THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 31, 1996 TAG: 9607300121
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Earning a Living in Virginia Beach
SOURCE: BY LORI A. DENNEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 97 lines
With two well-stocked bars, black leather stools, mirrored walls and piped-in music, the place would seem perfect for an after-dinner cocktail or a cold beer on a hot day.
But, when you wander in and order a drink, as many folks have mistakenly done, you'll be disappointed when the bartender-in-training serves you colored water instead.
``It happens all the time,'' laughed Dennis McCloskey, owner of Barmasters Bartending School of Virginia Beach on Independence Boulevard. ``Most folks say, `Gee, you have a lot of bartenders but no customers?' ''
Dennis and Linda McCloskey opened the school in 1993 and have since taught college students, laborers, housewives, military retirees, a professional baseball player, and even a doctor the art of professional bartending.
The bartending course starts with lessons in pouring a drink properly, which, Dennis McCloskey says, is important because ``overpours can result in giving away a third of a bottle'' of alcohol. McCloskey instructs students to pour with the wrist rolling half a turn. This method ensures that the alcohol measurement is accurate because you can see what and where you're pouring.
From there, students move on to the ``mixology lessons,'' which include learning the recipes of some 150 different drinks, how to mix them and which glass to serve them in. The McCloskeys have devised a system of flashcards with pictures and drink names to help students memorize drinks.
For instance, a Mai Tai's ingredients are remembered by an accompanying word - RATS - Rum, Almond, Triple Sec and Sour mix.
Students are also versed in bartender responsibilities (what to do to open and close a bar), handling cash, customer service (including the review of ABC laws), garnishes, wine, beer, and ale and finding employment.
Students must pass a speed drill where 12 drinks with varying ingredients must be mixed within seven minutes. There's also a 100-question written test that must be taken to graduate.
The whole course takes 40 hours and costs $395. Students can complete the course in one, two or three weeks. The McCloskeys teach 14 hours a day through three shifts of classes that go from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; 6 to 10 p.m. and for full-time students, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. All classes are held Monday through Friday.
Bartending is a good occupation, the McCloskeys say, because professional bartenders can earn ``a couple of hundred dollars a night'' and students can take their knowledge with them wherever they go.
And the best thing, say the McCloskeys, is that students usually make back the cost of their tuition within the first or second week of employment.
``This is one of the few schools that you won't spend years paying off the cost of tuition,'' Dennis McCloskey said.
Tamara Lynn Fairley agrees. The 26-year-old mother of three graduates from the school this week.
``I needed another job with convenient hours,'' said Fairley, a Beach resident who has another part-time job. ``I've been a waitress before so I decided to try bartending and I knew I'd rather go to school and learn everything about it. I can walk into a bar right now and even if they're looking for someone with experience, I've got 20 hours of working here behind a wet bar, and that's experience.''
Fairley, like most of the other graduates, plans to take advantage of the job placement service the McCloskeys offer. As a member of the Virginia Restaurant Association and the Better Business Bureau, the McCloskeys often get calls from employers looking for bartenders. The school has a 24-hour job hotline that allows students and former students to access job information daily.
The school also places bartenders out-of-state through a series of affiliations with other schools. They've placed bartenders in California and Pennsylvania.
The school also offers bartenders for private parties and fund-raising events. The bartenders are paid directly for their services. The school receives no money and offers the referral as a service to students. Typically, the school graduates five students a week, or about 240 bartenders a year.
Once a student graduates, he or she is entitled to a lifetime of refresher courses at Barmasters, as well as updated versions of the Barmasters textbook, which was put together by the McCloskeys. The school itself has a Proprietary School Certificate to Operate given by the Commonwealth of Virginia's Board of Education.
The McCloskeys bought the school from a couple who had opened and operated it for about a year.
Dennis McCloskey, 63, previously worked for an area technical school as general manager and in 1992 became a victim of corporate downsizing. The couple had just bought a home in Ocean Lakes and knew they had to do ``something.''
At 60 years old, Dennis McCloskey was sending out resumes. When nothing panned out he and his wife, Linda, now 53, decided to look into opening their own business.
Linda McCloskey had previously owned and managed a restaurant in upstate New York with her first husband and Dennis had some 30 years of bartending experience because he had always used the occupation as an income supplement.
Today, the doors of the bartending school have been open nearly three years and the McCloskeys say the income is ``enough to pay the bills and save a little extra for our next retirement.'' MEMO: Barmasters Bartending School of Virginia Beach can be reached by
calling 464-0500. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHARLIE MEADS
Dennis and Linda McCloskey's classroom at Barmasters Bartending
School provides an authentic setting for their students. by CNB