Pros
Good money. That's why employees stick around.
Cons
I feel as though my one year at Black + Blue took years off of my life. I've never worked in such a high stress environment with zero support from management or fellow employees. It was common to be verbally degraded by senior staff and management, but to feel as though the hierarchy in the business kept you from standing up for yourself or speaking out. I was yelled at in front of a guest by the CEO for an espresso shot not having the acceptable level of crema on top. Keep in mind, this happened on hour 9 of a 10 hour shift without a break. The guest asked if I was alright after being yelled at, and I had to continue service as if everything was okay. This was how I felt regularly. As though the restaurant was this toxic space that staff had to turn a blind eye to for the sake of selling $600 cuts of steak. The load of work was impossible for a solo bartender to fulfill, yet you would be made to feel as though you were the problem despite having had experience, success, and confidence as a bartender in other workplaces. Guests would be frustrated over slow service due to understaffing and intense workloads, but instead of supporting staff in times of need the managers would yell and belittle you. It was obvious that management didn't know anything about bar efficiency. Often when we'd run out of a particular liquor, the solo bartender would have to run to Coast, (the closest Glowbal restaurant) or even Italian Kitchen (a Glowbal restaurant a few blocks away) to obtain said liquor. This is all while having a full bar top of guests and multiple tables. Some senior servers would regularly steal tips from the tip pool, be outspoken about it, but face no consequences for doing so. Their justification was that they were senior, and deserved the extra money over newer employees. Some servers in particular would give their individual e-transfers to high paying regulars to avoid tip sharing. Again, this information is public knowledge but continues on. I wanted to leave long before I finally did. The money was good. But after quitting I felt a heavy weight lifted off my chest and vowed to never work for a company like this ever again.