Guys, it is not easy to do your continuous growth, if you are related to the bar!

Ok we talk about a career outside of the US! In the States there is another situation. Bartender can earn quite a lot of money, so there are great guys, which are in their ages, but still are “only” barkeepers.

So abroad bartenders are professionals with a quite low income. And the hierarchy (at least in the hotels looks like that:

commis de bar = bar help

demi chef de bar

chef de bar = bartender / bar waiter with an own section

supervisor

assistant bar manager

bar manager

Fortunately the practice is different of the theory - so even as bar manager you can spend quite a reasonable time behind the bar counter!

But what comes after the bar manager? I am doing this job already more than 8 years! This is the problem! I don’t want to end up as F&B manager (please don’t get me wrong - I have quite a lot of friends which are working in this direction - but its just not my style).

The position as beverage manager/director is another chance! But normally bartenders (and as bar manager I see myself primary as bartender or barkeeper) are not so good in wines; and even worse in dull office work, beverage calculation (I can do, but it is not my preferred activity) and so on!

Drinks Director? Bingo; I saw this position in the US and just love it. Still you need a head sommelier as wine person; but drinks sounds already like boozy beverage related topics! Oh man - I would like to become Drinks Director!!!

Just to come back to my current role: there is nothing wrong with the job as bar manager - but I reached already the salary-ouch-level! Problem: I could only come to venues which are doing a pretty high revenue - but this sucks, because there, it becomes more difficult to offer super-quality drinks; and sometimes you get just too exhausted, because the extremes high volume and good quality are crushing entirely on you!
The other possibility would be a more quiet bar - but which F&B director would pay your salary, if there is not the revenue which could puffer that. I am too old to make [great] compromises on my package!

So maybe we start as DRINKS MANAGER and upgrade to DRINKS DIRECTOR and then DRINKS CORPORATE DIRECTOR? Sounds Ok for me - but there is still a challenge to find an employer, who sees the point to create such a position...

Please root for me, that this will happen one day!

What do you think about that?