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To the Ones Still Working This Week: Holidays in Hospitality

by Chris Mallon | Dec 17, 2025 | Industry Insights, Behind the Bar, Seasonal Shifts

To the Ones Still Working This Week I used to be the one sprinting into the driveway five minutes before dinner, the scent of fryer oil clinging to me like regret, gifts unwrapped, still smelling, not surprisingly, like the weed that I probably shouldn’t have smoked...

The Myth of the Holiday Bonus (and 100 Other Festive Lies I’ve Survived)

by Chris Mallon | Dec 10, 2025 | Industry Insights, Culture & Critique, Seasonal Shifts

The Myth of the Holiday Bonus Let’s get one thing straight: I have never once, in 26 years in hospitality, received a holiday bonus that looked anything like what you see in the movies. No envelopes discreetly slid across desks. No end-of-year checks. No warm speeches...

The Ghosts of Christmas Shift: Why Popup Bars Are Haunting the Industry

by Chris Mallon | Dec 4, 2025 | Industry Insights, Behind the Bar, Seasonal Shifts

The Ghosts of Pop-Up Bars Past, Present, and Never Again It’s that time of year again, where the lights twinkle, the guests jingle, and almost every bartender you know is hanging on by a tinsel-thin thread.Holiday pop-ups are back. If you’ve worked one, you already...

Gravy Doesn’t Fix Grief: What the Holidays Feel Like Behind the Bar

by Chris Mallon | Nov 26, 2025 | Industry Insights, Advocacy, Seasonal Shifts

Gravy Doesn’t Fix Grief What the Holidays Feel Like Behind the Bar There’s a lie that gets whispered around the industry this time of year, tucked between reheated mashed potatoes and that extra bottle of whiskey hidden under the service bar: “Just get through the...

What Hospitality Taught Me to Be Thankful For (That I Would’ve Never Learned Anywhere Else)

by Chris Mallon | Nov 19, 2025 | Industry Insights, Behind the Bar, Growth

What Hospitality Taught Me to Be Thankful For (That I Would’ve Never Learned Anywhere Else) Gratitude in this industry is weird. We say “thank you” after the worst shifts of our lives.We hug coworkers we barely know because we survived brunch together.We joke...

When Gratitude Is Just Another Shift Requirement: The Exhaustion of Performing Grace in Hospitality

by Chris Mallon | Nov 12, 2025 | Industry Insights, Behind the Bar, Gratitude

When Gratitude Is Just Another Shift Requirement: The Exhaustion of Performing Grace in Hospitality The closer we get to Thanksgiving, the more the word gratitude feels weaponized. It’s all over the chalkboards and signage; “Give thanks,”...