Beyond leading service in our dining rooms, over the past ten years I have steadily taken on additional responsibilities, becoming principal wine buyer, superintending the wine list, and managing a cellar inventory of about 740 constantly changing SKUs, amounting to over 7000 bottles before Covid. Reorganized our inventory system to reduce execution time by more than half, and reformatted the wine list to make it more readable, attractive and easy to use. Planned and presented numerous wine tastings and dinners. Trained assistant sommeliers and mentored bartenders and servers who showed an interest in learning more about wine and beverages generally.Originally a destination restaurant popular for birthdays and anniversaries, we had greatly increased the number and variety of events we host when Covid struck. After a three month closure, we reopened, and actually generated higher sales every week from mid-June to mid-October than the same periods the previous year, thanks to plentiful outdoor seating and spacious indoor areas, as well as our reputation. Already in the process of creating a more streamlined, French-focused wine list, I concentrated on shrinking the cellar during this period to free up working capital. From end January to end October 2020, I reduced wine inventory from $325k to $242k, without sacrificing margin. During this period I also continued to plan and present socially-distanced wine tastings and dinners, while developing wine selections for our new carryout business.Since Covid I have rebuilt inventory with the long-term goals of the business in mind, investing to capture value in an inflationary market while anticipating changing tastes among our clientele. Though wine sales remain strong ($1.7m with 31.9% COGS in 2023), we continue to experiment with new event formats as well as topics such as “volcanic wines”, to build interest in the category.

Sommelier Instructor in the Culinary Arts program. In Food and Beverage Operations, taught chefs-to-be how variety, viticulture, vinification and vintage influence the character and flavor of wines; students learned structured wine tasting, principles of food-wine pairing, and how a restaurant's beverage program complements its food program. In Dining Room Operations, managed front of house for the AiW training restaurant, Culinaire, where students learned steps of service, use of the Micros POS system, and most importantly, the ethos of hospitality that makes the dining experience memorable. Revised powerpoints and created addtional instructional materials for both classes.

Before Le Zinc opened, contacted distributors and sourced wines for focused, all-French list; consulted on beer and spirit selections; helped develop specialty cocktails. Wrote and compiled training materials; established service standards and practices; introduced incoming staff to company policy and culture. Input staff and product into Micros system; developed wine inventory spreadsheet; took over formatting and printing of menus from outside contractors to save time and money. Helped maintain website and Facebook page. Led FOH staff through challenging first year of operations. Achieved wine sales of more than $325,000 in that period, which amounted to over 25% of total sales.