|
You can almost hear the collective sighs of relief coming from the owners, chefs and servers of Winnipeg’s restaurant community as locals flock back to dine and drink with friends and family on patios and in dining rooms. (The latter contingent, of course, on proof of full vaccination.)
And, not surprisingly, as the restrictions on dining and drinks have eased, so too has the need for folks to cook and serve said items increased — so much so that plenty of eateries, lounges, tap rooms and the like have been posting “We’re hiring!” help wanted ads on social media for a wide range of positions. If you’ve ever wanted to work in the restaurant and hospitality industry, it seems now’s your chance.
My first job (beyond delivering the Metro One) was as a dishwasher at the Canadiana Buffet, the restaurant jammed in the back corner of the second floor of the Bay in Unicity Mall. It was the early 1990s, I was just over 14 years old, and ended up working there for roughly two and a half years as a dishwasher. The uniform was a beige polyester short-sleeved button-up shirt and even thicker burgundy pants — and the only pair available was about three sizes too big. It was all highly flammable, I’m sure. Thankfully no photos exist.
Advertisement
Unicity Mall, formerly Unicity Fashion Square, prior to its demolition in 2000. (Wayne Glowacki / Free Press files)
The outfit wasn’t a big deal except for when I’d have to fill in for the person working at the Malt Stop in the food court on their break. I’d slink down to the kiosk in my horrible uniform (and hair net) and hide myself behind the hot dog rolling heater machine thingie, for fear that fellow students or the cool kids working/shopping at the nearby Sam the Record Man might see me. (The lone perk: the malts, of course.)
The rest of the job was scraping gummed up pieces of roast beef, cooled mounds of mashed potatoes and sad piles of steamed mixed vegetables into the garbage, loading the dishwasher and sending things through. It wasn’t particularly glamorous, but it paid well for the time (about $8/hour in 1990).
I remember going into the break room with a (delicious) cheese biscuit to talk on the rotary-dial phone with my friends or girlfriend, watching the older women from jewelry and ladies wear sitting at the communal tables, gossiping and smoking their long, slender cigarettes.
My next (and only other) restaurant job was an 18-ish month stint as a host at the (still in operation) Pizza Hut on the corner of Portage Ave. and Cavalier Dr. My co-workers actually referred to me as a “hostess” because I was the only guy in that position, and I had shoulder-length hair. I was trying for a Kurt Cobain look, but the end result was WAY more Hanson than Nirvana. It was the ‘90s. Sadly, photos exist.
Class of 1993, Silver Heights Collegiate. I mean at least I had hair then. (Ben’s grad photo)
Takeaways from that gig included learning how to cut a pizza on the fly for pickup or delivery, and our telephone spiel having been burned into my brain (“Thank you for calling Crestview Pizza Hut — this is Ben speaking. Have you heard about our Pepperoni Lover’s special?”).
It was at Pizza Hut where I also learned some people really don’t like eating the crust. Clearing plates after the weekly all-you-can-eat pizza buffet inevitably entailed gingerly balancing mountains of crusts on a plate, gingerly making my way towards the kitchen and inevitably dropping the plate before getting there, crusts sailing through the air, cascading across the carpeted floor and coming to rest under the feet of some customer seated at one of the booths.
The strip mall is getting a facelift, but the Pizza Hut at the corner of Portage Avenue and Cavalier Drive still remains. Not pictured: pizza crusts. (Ben Sigurdson / Winnipeg Free Press)
My daughter’s about the same age as I was when I first started slinging dishes and those faux-wood trays at the Canadiana Buffet, so the talk of jobs has come up as of late. But would I really want her to enter the restaurant industry in its current state?
The bulk of my hesitation stems from plaintive social media posts I’ve seen from servers and restaurant/lounge/taproom owners. Many have endured hostility from a handful of prospective patrons about following the current provincially mandated pandemic restrictions (masks, vaccine requirements, etc.).
Many servers haven’t been able to work for a long time. Owners have been operating with a shoestring staff, juggling bills and debts and trying to keep their heads above water. They’re doing their best and have been on the receiving end of some nasty, vitriolic feedback.
As you venture back out into the world of in-person dining, drinks, etc., be kind. There’ll be some rust in these early days; your dining/drinks experience may not be as smooth or streamlined as it was in the Before Times. Tip well if you can, but definitely tip. And follow the rules; the people seating you, taking your order and making your food didn’t write ‘em.
Oh, and if you’ve got some fun stories about working in restaurants in your formative years, let me know and maybe I’ll compile some of them for a future issue of Dish.
|
