

Someone actually told Chef to go suck an egg.

Meanwhile the new space is stunning. It’s still a bar. The food is amazing. The service is great.

Its an improvement.

And based on Saturday and Sunday it will be very successful.

But if you wanted to go to our Facebook and instagram page and lift us up I wouldn’t say no.

PS. No. Proofreading.

It’s 3:40.

I worked 65 hours in 5 days.

I’m going to bed.

Don’t call because I won’t be up till 4:00.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

The first real shift at the new restaurant went great.

As for the rest of my day.

We fielded at least ten calls today asking us about gift cards.

For the previous restaurant.

Plus several emails.

Plus a hand written letter from a week ago.

No one seems to understand we didn’t buy the business. We bought the real estate.

We aren’t honoring the old gift cards.

And I can’t tell you how to get your money back.

And I’m sad that you have a $150 gift card.

But there’s nothing I can do.

However perhaps drinking a beer on our patio will help.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

We opened the doors at 4:50 tonight.

Like any other night.

Jennifer unlocked the doors and went in to the parking lot to let people know we were open.

60 seconds later our first guests of the evening appeared.

We welcomed them.

The wife said thank you for the escort.

Her husband said, but we like our Toyota at the same time I said, she hasn’t done that in years.

Both. Dad. Jokes.

We both started laughing.

They were sat.

We went on with our evening.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

We opened to the public today.

It was quiet.

We had hoped it would be.

We wanted the day to work through the kinks.

In that regard it was a success.

At the end of the day we announced on social media that we were open.

There was overwhelming excitement.

Except.

For the naysayer.

For example the lady who got mad over a year ago because she wasn’t told the price of a special had nothing nice to say.

Many people were upset that we are closing at 5:30.

No congratulations just anger.

Then a lot of people were upset that we said the restaurant sat on a river. Not a harbor.

I wrote that text.

I didn’t know it was a harbor. I thought it was the River my old restaurant sat on.

I aspire to be so perfect.

Meanwhile, the restaurant is beautiful. The team has worked hard. The food is amazing.

And I’m now the GM of three restaurants.

I’m tired.

I keep getting manager applications but they either don’t get back to me if I’m interested. Or they don’t show up for their interview.

Or they show up 30 minutes early for their interview. Spend 20 minutes in the restroom. Finally come out, and sit across from me chewing gum, while being surly. He talked for 30 minutes and finally said, I suppose I should give you a chance to talk.

I knew 30 seconds in I wouldn’t hire him.

Then there are the applicants who have amazing resumes. You look them up and they have puppies on their Facebook page. They are quite handsome, and when you reach out turns out they have already been snatched up by another company and you spend the day crying into your coffee. You know who you are!

However.

I’m having fun.

It’s exciting.

And the staff at our old restaurant has been very helpful. And making my life manageable.

I’ll let you know how tomorrow goes.

I’d like to speak to the manager!

I have a new host who started last week.

He’s doing great.

But he’s new.

After pre-shift he comes to me and says that there’s a man on hold who’s angry.

He wanted a reservation for three people at the bar, but one of them is a minor.

And he’s upset.

I go to the phone.

He’s already hung up.

The phone rings, it’s him again.

The other host answers.

Hands the phone to me.

He’s upset.

That he was put on hold.

That he left a message this morning but we are just calling back.

That the host told him we don’t take reservations for three at the bar.

(This is true, but we say we are booked, not that we don’t do it).

He keeps complaining about my host.

He changed tactics and tells me that he lives down the street. We are his favorite restaurant.

This never matters to me. But I also know he’s not a regular as he doesn’t know me.

I tell him I can make a reservation for him.

And I do.

Ably to discover he is looking for Saturday. Not today.

He is upset. Telling me 12 times he left a message. I should have known it was tomorrow.

I don’t tell him that I had 25 messages. They all run together.

He keeps on getting more and more upset.

Now he is yelling at me.

He yells at me that I should be better and that this is ridiculous.

I reply.

We’ll now you’re yelling at me.

So I’m sorry. We are booked Saturday. I wish you luck finding some place yo eat but you won’t be dining with us.

Have a good night.

And I hung up the phone.

I explained to my host that we never say we don’t do something. We are just booked. We don’t availability.

I assured him he was not in trouble. He’s knew.

Ignore them.

The man did not call back.