By Noah Reem & Francesca Sund
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writers
It’s 11:30 p.m. on a Saturday in July as people rush past the doors at 101 Baltimore, a popular bar in Federal Hill. Seconds later, security escorts them out because they are not following a policy that’s clearly stated on the doors: “NO MASK, NO ENTRY.”
Guests who brought masks are allowed inside by security guards while being reminded that there can be no more than six to a table. They sit down at an open table and wait for one of the bartenders to come over.
Half an hour later, Jordan Szybist, a bartender at 101 Baltimore, turns off the music and gets on top of the crowded bar. The 5-foot-1 bartender does her best to yell over the conversations going on around her. Szybist reminds guests to follow health guidelines by staying seated, not overcrowding tables and wearing their masks unless they are eating or drinking.
“Obviously I don’t want to get sick — that’s a big concern,” Szybist said. “Shutting down again is the biggest concern just because bartending is my full-time job so that would suck.”
Szybist said paying her rent and being able to live on her own has been a struggle since Gov. Larry Hogan announced that bars and restaurants in Maryland can’t stay open past 10 p.m. or be beyond half capacity.
“I don’t have another source of income and the money is not the same [since the limitations were put in place],” Szybist said. “I see my friends going out and having fun while I just sit at home because I can’t afford to do anything. It really sucks.”
Szybist is one of many bartenders struggling to pay their bills during COVID-19. From financial uncertainty to being treated poorly by patrons, bartenders are facing daily struggles trying to keep themselves healthy mentally, emotionally and physically.
COVID-19 has taken a toll on bartenders’ mental health
According to a report from the United States Bartenders’ Guild, “The U.S. bartender industry is overworked, under-insured and has taken an extraordinary hit this year due to COVID-19.” Bartenders rely heavily on tips, some earning minimum wage or less depending on state laws. When they are out of work — or have reduced hours — there is little to fall back on.
“It’s not easy not knowing whether or not you’re going to have a good week and make enough money to buy groceries or cover your upcoming rent,” Szybist said. “My anxiety has gotten the best of me at least once a week because I never know if financially I am going to be 100 percent OK. Usually when that happens I’ll open a bottle of wine and pretend that everything is fine even when it isn’t.”
Even when there is work, bartenders deal with stressful interactions with people coming into their establishments.
“We need to be a little bit patient because we don’t know what’s going on with other people to an extent,” Szybist said. “Some people are just awful and think that they can treat you [terribly] just because you’re their bartender.”
Once way Szybist deals with unruly guests is by “killing them with kindness.” As a bartender, it is easier to tell these days when someone wants to be rude or is difficult, she said.
Uncertainty in the early days of COVID-19
Gov. Larry Hogan’s executive order on March 16 to close public places, including bars and restaurants, was the first big hurdle for bartenders and restaurant workers.
“I was denied unemployment from both Maryland and Virginia,” said David Dent, a former bartender at The Jetty Restaurant and Dock Bar in Grasonville, Maryland. “I was worried because I was furloughed for a month from my job at the time. Yeah, it wasn’t for long, but I had just moved into a new townhouse and was about to start grad school so I had to look to my parents for financial help.”
Dent, who applied for unemployment in April, said he was lucky enough to have another job at the time, deeming him an essential worker, but felt horribly for his friends when it took them months to finally receive their unemployment benefits card.
The United States Bartenders’ Guild, the Restaurant Workers’ Community Association and the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund are some of the many organizations helping bartenders and restaurant workers stay afloat during the pandemic. Employees can apply for financial aid if they are unable to pay for necessities like groceries and gas to covering rent.
When Maryland restaurants and bars were allowed to reopen in late spring, it was a chance for people to get back to work. But business was, at times, slow to return. And after months of relative calm, in November, more restrictions returned.
If bars and restaurants do not comply with these rules, the Maryland Department of Health will first give them a citation and have the location shut down until they are allowed to reopen on behalf of the Maryland Health Department.
As if this was not stressful enough for restaurant and bar owners, if their businesses still do not heed these safety protocols, health officials are allowed to give them another citation, shut the business down for 10 days or even revoke the business’ liquor license.
That means bartenders are reliant on customers to follow orders and to avoid a shutdown.
“It’s a job I have to do.”
“[The guests] have a couple of drinks, they loosen up they hear the music and want to start dancing and all of a sudden you tell them to sit down and shut up like you’re a kindergarten teacher,” said John Howell, a bartender at MaGerks Pub & Grill in Federal Hill. “All of a sudden they’re not having a great time and the tips aren’t that good.”
