I started in the restaurant/hospitality industry at Pizza Hut in Elkton, MD in 1998 at the age of 16. I hosted, cooked, washed dishes-washed… a bit of everything. I’ve worked at many locations in many roles, including the opening of Red Lobster in Christiana, Delaware Park and Domaine Hudson. At Domaine I learned all about wine, fine dining, finer, service and hospitality. I started working at Eclipse Bistro in July of 2018 and earned the title of Bar Manager in 2022.
The restaurant industry is a place where I get the opportunity to do what I love for a living, while making a good living. My love for restaurants started as a child with Pizza Hut. As the son of a pastor, home life could be chaotic, especially at the dinner table. But after reading my 5 books a month for the ‘Book It’ Program, and earning a coupon for my free personal pan pizza….it would be a treat to go sit in a restaurant on a Friday, where we would all sit and everyone would be civil while having a great time. I loved the experience of having a nice meal, in a welcoming environment, with smiling faces, great food, and having a great time with my loved ones. When I was legally allowed to work, I went right back to Pizza Hut to apply for my first job. I wanted to be a part of delivering that experience to people.
After years of mainly physical jobs with companies like Walmart, Home Depot and Burris Logistics, I learned I could do hard work, but I missed interacting with people. I came back to restaurants to tap into my hard work ethic and social skills to make a living where I could work one job, not two, and make enough money for my wife and I to get our own home and have a family. That’s one of the greatest things about this business, there is always an opportunity to learn, to grow, to do something new, to hone your craft, to get better, and to meet new people. After 9 years in the industry, I took the opportunity to bartend like I always wanted to do, which opened up even more doors, introduced me to new people, and allowed me to be more creative and to produce drinks that I could uniquely call my own.
I love what I do for a living, I work for a great restaurant group (Platinum Dining Group) that strives for excellence, and takes themselves seriously. I have opportunity, there is a future for me and doors open for me into that future. I can take pride in what I do, and go home happy to a family I can easily provide for. How many people can say all of the above?
If you get into this business, and want to make it a career (which you certainly can), make sure you have a love and passion for it. Whether it’s for people, and hospitality, making the magic happen in the front of the house, or if it’s making amazing dishes and producing the food that people come in for in the back of the house, you have to have a passion for what you do.
Be prepared to see people and the world differently. There are few other career paths that give you such a broad and encompassing perspective on people, life and the world. You will be better for it.
Anyone can do almost any entry level job. Everybody needs to work somewhere to make a living. However, the people that are happiest and make people the happiest in turn (it shows, as I’ve been told) are the people that have a passion and a love for what they do.
