Tenth Anniversary weekend at the Wild Hare Saloon and Café is officially over, and I’m a little sad to see it go. I worked the whole weekend—Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Saturday was the big hootenanny with the Gentlemen’s Club Band and they tore it up! The night was so much fun full of music, dancing, familiar faces, and a real celebration of our time together as the Wild Hare community. I couldn’t have asked for a better party, but Saturdays inevitably turn to Sundays, and I found myself back at the Hare.
Photo courtesy of the Wild Hare
In an effort to be responsible, I left my rig at the Hare. Since Shea had a birthday party to go to on Sunday afternoon, I wound up coming to the hare over two hours before my shift began. I walked into the 10th anniversary party part 2 as many of the folks from the night before were there for breakfast and drinking down the mimosas. The energy in the room was high, almost electric with excitement carried over from the night before. I joined a large table of friends and ordered myself a big ol’ burger to help me fuel up for my coming shift. After talking and laughing for a while, I retired to the back to read my book and enjoy some quiet time. It wasn’t meant to be.
One of our servers was blindsided by a family emergency in the middle of her shift, so I scooted her out the door and jumped out into the restaurant to lend a hand. It was a nice Sunday afternoon with the party going on and a few other families having a late lunch/early supper. It was the opposite of a normal Sunday. Normally the energy of the shift starts slow and ramps up to the dinner rush. This shift was due to present me with all kinds of exceptions to the rule.
First, I caught up on the other server’s closing work, got the place tidied up a bit and hit the floor. It wasn’t long before we were full to capacity in the restaurant and the bar. I had to hit the ground running. After a few awkward moments of trying to figure out what was going on, I thought I was getting everything under control, although I have to admit that I had a bit of anxiety about my service as I felt a little fuzzy headed. That’s when the wine glass happened.
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Photo provided by HC Online
As I was collecting a tray full of new drinks off the bar, I turned to make my way to the table. The sound of glass breaking was what made me aware of my blunder. In my attempt to hustle, I had spun around too quickly and l launched a full glass of wine over the edge of my tray. It crashed to the floor and sent glass shards across the floor of the bar area. My heart dropped. I was already feeling behind the gun a little bit, and now I would have to find broom, dustpan, mop, and gracious apologies for those who were sitting near the spill. It wasn’t what I needed in that moment.
With the help of my gracious server, Melissa, we got the mess cleaned up lickity split, and I had a new glass of Wine by Joe sitting on my tray as I made my second attempt to navigate my way out on to the floor. I was feeling totally unsettled, adrift, floating into the weeds, afraid I would drop the ball and give someone bad service. That’s when I had my moment of zen.
As I was entering dinner orders into the computer, my thoughts clamored through my to-do list. I was unorganized, shaken, and ready to freak out. The energy from earlier, the daytime server’s personal anxiety, the wine glass, and a couple of other situations had set me to work with bad energy. I was anxious when I didn’t have to be. The thought crossed my mind, “It’s just burgers and fries, Kyle.” This is one emergency mantra of the management at the Wild Hare. We use it to try and calm down servers in just this situation. It’s a reminder to not get too overwhelmed, to calm down, to have fun, to smile for Chrissake. I decided to take my own advice.
While I had about seven things to do in that exact moment, I stopped. I turned from the computer, surveyed the restaurant, looked over the customers and their tables, counted heads, and just took in the scene. I wasn’t making a mental checklist. I wasn’t freaking out about what was going to come next. I just watched them for a moment and realized they had no clue I was panicking. The way I figured it, if they aren’t upset, then I have no reason to be upset. I took another deep breath and walked back out on to the floor.
The next day, the daytime server said she waited on a couple at lunch who had been in the night before. They had such a great experience the night before that they decided to come in for lunch. They told her, “The gentleman who waited on us did such a good job.” I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know which table they sat at or who they were, but it just proves that sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and forge ahead. There’s no need to let anxiety rule. Breathe. Breathe. Maybe it’s all just burgers and fries after all.
Image courtesy of Lifetasteslikefood.com
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