Howell said that he constantly feels “like a broken record” because no one either knows the rules or they are too intoxicated to understand them.
“It’s no longer a job that I want to do; [bartending] is a job that I have to do,” Howell said.
“Any sane person coming into work with as many changes as an industry worker has had this year probably would have left and just taken up something new,” said Matthew Toothe, bar manager at Banditos Bar & Kitchen in Federal Hill.
Sam Jenkins, a bar manager at Foxy’s Harbor Grille in St. Michaels, Maryland, said there have been times when guests do not wear their masks or remain seated, two of the rules that the restaurant has put in place to comply with health guidelines.
“A majority of people are resistant to the new way that bars and restaurants operate,” Jenkins said. “They want to just jump back into the way things used to be and they put a lot of pressure on the bartenders to do so.
“On multiple occasions I have been cursed at for telling people to sit down to avoid congregating at the bar,” Jenkins said. “I had a woman one time specifically tell me that I ruined her day because I kicked her out for ‘catching up’ with her old friends.”
Jenkins said that her head is constantly on a swivel while babysitting the guests due to the constant reinforcement of the guidelines that Foxy’s has put into place to ensure safety.
“Often times, I come home so drained that I can’t even contribute to the upkeep of my house or even any meaningful conversation, which makes me feel extremely guilty,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins was behind the creation of her restaurant’s COVID-19 guidelines poster, which has been plastered all around the restaurant as well as placed on every table and bar.
Dent said that when it came to enforcing rules, not everyone was happy about it. “Talk to the state, talk to the governor, talk to the mayor…not me,” exclaimed Dent.
From properly staffing a restaurant based off of the ever-changing opening phases to making sure that guests are safe and happy, it seems as if industry workers are being pushed past their limits.
Little time to adapt to changes
When asked what was most stressful about the constant changing of phases in regards to reopening Maryland, Howell said that it was the less-than-24-hour notice that Baltimore City gave to business owners of the new closing time and capacity restrictions.
Within that time frame, Howell had to make sure all beer lines were cleaned, produce had been ordered and the Direct TV account was up to date, among other things.
“There was just so much stress,” Howell said. “And the last thing I wanted was a call from my owner asking me why something wasn’t done, so I made sure that everything was good to go every time we changed phases.”
Restaurant workers from across the nation have also come together on Facebook through the private page “Coronavirus in the Food and Beverage Industry” where owners and employees can discuss ways to keep business going as well as ways to ensure that customers do not give employees a hard time.
“There should be hard limit protocols put in place, such as requirements for masks, or no service,” said group member Adam Matossian. “Sure, you’ll have [unreasonable guests], but you will have a multitude of upsides.”
Many industry employees on the Facebook page have described the treatment received from customers as “dehumanizing” and believe that the guests of their restaurants do not care about the health or financial costs that come from their disobedience of health guidelines.
Health concerns inside bars and restaurants
With the increase in COVID-19 cases in Baltimore City, some people are still not willing to go back to dining and drinking inside. Sean Ohlhaver, a youth lacrosse director for True Maryland and a bar patron in normal times, has made it clear that until there is a vaccine for COVID-19, he will not step foot inside certain bars in Baltimore/
“I believe it’s completely selfish to put other people’s lives at risk, especially the kids I work with, just to go out and get drunk at a bar,” Ohlhaver said.
No matter how many precautionary measures restaurant and bar owners take to ensure comfort and safety among staff members and guests, people will still turn a blind eye to the rules put in place.
The backlash restaurants receive is not only coming from customers who do not want to follow the rules, but also from residents in the surrounding areas who do not approve of restaurants reopening.
Foxy’s Harbor Grille, for instance, is located in a small town with lots of tourism.
“Over the summer we had to shut down because a rumor had sparked that one of our employees tested positive,” Jenkins said. “The rumor wasn’t even true. We had everyone rapid tested and every single employee came back negative.”
Added Jenkins: I feel like I’m constantly operating with high anxiety. Any second the health department could walk in looking for an employee without a mask so they can shut us down.”
And what do bartenders and servers want? Understanding from guests.
“Just be patient,” said Kevin Marshall, a bartender at 101 Baltimore. “There’s two of us, there’s three of us here right now and we’re trying to service the entire bar.”
Despite industry workers feeling overwhelmed while working through this pandemic, there are many organizations and groups available to provide mental and financial support to those still in need.
“No one’s life is going to change dramatically without [industry workers], as unfortunate as that sounds,” Dent said. “If the bar is not open, life will go on.”
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