Here's To You, Bart's!

Yesterday was my last day of work for the summer.  While I was sad to say bye to the preschoolers, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, as I work with kids all over Connecticut and New York and have to say bye all the time.  What was most strange about my day was closing and leaving the restaurant, Bart’s & The Beanery for the last time.  Why was it strange?  Because I worked there for 7 years.  SEVEN YEARS!! How insane is that?  It was my very first job as a 16 year old, and I have worked there ever since.  Pretty unbelievable, right?  

So, tonight this post is going to be a tribute to the best summer job out there.  There have been some good times, some bad times, some dramatic times, some seriously WEIRD times.  I’ve worked with an.. eclectic.. group of people.  Some awesome, some… let’s just say interesting.  Before I share some of the most memorable moments, I’ll just give a brief description of the place so people who have never been there kind of understand.

One side of Bart’s is a grill - there are hot dogs, hamburgers, the best curly fries and onion rings ever, etc.  I worked on this side for 5 years.  The other side is a bakery/deli with amazing coffees.  I worked on this side for 2 years.  I think.  Something like that.  I kind of bounced back and forth between the two sides.  Anyway - it’s an interesting little place.

So here are some moments that stand out:

Best moment(s):

Well, it’s hard to pick out a best moment so here are a few:

• There are water guns stashed around the building.. Enough said.
• Getting to know the regular customers.. Hilarious.  The morning crew is great - most are older gentlemen and we lost some great guys over the years.  We miss them very much! (R.I.P. Sal!!!)

Weirdest Moment:

One afternoon there was only myself and one other girl working.  Unusual to begin with.  So in walks a man with only white tennis shorts on (no shirt), carrying a tennis bag.  He ordered an icecream cone, which he proceeded to drop on the floor, somehow manage to pick up and continue eating.  Gross.  After a while of standing there eating, he pulled out a binder from his tennis bag.  He opened to the first section of the binder, and attempted to sell Ashley and me Wampum jewelry.

Source

Strange? Yes. We politely said no, thank you.  Then it got a little more weird.  He flipped to the next section of his binder and showed us a map of the city he planned.  Where he was planning on building this city? I’m not sure.  After about 45 minutes of attempting to flirt with us and totally creeping us out, he left.  And never came back.  Thank goodness.

I could go on, and on… and on and on and on.  But I’ll spare you guys.  After my last day I came home and had a drink.  And it was delicious:

Italian Wedding Cake

1 oz vanilla vodka

1 oz amaretto

2 oz pineapple juice

Combine all ingredients in a martini shaker.  Shake, shake, shake, and pour into a martini glass!