Aquavit is hiring and firing again

I worked there three years ago. Marcus Samuelson was never at his restaurant. The chief was Swedish and the GM was French. The tip sharing was based on the points. The wait staff was always under the pressure. The schedule was never flexible. Every time I was off I was “on the call”. Did I mentioned the tip sharing? After everybody was paid out from my tips I had only few cents on a dollar left. I happily quit.

I recently worked at Aquavit and was disappointed to see how poorly it was being managed. It seemed to me, and almost everyone on staff, that things were falling apart. I hold no grudges towards anyone there, and there was never any mistreatment-the problem is more of a disconnect between the staff and the people in charge; there were so many problems and issues that just never seemed to get solved and we could all see why they were happening. It drove everyone crazy, and I still can’t understand how it was allowed to continue that was. Really, these people just didn’t seem to “get it”. No one was happy there. and I saw a huge turnover of FOH staff; mostly disgruntled over the low wages, clueless managers. I had years of experience in hospitality, and had worked at many fine dining establishments throughout my career and, in my opinion, Aquavit didn’t even meet the standards of a well run corporate steak house. At least they have a tight system and hiring procedures. I saw new server hires come in there who hadn’t waited tables since college-couldn’t even tell you what a Riesling was or what it came from. Seriously…then they would fall apart on the service floor. The managers would then over staff, and justify it by explaining that it didn’t work ( and of course it didn’t ) It very quickly became a problem with an obvious solution for those of us who knew what we were doing and deserved higher standards. Understand that I am not attacking the staff; they were all wonderful people, but they just didn’t belong in what was supposed to be a “fine dining and professional” starred restaurant. Lot’s of Passion in the kitchen, a great owner, and awesome bartenders. Aquavit- I want you to win and be all that you can be! Just grow some balls and hire some top notch restaurant consultants to put you back in line.

So that French nutbag is gone! Yay! He was so stupid, he didn’t notice the cafe waitstaff doing shots of Aquavit but bitched at me for every little thing. The incompetent management blame game. Put a douchebag in a suit and all is well.

What a disaster. The lustre is gone. The once venerable establishment is dull and lifeless. If you don’t mind standing around all night with nothing to do then this is the job for you. Very slow. Aquavit’s glory days are definitely over.

Unless you’re Swedish or Scandinavian in some respect, you will be treated as a second class citizen. This may be the most nationalistic restaurant in all of New York. If you’re a Swedish guest, you are the luckiest person in the world. You will have all manner of adoration heaped upon you. The chef will come out and personally welcome you. The Floor Manager will personally make sure that you receive everything you desire. You’ll get extra food, drink, and attention . . . and rest assured, you are not expected to TIP!!