Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-05-10
WATERBURY DEMOCRAT, FRIDAY. MAY 10,
RESTAURANT SECRETS.
A Business Where Men of Ideas Can Make
 Themselves Valuable.

A Businoss Where Men of Ideas Can Make
 Themselves Valuable.
 "A man of ideas is valuable anywhere" announced 6 well-known restaurateur to Chicago Journal representative, "but no- where is he more so than in place like mine. You may think it requires no brains to manage a restaurant, but if you do you're decidedly mistaken. What about the pur- chasing? What about disciplining and keeping in regular order as regards their work an army or more or less stupid and often insubordinate waitersf What about designing novelties! Ah, yes, that's where a good deal of the brain work comes in. It's the cooks business to oversee the prepara- ton of the food for the table and to post himself on any new attractive dishes that may be introduced but discerning and conscientious manager will often invent some novel way of setting up dish that makes it doubly attractive to the customer and in consequence increases the revenue Of the house. Tact in this direction works both ways. A customer who has sampled the managers new invention and likes it comes In, we'll say, and orders dish of 1t without looking at the bill of fare. While he is eating it, some other fellow, who is quite ignorant of the blessings in store for him, comes in and takes a seat at the same table. He doesn't know what the other feI- low is eating, but he knows that it ooks mighty good and straightway orders dish for himself. The majority of my customers haven't the remotest idea what they are go- ing to eat for luncheon until after they've seated themselves, and not few of them take a look around at what the other fellows are sampling before they make their selec- tion. This is where the manager with genius for devlsing dishes that look appetiz- ing gets in his deadly work. Sect"
 rayne m her 3 added the restaurant man with a retrospective stroke of hls whiskers, 'an instance that will illustrate my mean ing. Just about two years ago l engaged a young fellow as waiter. He was an Irish man, just over, and as bright and smart and obhging as you please. It didn't take me long to see that he was too good man for the mere transportation of provender to.and fro, so made him head wait6r and gave him entire charge of the help. Later on sent him to market and asked him to help me now and then with suggestion or two as to the general running of the place. His first i'd ca went right to the mark. It was summer time then, and he came to me one day and said that he couldn't under stand why patron who asked for water melon should be given twice as much as he could eat, and enough rind with it to feed 8 sty of pigs. Well, what do you suggestP | said I. For answer, he went to the kitchen, selected big melon, cut off the ends and sliced it into six or seven slabs about two l inches thick. He then cut off the rind and | sprinkled little chopped ice over each | slice. 'There,' said he, one of those is enough wathermlhn for any dacent man, an it looks queer, too' It certainly did look queer, for after that I sold more orders of waterm elon than I had done before in any three seasons, in addition to which each melon went twice as far as it had formerly done. Look about you when watermelons come into season again, and you'll see that every frst-class restaurant | in the city fixes up the dish in the manner introduced by my little lrishman. Where is he nowa Bless your heart, he was toe smart for this business. Last I heard ot him he was out on the road selling boots and shoes and making $500 and $400 month at it. He can have all the watermelon he wants here by asking for it.'