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.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

I’ve mentioned that my chef bought a new building with two restaurants. An osteria downstairs. A more upscale restaurant upstairs.

It’s been under construction for 5 months. Top to bottom. New everything.

After many long hours over the past couple of weeks we hosted friends and family tonight in the lower restaurant.

Adam compared it to producing a show.

There’s lots of planning.

There’s a bit of rehearsal.

There’s a moment that feels like complete chaos.

Then the curtain goes up and the show is open.

We are open.

Tomorrow we are opening quietly to the public.

No press. No fan fair. No advertising. No social media posts.

Quietly unlock the doors and see what happens.

I’ll keep you posted.

Meanwhile tonight, at 5:15, fifteen minutes before we opened, I gathered Chef, the two chefs in the kitchen and a friend and we toasted to the opening.

I’ve had a bottle of 10 year Old Rip Van Winkle that I brought from home. I’d need saving it for a special occasion.

I poured a hefty shot for each of us and congratulated all of us on a lot of hard word.

The night went well.

The POS was a mess but will be fixed by tomorrow.

Everyone loved the food, the renovations.

It’s a beautiful space.

I’ll keep you posted on the coming weeks.

The sunset is the view from the patio. It’s a million dollar view.

Wish us luck when the public shows up tomorrow.

I’d like to speak to the manager!!!

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

There.

That’s out of my system.

On the drive home tonight, I realized  that the summer people are arriving.  

Not the summer residents.

These are the summer people who come for one week a year.  

And the summer people who come from Omaha to experience Maine for one time in their life.  

I was on the door tonight and it was difficult.  

Here’s why:

1.  If you let your wife be rude to me two weeks ago, by insisting that I host an event in a space that isn’t even open yet.  And two days later, you show up with more people than you’ve told you can have, then don’t be surprised when I don’t take your phone call, when it’s after 5:00 on the busiest Saturday we’ve had since December.  Continuing to call every 6 minutes for the next 90 minutes isn’t helping your cause.  And when you finally left a message, it was for tomorrow night anyway. You own a business.  You have to know how an answering machine works.  

•  Don’t come in 30 minutes early for your reservation, and insist I give you a private room that seats 8 for your party of 4.  And no, the host did not tell you that you could have it.  And it doesn’t matter that you called a month ago.  I’m not going to turn away a 6-top for that.  Yes, I CAN give you a booth, but you are going to have to wait 30 minutes to be seated.  And you can’t have a drink while you wait.  

•  Hi, yes, you have a reservation for 8 in three weeks and you want the Chef’s table?  I’m sorry but we don’t pull the Chef’s tables together.  I do have a lovely table for you. She replied, you used to. I have been employed here for 2 years, and we’ve done it three times.  Every time for close friends.  Never, for someone we didn’t know.  

•  Hi, welcome friends.  Do you have a reservation?  Yes, the Smiths party of 4.  We’ll get you seated in just a few minutes. I look up and all 4 of them are still standing right in front of me.  I continue to study the I-pad to make things work.  I look up and they are still standing there.  Finally, I say, it will be just a few minutes if you want to wait over there.  

•  Do not make a reservation for 8:30, then arrive at 6:30 to see if you can be seated early.  It will seriously be 8:30 before I will have an opening.    

• Yes, you can make a reservation for 2 at the bar at 7:30.  No you cannot come in early to have a drink at the bar, while you wait to be seated at the bar.  

• I’m terribly sorry that you did not like your table in our atrium Gallery area.  I personally think it’s quaint out there, but I can understand why you might not like it.  However, in our defense, you called at 5:30 tonight for a reservation and we didn’t give you an option as it was the only option we had.  

•  Do not order your salmon well done…and then be surprised that it’s dry.  The Chef recommends medium.  Your salmon was well done, that might be why it was dry.   

• Do not sit at the bar for3 hours when for the last hour you had nothing in front of you.  Not water, not a beer, not dessert.  Just you and your wife looking at your phones individually for 45 minutes.  

1.  And last but not least.  Asking the same question multiple times will NOT result in a different answer.  You showed up 30 minutes early for your reservation for 6 people.  I explained that it would be closer to 8:00, your time, before I could get you seated.  You asked me 4 times, if I was sure, you couldn’t get a drink at the bar while you waited.  The last time you followed me in to the dining room, pointing at all the space you could wait in, and got angry when I said not for the fourth time.  And then you asked me if we would be seating you on time.  Ma’am, it’s 7:35.  Your reservation is 25 minutes from now.  I believe that I will indeed seat you on time.  

But most of all, I’d like to thank the two couples at the barm, I sat late, for being willing to be patient and kind and lovely, as I explained that your stools were occupied by people who had paid their checks 30 minutes ago, and we were just waiting on to leave.  I so appreciate your presence tonight, especially considering I sat you both 30 minutes behind schedule.  

PS.  I did offer them a table, they chose to wait for the bar.