Angel Gonzalez

Being a back server in this company consisted of three responsibilities depending how you were scheduled. You would either be a food runner, a busser, or a barback.

Food Runner: The main job is to constantly be running food from the kitchen to the guest, side work included making sure the plates of the line cooks were stocked, polishing ramekins, and ensuring chef had everything he needed to expo a successful service.

Bussing: This one was pretty straightforward, the main job was to wipe and reset tables as efficiently and as safe as possible. We would help servers with pre bussing tables and making sure sanitizers were constantly being changed throughout the shift.

Barback: This was my favorite job, I would prep all of the juices and ingredients that go into cocktails fresh every morning. Once the juicing portion of the job was done, I would make sure bartenders had clean glassware. I would take bus tubs of dishes back, and overall make sure the bartender had everything they needed to provide good service. Other duties also included putting away and organizing the liquor order whenever it all got delivered and changing kegs.

I discovered I had a love for pastry while I was a food runner. If business was slow and I saw a dessert ticket, I would take initiative and go make it myself. I asked my chef if he could put me on the pastry schedule and he did. I would always be the second baker in, the opener that would come in two hours before me would have a list for me to complete for the day and after it was complete I would go home. My lists consisted of many things like making doughs, batters, decorating cookies, and laminating dough. I became a very valuable front of house team member and unfortunately my days being a pastry chef ended sooner than I would have liked.

As a server I would make sure that I wasn't just an order taker and that I could provide the guests with an experience they wouldn't forget. I would strike conversations about random things to make them feel welcomed and that I wasn't just asking them what they wanted. Every guest that I had I wanted them to feel like they were taken care of, that was my goal as a server.

This is my parents family business and its where i learned to be the employee I am today. I started out during the Pandemic taking orders and bagging up food to go. I would also prep things such as guacamole, salsa, chopping onions and cilantro, making aguas frescas. It was a lot of work to handle and it taught me to multitask well. Once dine in became an option after covid, I started cleaning tables and having to maintain a clean dining room for guests.