Most do.

the dishwashers get all the poon.

That can't be true.

15 years of commercial grilling/catering here

I've often thought about going into business doing this, though with a focus on crawfish and other large batch things on that kind of equipment. Do you do this on the side or have you had any experience on the business end of things?

its my main job; i handle all of the contracts and most of the accounts receivable/payable on the business end of things along with some other trivial administrative duties.

we should smoke some 15lb briskets together sometime

Pretty amazed to learn of Ruddo's past as a popular seafood joint.

I'm curious about the permitting process and any ongoing fees or regulations you incur, and how that differs from Buffalo to Houston.

I still reflect fondly on the era in my life when I evolved from bus boy to waiter to mid cook. What a time to be a strapping young lad. Life lessons learned that certainly helped shape me into the capable human being that I am today.

In all seriousness, I can totally relate. There are few industries that are suited for upward mobility as quickly as the hospitality industry if you really care about the work that you do, and the feeling of your efforts being recognized and countered with more responsibilities is a great for the soul. Too bad the week to week pay often decreases as you go up through the server/manager/GM or server/line cook ladder.

Yes.

But there are some big steps being taken to change that. Danny Meyer is doing away with tips, and spreading the new gratuity surcharge throughout the back of the house. And Alice Waters has been operating without tips for years, and her employees all get health insurance. We're a long way off from migrant farm laborers having terrific working conditions, or management having a reason to stay beyond owning their own place someday...If there's one great thing that's come from the foodie explosion of the last 15 years, it's that people have really started paying attention to the restaurants as being part of an entire industry.

I'm a big fan of Danny Meyer. Still, I wonder how a tipless restaurant economy would work in cities and towns with less income per capita than NYC.

It's a great question. Anyone else seen a tipless format in a smaller/less affluent market?

I do agree 100% that the foodie explosion has created a climate where people are proud to work in the industry, and savvy restaurateurs are smart to help turn this momentum into lower turnover for FOH and BOH positions. I managed in a restaurant group that offers health insurance to all employees as well, and I learned enough about the industry while working with them to want to make a career out of food & bev (I sell beer for a great local brewery now because I couldn't hang with GM hours and the opportunity was too good to pass up.) Hopefully sooner rather than later people don't get asked that ignorant old cliche, "but what do you really want to do with your life?" when you tell them that you work in the hospitality industry.

Of course, everything I just said can be and often is totally lost on the typical evening server who makes $300 a night and still thinks they need a bigger section and less bullshit sidework.

yes, in every country except the united states.

Well played.

as far as permits/fees you're really only talking about health departments. We operate in about 8 counties each with their own health department regulations, but we reside in one of the most strict in the region so they accept the yearly inspection done of our facilities as a basis along with spot checking a few events we hold in their county. we fall under the "mobile catering" in the counties our HQ isn't in, so fees range from $75-$200 depending on the county.

This may be different in Big Sky because the "town" is unincorporated, but there are additional fees for vending at certain events. Most are entirely reasonable -- less than $50 -- but there's one huge 3-day event here in the summer that costs me $500 to enter.