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brappy · 02-15-2006, 03:27 AM,

Quick background: I've been in the restaurant business for 23+ yrs now. I work in a restaurant in the Baltimore area. Last summer, I was given a task: Make the wait staff more knowledgeable about wine.

I decided wine tastings were needed. Not the wine tastings performed by distributors before a shift, but real, fun, tastings with wine bought by the tasters.

The first few tastings were with less than 10 people and a few were with less than 5 people. We have a themed tasting once a month.

At our last tasting, more than 35 people showed with 1,2 or 3 bottles per person. We are skipping February but our next tasting is March 5th. Distributors for the restaurant are now offering bottles for our tastings.

The wait staff (majority of) is exited about the tastings. They simply want to try everything there is out there. The amazing part is listening to them talk to tables about wine. Thier enthusiasm is contagious. Our wine sales have gone up which is great, but what impresses me is thier first hand knowledge of the wines we sell and regions and vintages in general, AND thier confidence while talking about it....

Anyway, just proud of my staff and wanted to say so.

mark

winoweenie · 02-15-2006, 07:57 AM,

This is a tactic employed by every top restaurant I'm familiar with. Nothing helps people elocute better than knowledge of the subject. Congats and keep on keepin'-on. WW

Thomas · 02-15-2006, 09:08 AM,

And to top off that piece of good news, I'll bet the tips for the wait staff will rise, if they haven't already.

Georgie · 02-15-2006, 09:23 AM,

Good for you! Good for them!

TheEngineer · 02-15-2006, 03:04 PM,

Sounds like a great and profitable idea!! Nicely executed too!

wondersofwine · 02-15-2006, 05:23 PM,

Care to share the name of the restaurant?

brappy · 02-16-2006, 01:06 AM,

Wonders, I appreciate the request, but.......
I also appreciate the board's request for members not to advertise for thier own good, at least publicly. I have no problem letting you know via e-mail or if I ever get lucky enough to meet with a few of the board members and moderators for an offline, but not publicly.

By the way, My wife and I travel to North Carolina every year. We actually pass by fairly close to you. Usually, our destination is Ocean Isle or Wilmington. So, I'll let you know the next time we travel there and maybe we could get together for an offline. I've only been to Fayetteville, or FayetteNAM as the locals I've known call it, once, so I don't know any restaurants there. I do, however, know a couple of restaurants in Wilmington that allow BYO. There is also a restaurant in New Bern I'd like to check out. Anyway, hope I'm not being too forward and once again, Thanks.

mark

winoweenie · 02-16-2006, 07:18 AM,

Brapster the request is valid and noone on the board would take any kind of offense if you answered on the board. I'm sure that Drew and others in your area would like the name. Give it up Bubba!. WW [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]

Kcwhippet · 02-16-2006, 10:47 AM,

I've mentioned the name (and details) of the shop I work at for the benefit of those wanting to take advantage of events, sales, etc. The shop Foodie owned has been named on several occasions as well. So, go for it.

Forgot to mention, we've followed the planning and opening of Stevebody's place as well.

[This message has been edited by Kcwhippet (edited 02-16-2006).]

wondersofwine · 02-20-2006, 04:37 PM,

Brappy, I'd love getting together with you and your wife for an offline wine sharing. Fayetteville would be most convenient for me but Wilmington or Raleigh area are not entirely out of the question if I get advance notice. I don't get up to DC and Baltimore as much as I was for awhile but still might have occasion to visit Baltimore restaurants. I don't like to post my e-mail publicly or would communicate that way.

Drew · 02-21-2006, 04:40 AM,

Yes Brappy, I for one would love to visit your restaurant. My wife and I occassionaly hit town for a bite. 32 years of battling bad guys haven't scared us from visiting some of the nice eateries in B'more.

Drew

Thomas · 02-21-2006, 07:30 AM,

I'm dying to find out if Drew is as good a tipper as he is a taster... [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]

robr · 02-21-2006, 03:27 PM,

Mark,

I'm very interested in visiting Wilmington sometime soon. If you have time, post some names of restaurants or other places to go while visiting. You can also contact me off the board at thasos2003@yahoo.com.

Rob

[This message has been edited by bernkastler (edited 02-21-2006).]

brappy · 02-22-2006, 12:39 AM,

I'm sorry I've been MIA for a few days and not answering. My 1yr and 1wk old (Guarantee lasted 1 yr.)Vaio media center has flipped its lid. Missing DLL file. Won't start. Played with that stupid thing for close to a week now.

I couldn't get my old Vaio to work with the cable connection. So I've played with this computer for the last couple of days. Finally, I'm back on-line. Of course that's after reformatting the whole thing twice.

NERVE-RACKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WoW, as soon as we plan a time, I'll let you know. That would be a real treat to taste some wines with you.

If anyone really wants the name of the restaurant, e-mail me at mark.hattie@comcast.net and I'll be happy to respond. BTW, I still have to configure outlook but I'm sure Hattie will do that in the next couple of days. And Drew, the restaurant is actually in Hunt Valley, so a little closer to you.......not much.

Bk, I'll answer in a minute as my computer is doing a bit of updating and wants to shut down and restart a bunch of times as it does what it does......

brappy · 02-22-2006, 01:48 AM,

Bk, A couple of restaurants we visit while in Wilmington have web sites:

http://www.portlandgrille.com/index.jsp
http://www.circa1922.com/

The last time I was at Circa, the wine list seemed to have gotten smaller and less interesting, but the food was still great. This is a Tapas restaurant.

Portland has an all American wine list (minus a couple of Champagnes and Ports). The chef's wife (the Owners) is the somellier. She is quite proud and excited about her list which she updates, according to her, quite frequently. I had no problem finding wine to order(At least 10 bottles jumped out at me right away). Prices are not bad. When e-mailing her the last time, I asked about BYO. She told me she had a limit of 2 bottles. The corkage, if I remember correctly, was $25 OR $30. But will be waived per purchase off her list. Ie: Bring 1 bottle, buy 1 bottle = no corkage; bring 2 buy 2 etc...... Great food.

I'm sure there are new restaurants as this area is exploding with growth. The beaches are great in and around Wilmington and the boating is toooo fun.

Mark

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