![]() John went from dish washer, to busser, to waiter before finding his stride at the bar. Bitten by the hospitality bug in high school and continuing through college, he used his skills to move ahead when others may have thrown in the towel – literally. John Pomeroy is the epitome of balance – in life and in his cocktails. It just depends on what is on my schedule for the day. I work a 5 day a week schedule, and I can range anywhere from an 8-hour shift, to a 14-hour shift. ![]() How long is a normal shift and how many shifts do you work in a week? Making mistakes are how we grow and not to feel ashamed of that. That it takes time to learn all the skills that go into bartending, and it’s a never-ending learning experience. What advice would you have for your younger self or a bartender starting out today? Sage, blueberries, orange, and cinnamon are what I have been using in some of our cocktails right now. What fresh ingredients are you using this time of year? I like to use the exact tools we supply our bars with. I have been working on trying cocktail caviars, I think they are brilliant! I have only just started reading it!Īny techniques that you’ve been experimenting with? I currently just bought Meehan’s Bartender Manual. What cocktail or spirits book have you read recently? If I am going out and want something to sip on, it’s usually anything tequila or whiskey based. Having great leaders in my department always helps, knowing they see my potential and help me continue growing in my career is something I will never forget about.Ĭorona, as sad as that sounds. I love my job I have a huge creative role and I truly enjoy my work. Graton is the best company I have worked for, the benefits were a huge draw in for me, but the way the Tribe (Editor’s note: Graton is owned by a federation of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo groups) Iooks out for the team here is what keeps me around. What drew you to Graton and what keeps you there? He has since passed away, but he was a huge mentor for me, and learning from him really helped me in my career. I remember completely rethinking what I was doing, and that little bit of advice stuck with me to this day, I now teach that exact same thing in our Bartender School. He told me to take a deep breath and to stop staring down at my ice bin, he told me “Let the guests know you see them, smile, and tell them you will get to them when you can, they just want to know you see them. I remember Nick coming to me and stopping me in my tracks. I got very little training and had never bartended before and my first shift was on a Saturday night, it was extremely busy, and I was extremely panicked. Years ago, when I first started bartending, I worked alongside a guy named Nic at a local restaurant/dive bar. Who’s your favorite bartender or mentor and why? It is one of my favorite parts of my job! I enjoy teaching any skill I have learned to any new bartender willing to learn and grow. I do all the teaching, the setup, the breakdown and pretty much everything in between. What’s your role with Graton’s Bartending School? Now, I believe people are starting to understand how much you can do in this career and grow from it. All I ever got told was, “so what will you do after bartending, you can’t make a career out of it” or “are you bartending to put yourself through school?”. If only I knew where I would be in this industry today back when I started out bartending as a 21-year-old. If I could change anything about the industry it would be that more people understand that bartending/mixology are careers. What would you change about the industry if you could? I could scan through cocktail pictures all day! Social media is the easiest way to stay up to date with current drink trends. How do you stay up to date with current drink trends? It is basically my take on a whiskey sour. I just recently revamped some of our cocktail menus at our main bars, one of my favorite drinks I have added on is at our Sky Bar called “Above the Clouds”. What drink have you created and added to a menu recently? My favorite part is when I am doing a training and all our team gets to taste test new cocktails they will be serving, we get to talk about little tweaks they would make and adding their ideas into it, so it is always such a fun process for me. Working inside the casino, it is very fast paced, I love focusing on creating cocktails that are not just easy to make, but beautiful as well. She is the creative force behind new cocktail offerings and drink specials throughout the property and also works at the property’s bartending school, training and further developing all current and new team members. A star bartender, she has excelled at guest service which led to her most recent promotion to Assistant Beverage Manager. Jessica Christensen has been with Graton since 2013.
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