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Well as the title states, I'm kind of wondering what were your first steps in becoming a bartender? I'm kind of interested in doing this on the side but wondering about any licensing and education that you may have needed.
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Step 1) Cocktail serve
Step 2) Wait for a bartender to request a day off, and that request gets denied
Step 3) Bartend
Step 4) profit
Step 5) find yourself questioning all these poor decisions 10 years later
Got out of jail and needed a job that didn’t background check and had night hours so I wouldn’t need to find childcare for my kids. Lied to this Irish guy that I had a ton of bartending experience. I lucked out and got paired up with this super cool guy who called me out on not knowing how to do anything. I said “you got me, please help, I really need this job.” And he showed me the ropes. Everything else I learned as I went. We’re still great friends to this day. He also gave me my longest standing nickname that I ended up getting tatted on my fingers.
Honestly, I love this and find it really wholesome, but like bartender life wholesome
You shoulda been there. It was hilarious. He hands me a tickets for two pints of smithwicks. My dumb ass puts the pints down and pours the beer from like a foot away. I go, “Hey man, something’s wrong with the beer. It’s coming out super foamy.” He looks at me and says “uhhh, you sure you’ve bartended before?” I say “no man, help!” 😂
Started as a cocktail waitress, showed I care. Got promotion to bartender
Serve tables be competent asked to work the bar
I was a barback like God intended.
I started out as bussing tables. I slowly worked my way up to bar back and then eventually bartender. It took me about a year or so but it felt rewarding. This was pre-COVID however so it was a bit harder to get into bartending as opposed to now when I think a lot of places are still short staffed and just need employees.
Started as a cocktail server. Got thrown behind the bar few weeks later when we were slammed. The rest is history 19 years later
I worked fine dining for years and made the transition bc I made a point of learning cocktails and was already involved with serious wine training. Seemed like a solid idea!
Host->Busser/expo->server->bartender over the course of 15 years.
“Bartender [my city] no experience” on google and boom
Work hard, love money
You tend to the bars every need
Got some cocktail waitress experience at a venue in college, stepped in to fill in when the bartender needed help, applied for another cocktail waitress job near home at a big waterfront bar when I graduated, got thrown behind the bar instead the first weekend and never looked back.
I got a job as a food runner/expo at age 16 after I got a good enough degree. Parents agreed to this as long as I got a job. Soon after I was barback at 3 places, working lunch, dinner and late night, and managers were trading favors to get me at their place when they most wanted.
I didn’t care, let me sleep a few hours between shifts and feed me, I always loved to sweat and problem solve.
The industry taught all the lessons I wanted, in a manner I understood. School taught me nothing I wanted.
By 18 there was a lengthy list of places that wanted me to work service wells, it didn’t take long after that for offers to pour for customers to come around.
I don’t get to pour a lot anymore, it’s what I want to do, but usually there are other details that come up, and I hand actual service of customers to other staff.
I feel like a quarterback holding a clipboard on sidelines now, or maybe coach. I want to be under center taking snaps, but I’m usually not. Even if I could go back to bar back that would be amazing.
Don’t grow up kids, enjoy every moment, it’s not forever.
I had a friend who knew a restaurant owner. We went in for a drink and he said they needed a bartender. I lied and said I knew how. I had a basic idea and had waited tables before. They just threw me in lol
was waitressing at the restaurant i work at now and they asked if i’d like to work the bar instead
I lied and said I know how but I started off at private events. They stock very basic items and customers ask for basic stuff. Probably wouldn’t have worked at a high-end craft cocktail bar. I knew pour counts and basic recipes plus I had worked at restaurants for over a decade. One of the places I worked at for a long time actually had me learn their bar recipes as part of my training so that helped, too.
I lied about being a bartender and my friend was a manager so they had my back. Got thrown into the bar one shift because some bartenders quit and that’s I became a bartender. I worked at a high end italian restaurant, so it wasn’t hard but I still had a lot of fun because the bar was always full.
Busser > Barback > Server > Tender
Server that got moved up to bar
I was waitressing and the bartender had a heart attack. I hopped behind the bar while the owner took care of the bartender.
I was a decent breakfast waiter, worked in a hotel with basically neverending staff rotation so I just figured I'd ask if I could work the bar
"Sure enough no problems go bartend"
10 years later and now I'm a decent bartender as well
Still haven't figured out the whole small talk, or social competence thing tho
I was a server at a now defunct chain in S. FL, and they had a decent training program that was pretty respected at the time. Place was busy AF but wasn't run the best and the managers were more like friends than bosses. I kicked ass as a server, and asked to train behind the bar and they let me. Passed the test, and they gave me shifts, First one was my 21st birthday.
I started making money right out of the gate...at the time you could make $300 on a Monday there due to it being known as a pick up joint, lot of professionals in the area, a late night happy hour, and...cocaine was everywhere.
That lasted about year, got fired, moved out of FL back to the midwest, Clean. I worked 3 great bartending jobs in a row for the next 2 years, then moved to Vegas and bartended another 15 years.
I got lucky and trained with some great bartenders who taught me to focus on service and didn't teach me any bad habits. It could have gone a different way.
Bar opened. Served for a week. Got rid of food. Cocktail served for a few weeks. Got rid of cocktail serving then got thrown behind the bar. We were a new disco themed cocktail bar so they slowly realized that we just needed as many people slinging drinks as possible cuz we’re always hella slammed Friday-Saturday.
I started working in this club as security the same week I got 18 years old (legal drinking age in Quebec). Was security there for about 6 months before I got moved to cocktail server. I did all the things my manager told me to do. Take this guy out, fuck this guy up come to work at this day at that time etc. When I was a cocktail server my manager had to try filling the bar on Thursdays and Sundays. I got in touch with différents groups at my college and started hosting private events on Thursday nights and had football and wings on Sunday. Did A few private events myself and was killing it, made 2-3k /night in my pockets with cover fees. Once a bartender spot was open I got moved. At start I had barman shifts and cocktail waiter shifts then only barman shifts. So it took me about two years to become a full time bartender. Now I work at the busiest casino in town as a union full time barman with full benefits. I love my job. My only regret is punching a few drunks in the face back in the days… and almost killing one…
Security for a few months and than barback for a few years. Around third year barbacking, got some bartenders to vouch for me and I started slinging. Been about eight years now. Eleven total in.