About Me

I’ve worn a lot of hats throughout my time in the food and restaurant industry, and worked my way up from serving tables and cleaning restrooms to managing at one of Lincoln, Nebraska’s most popular local bar and restaurants. I got my start in the industry in my early 20’s when I had to find a way to balance making a living while following my musical endeavors. I quickly found that if you want to get ahead you need to be bend over backwards for everyone around you, be trustworthy, ethical, and treat others fairly. In the beginning, I’d serve tables or bartend, put my cash in my pocket, and head out on the road for weeks at a time. And almost every time, I’d come home broke with bills to pay. So I’d work long hours serving tables, bartending, and picking up shifts under any job code my bosses would allow me to work. I taught music on the side and routinely had 3 jobs. Working hard meant I could get out on the road again, which was where I wanted to be at that time in my life.

Fast forward 10 years or so and it was time for me to get off the road and start putting my life and a family together. I married my long-time girlfriend and worked my way into a management at the bar I had bartended at for many years. The job they needed to fill was for a kitchen manager, and I had never cooked for anyone besides myself before. But when you have a desire to learn and grow, you are sometimes required to jump into the fire. It is this mentality that has helped me grow into a successful general manager, culinary team leader, head chef, and area manager.

Being part of a national touring band helped me learn the value of teamwork, creativity, sacrifice, and how to make fast-yet-lasting connections with strangers. Working in the food and beverage industry taught me the same, but so much more. I’ll leave you with a quote from a hero of mine, a man my wife served a burger to once, and who was as magnanimous in real life as he was on TV:

“Service industry work develops the “soft skills” recruiters talk about on LinkedIn — discipline, promptness, the ability to absorb criticism, and most important, how to read people like a book. The work is thankless and fun and messy, and the world would be a kinder place if more people tried it. With all due respect to my former professors, I’ve long believed I gained more knowledge in kitchens, bars, and dining rooms than any college could even hold.” -Anthony Bourdain

Thanks for reading. Reach out if you feel inclined.

Cheers,

~Nick