With the student population gone, Athens’ famed Uptown bars generally get a whole lot quieter, mak- ing for a good chance to take a deep breath, hire new staff and prepare for the fall.
Still, nothing can ready some of the town’s fin- est for the 20,000 undergraduate students who hit their floors.
“We’re kind of nervous this year,” Amy Allen, a manager at The Crystal, 34 N. Court St., said. “We lost a bunch of people with the graduating class.”
Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery, 24 W. Union St., also conducts a bit of hiring during the summer. But manager Joe Kunkel said they never lose their steady crowd.
“It’s the same thing every year, it’s just complete insanity,” Kunkel said. “But we just base our staff that weekend on sales from the previous years, which are usually the same. We just make sure our customers are taken care of.”
This summer, Kunkel said that orientation has kept them busy while their established Athens “townie” following still frequents the brewery’s lunch hours. Though they’ve recently hired some new staff, Kunkel said those bartenders and servers will be ac- customed to the crowds.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, so I try to hire people with a game plan of at least two years,” Kunkel said. “This summer I’ve been hiring about three people at a time so they can get trained by the older staff, that way I don’t have to worry about hiring in the fall. Our Saturdays are just like when students are in town, we don’t have a lot of down time.”
Allen said The Crystal has hired about five or six new employees during a summer has been more dull — sans one car crash into the front of their establish- ment on June 26.
“Some of them are going to be bartending, a lot are floor and door people,” Allen said. “Basically, we put them under pressure if we have busier nights dur- ing the summer. We put them in different situations where they get fuller perspective. People learn under pressure, they pick up a lot quicker.”
However, nothing can prepare new staff for what they’ll see Welcome Weekend.
“We mentally prepare them. It’s a lot more than you’re used to,” Allen said “We’ve never had anyone quit because of that. I don’t think we’ve ever had any- one quit. We all still have fun.”
Allen added that the top two employees will be stationed behind the bar and that The Crystal will staff more employees by the door — especially guarding the back, where under aged folks typi- cally try to sneak in.
“Kids are obviously crazy,” she said. “I would like there to be no more cars trying to come into our bar.” But local bartenders echo that it isn’t all bad news,
as long as students keep their manners in check. Adrienne Wolf, a bartender at the Smiling Skull Saloon, 108 W. Union Street, has six years of Welcome Week experience under her belt.
“We usually keep our staff at about six bartenders, but we don’t up our staff in the fall,” Wolf said. “We just roll with the punches.”
Wolf said that the Smiling Skull will see a bit less insanity than the rest of the bars on the main drag.
“We’re an all-ages bar. We’ve had baby showers and birthdays for kids,” she said. “But if you’re under 30 - have your ID on you. And if you’re not 21? Don’t order a beer.”
That doesn’t mean you can’t make life any easier on your bartender, though.
“Know what you want when you order your drink, don’t stand there hemming and hawing if it’s busy,” Wolf said. “Tip with every drink and you’ll get better service and your bartender will be friendly.”
Allen said that a good crowd can make all the difference — that means no fights, no vomit spewed and no overt public displays of affection.
Nonetheless, she’s ready for the mayhem the first few weeks of school bring.
“I’ve worked here for three years, and I’m excited,” Allen said. “I want Homecoming Weekend right now.”
