Restaurant servers are great actors. They must present the image that they are happy to be at work and eager to serve people while behind that facade, they are very often the exact opposite. If it was possible to earn money with a “poker face” waiters and waitresses wouldn’t need

In mid-March when Covid forced New York City to shut down restaurants completely and I found myself without a job, I was more relieved than anything else. While I worried about getting by for a few weeks without working, knowing that I could safely ensconce myself in my apartment more

As 2024 winds down, we’re reflecting on another incredible year of sharing the stories, art, culture, and nightlife that make the Bay Area so unique. BrokeAssStuart.com wouldn’t be what it is without you—our community of readers, supporters, and believers in independent media. This year, instead of asking you to join Patreon

There’s a dirty little secret amongst some servers that aren’t working in their restaurants right now and are collecting unemployment benefits instead. It’s not something that many are willing to openly talk about because they know how their feelings can be interpreted, but it’s there nonetheless: they don’t want to

Bob Dylan once wrote, You’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed you’re gonna have to serve somebody. As a long-time server and resident of San Francisco, that couldn’t be more true

Everyone should work in a restaurant at least once. Ask any server, bartender, barista, cook, dishwasher, buser, greeter, and they’ll agree. It’s a conversation I often have with other people in the restaurant industry. This conversation is half bitching about customers (sorry not sorry) and half enumerating all the ways that working in a restaurant makes you a better person.

Though Sue Smith’s case on Brokelyn for being a server in New York restaurants was pretty on the money, I’d argue that sometimes, having a low-status office job can have its advantages as well– especially if you’re a freelance writer who hates physical activity and kids and cleaning gross things