alberto s.

Alberto S. | Head Barman / Bar Manager

Extra Virgin » Crossroads

Years of Industry Service: 16

----------------------------------------------------

Alberto moved to Kansas City when he was 18. He bartended at P.F. Chang's for eight years, been a server and bar manager, but says, "Bartending is definitely the coolest thing I've done work wise." He has been raised in the restaurant business since he was a little kid. He bussed tables at his dad's restaurant in New Jersey and his mom, who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, is a sommelier. However, he doesn't think his parents wanted the service industry life for him, but says it's their fault! With all the fanfare he gets from the local press, Alberto says, "My grandma is really proud of me."

Over the years, with all the great information gleaned from his experience, Alberto said all of sudden, he knew the answers people kept asking. That confidence and knowledge has led him to playing with some fun things behind the bar at Extra Virgin, like infusing Samogon with golden delicious apples, bartlett pears, all spice, berries, nutmeg and cinnamon sticks so he can make a punch. Or barrel-aging rye whiskey for Manhattans and Negronis. He continues to hone his drink-making and service skills by reading cocktail books, experimenting with infusions and barrel-aging, and working with all the fresh, seasonal ingredients that he gets to rifle through at Extra Virgin. There's always something fun and delicious going on.

When he's not playing mad scientist with his cocktails, he's playing video games and watching movies. Plus he reads a lot, autobiographies, some Eastern philosophy and of course, cocktail recipe books. 

  Make KC Better » Have a chapter of the United States 

 Bartender's Guild in Kansas City. 

nick r.

Nick R. | Bartender/Bar Manger

Tower Tavern

Years of Industry Service: 38

----------------------------------------------------

Nick moved to Kansas City from Cincinnati, Ohio in 1972 when his dad taught at Johnson County Community College. One year later, he started his first job at Andre's on Main doing dishes, cleaning the chocolate table and raiding the broken candy bucket. Since then, he's worked just about every job in the service industry, including being a general manager at The Granfalloon. Now he works Monday through Friday lunches at Tower, and he has evenings and weekends free to take care of his 10-year-old daughter. He says, "She kind of grew up in this industry." She has already tried her hand at making (non-alcoholic) drinks, everything from grenadine and tabasco gets mixed in together, and her dad is the lucky guy who gets to try them.

Nick goes to a lot of Royals games and sporting events in general, but his favorite sport is baseball and his favorite team is the Cincinnati Reds. He coaches his daughter's soccer and baseball teams. "It's fun to watch your daughter play the same sports as you did," Nick says. He has also has passed on his love for baseball to his offspring. When she was eight years old, his daughter had a broken arm and a blue cast. Together, they would go to Royals games, each game is a 10-hour event which includes waiting for autographs. That year, they went to 35 games and now, she has 54 baseballs, all signed. She's even precocious enough to know that when the team is having a bad season and a bad game, that it might not be worthwhile to wait for autographs, saying to him once, "Dad, they're not going to be in a very good mood....we can go."

Working lunches and being in the industry for so long, Nick has learned to anticipate what his regulars want. "Usually when a guest comes in, I know what they're going to drink and have it on the table before they even sit down." He says of his regulars, one who was sitting at the bar giving him a hard time during our chat, "I have a lot of guests like this, smart asses, but I give it right back." You can become one of Nick's regulars too; he started a punch card program for lunch at Tower...get nine lunches and get a $10 gift card.

----------------------------------------------------

Side story: when we stopped in, Nick said his friend had just sent him a link to our Supper Club post the day before. Although they haven't gotten together in a quite a while, Nick says he also was part of a supper club. His friends? Steven Malloy of the Classic Cup and Ray Comiskey of The Capital Grille. I asked if there was a lot of drinking involved, like at ours. Dumb question maybe, but he said, "Oh, yeah." If you guys do get together again, ahem, we'd like to be invited.

  Make KC Better » Since I have a daughter, I really wish she could run around the neighborhood and not to have worry about her. 

ryan r.

Ryan R. | Bartender/Bar Manager

Tannin Wine Bar & Kitchen

Years of Industry Service: 15

----------------------------------------------------

Ryan was born in Kansas City but raised in Jefferson City, Missouri. He's lived in Boston, Denver three times and had a four-month stretch camping out at Yellowstone. Although he's back in Kansas City now, he travels frequently and has made his way through most of Western Europe, the Caribbean, Costa Rica and in four short weeks, he will be in Nicaragua. "It's a great job, if you want to take two months off to go traveling, you can and your job will be there when you get back," he says. "I like to get away about 3-4 times a year, whether it's three hours a way or seventeen, it doesn't really matter." Being in the service industry affords him the time and luxury to travel as often as he does, but those days might be fewer and further between now that he's on the management side. 

He started in the kitchen when he was sixteen and made his behind the bar at Vinny Testa's, a restaurant outside of Boston when he was 20-years-old. "When I started, it was fruity and daiquiris, now they want Manhattans and Aviations. Definitely, the cocktail culture has shifted, for sure." For a while he was mostly a beertender, and then he got into wine. "The reason I like wine is the same reason I like craft beer. It's a quest for knowledge. Wine will never get boring because it always changes."

Ryan used to live across the street from me, during my first stint at working from home. We'd have similar late night hours; anytime I was sitting on my front porch drinking, so was Ryan. We'd shout over to each other and/or end up merging onto one porch to shoot the shit and play neighborhood watch. Some nights we saw raccoons wreaking havoc on our garbage cans. Other nights we'd be saving our totally drunk nursing-student neighbors from falling face-first down our hill and propping them back up against their own doors. Mostly, Ryan and George liked to gab on (and on and on and on and on and on) about wine.

Ryan likes to disc golf and travel (of course); he spends his free time cooking and having people over for dinner. We were the lucky recipients of his most current meal: curry chicken and rice. I know for a fact, he also likes to drink. He looks kinda funny without a beard. He loves Katy Perry and wearing flip flops. And although I question his choice of footwear, he was a good neighbor and is still definitely a great friend and drinking buddy.

  Make KC Better » Public transportation. 

matt r.

Matt R. | Bartender/Bar Manager

Harry's Country Club

Years of Industry Service: 14

----------------------------------------------------

Matt's illustrious service industry career began illegally at the age of 14 as the dishwasher at a roadhouse. He has served at a number of establishments and been a bartender on a cruise ship. "It's fun but you work every day. You see a different part of society and you have to fit all your fun into a couple of hours between shifts." With a degree in finance, Matt left the service industry to be an accountant for a couple of years, but found little time for his music. So he's back behind the bar....which is good for us! Matt has no pets and lives in Prairie Village. To hear Matt's music or read more about him, you can visit his website here.

  Make KC Better » Public transportation, especially for the service industry.