Professional Bartending School/ Arlington Virginia

[DaveO]

After posting a note in the Help Needed Section: http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?showtopic=18472entry212478 about our ability to staff catered events, Don suggested I post here about the Professional Bartending School. He added that many drive by our location (w/ its large signs) on Wilson Boulevard and don't know who or what we are!! LOL..(so much for "brand recognition")

So here is a little about the Professional Bartending School http://bartending-school.com :

1. We are a hands-on 40 hour, state approved bartending program. The business has been around since 1968.

2. Our group has owned/operated it since the mid 1980's.

3. Relative to about 100-150 bartending schools around the country we are pretty old, pretty consistent and pretty large....not to mention impeccably clean and respected within a sort of snarky "industry".

4. Our program consists of 10 classes in which we teach many drink recipes, opening to closing and customer service functions for bartenders, deep instruction on alcohols, mixes etc, an additional program on "alcohol management" (how to deal with drunks, potential drunks, how to identify fake ID's, etc), and give job placement assistance. We have extensive hands-on practice, which is used to get people efficient and knowledgeable as bartenders.

5. Everything is hands-on with a fully functioning built out bar, all equipment, double speed racks, two large professional ice machines, etc. The one thing that is fake is the alcohol. We use water and colored water to simulate the colors of alcohols. (works well). In 40 hours the students literally make/practice thousands of drinks.

6. We teach efficiency, and practical ways to develop bartenders and try and teach from an owners perspective.

7. We are not a training ground for advanced mixology nor craft bartending. Some of our grads are some of the craft bartenders in this and other regions. They arrive at this status through subsequent personal development and additional learning. (More power to them)

8. We have Very extensive Job Placement Assistance on behalf of graduates. In the last couple of years we've been able to confirm our grads landing about 1200 bartending jobs/year. Nothing else comes close to that in the DC region--not remotely close.

9. We reach out to up to several thousand bartending employers (everything from the ugliest crudest bar/club you wouldn't want to send your worst enemy to --to the regions finest fine dining. We have had some of the region's most revered restaurants hire from us over the years. Our placement services are free to the food and beverage industry.

10. Currently I believe we reach out to around 1,000 or so grads, recent and past who stay in active touch with employment opportunities. We could probably reach out to a couple of thousand more if need be.

11. We are able to reach out to grads with extensive experience if required and can work with F & B employers in many different ways to satisfy staffing needs.

12. Of note: if anyone has ever read anything about bartending schools and the commentary they get (often from people who claim to be bar managers) our school has gotten thousands of people jobs and we specifically have responded to and targeted certain niches in the big industry.

Now here is why I responded to the Help Wanted request referenced above for catering suggestions. We provide up to thousands of graduates to caterers. They staff many of the caterers, both well known and little known throughout the region. (By example, Ridgewells, which still hires many of our grads, used to visit on site to recruit.)

We direct provide bartenders for parties, catered events, weddings, special events, corporate events, birthdays, bar mitzvah's, funerals, charity events, you name it. The school does not charge for this service, nor do we tack on overhead charges. Since many of our grads already work for these caterers, you can get people at "probably" below catering charges, who might have been staffing your event anyway....Its a good deal. All costs and pay go directly to the bartenders/staff who work your event. We arrange for these people to work the events but do not get involved in contractural agreements concerning the staffing.

13. We do have staff and graduates who are "experts". My expertise probably falls on the "quantity side"

14. Oh yeah....we earn our living by providing that 40 hour program. New classes start every week. Our phone number is 703 841 9700. Our job placement line is 703 841 9757. Placement email is pbsplacement@gmail.com Main contact email is info@bartending-school.com

Cheers: Everyone.

[DaveO]

As an example of the "outside party" catering services I saw this picture on our facebook page and thought I'd post it here: (that dave is not me!!!)

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151986363205099&set=a.10150346118055099.575390.453679290098&type=1&theater&notif_t=photo_comment

[DaveO]

This occurred in one of our classes the other day and it cracked me up.  On a more serious note one of our grads was hired a few months ago at the region's only 3 Star Michelin Restaurant and a healthy number of grads are currently among DC's vaunted craft mixologists. 

If you are about 22 years old or you hang out at bars popular with college age people you "might" see something like this.

It turns out it has gotten an enormous volume of social media attention.  (enormous by our standards).