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Recession good for bartending schools

Photos: Lose your job? Become a bartender

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Tonjia Hogan of Centerville shakes a drink she is learning to make at the Professional Bartending School, 2324 Grange Hall Road in Beavercreek. Hogan took a buyout from a GM job and is now looking for another career.

Staff photo by Jan Underwood Tonjia Hogan of Centerville shakes a drink she is learning to make at the Professional Bartending School, 2324 Grange Hall Road in Beavercreek. Hogan took a buyout from a GM job and is now looking for another career.

By Doug Page, Staff Writer Updated 5:16 PM Tuesday, May 12, 2009

BEAVERCREEK — Tonjia Hogan and Nancy Brown lost their jobs. Now they are taking on the new profession as bartenders, a job they hope may be a little more recession-proof.

“When times are good, people go out to celebrate,” said Craig Glick, owner of the Professional Bartending School of Dayton where the women are learning the trade. “When times are bad, they go out and celebrate anyway.”

Or as Hogan said, “Now I can go into a bar and make money instead of spend money.”

Hogan was laid off from Reynolds & Reynolds after 11 years. She needs the income now and hopes to land a job at a hotel.

“I really don’t want to work in a bar with 21- or 22-year-olds. I’ve got two of those at home,” she said, laughing. “I came here because I don’t know if I ever could go back to the corporate world.”

The 40-hour course costs around $700. The school, certified by the state Board of Career Colleges and Schools, offers placement assistance, but no guarantee of a job.

“The job is only as safe as the establishment,” warned Phil Craig, executive director of the Ohio Licensed Beverage Association, a trade group. In some areas, liquor licenses are being returned to the state as bars and restaurants close.

“The down economy has seriously affected the industry in Ohio,’ said Mark Glasper of the Ohio Restaurant Association. “As jobs leave Ohio and incomes are slashed, the public just doesn’t have the disposable income to spend in restaurants.”

Brown worked for General Motors for 14½ before taking a buyout. Now she’s starting her own business.

“This is my backup,” she said of a potential bartending gig. “I’m trying to start a business ... and bartending frees me up to work on my business.”

A good bartender can make anywhere from $15 to $30 an hour, according to industry figures. There are a lot of Hogans and Browns out there.

“Trade schools tend to flourish when times are bad,” said Roger Oldham, president of Professional Bartending Schools of America. “The past six years have been busy because of all the jobs that have been cut.”

The 34 schools across the country that use Oldham’s curriculum graduate 7,500 bartenders annually. Each school, such as Glick’s in Dayton, is locally owned and operated. Business is on pace to be up 20 percent this year, Oldham said. Last year, Glick graduated 250 students. So far this year, 125 have completed the course, he said.

Once bartending was the realm of blue-collared men. Oldham said classes now are evenly divided between men and women. Roughly one-third have no college, one-third are college students and one-third have college degrees. “We are starting to see white-collared professionals,” he said.

Brown is looking for a small place to start. “At 51 years old, you have to take some things slow,” she smiled.

“This is my outlet for fun and meeting people,” she said, the perfect antidote to the stress of starting a new business.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2290 or dpage@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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Bill, you passed on some good BTs by tossing apps. Wonderful ignorant bias you have there. I bet you make one mean rum-n-coke! BTs who are not professionally trained are intimidated by ones who are. No one hires "bar backs" anymore. Employers want BTs who know their stuff. PBSA thoroughly prepares students for life in the biz: Mixology, customer service, and responsible service are all part of the program. Don't be a PRE-TENDER, be a PRO-TENDER! Call 1-800-BARTEND today!

Tony Adams, AD, PBSA Dayton
11:54 AM, 5/13/2009

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The caption says GM and the article says Reynolds and Reynolds...she used to work at Reynolds, not GM.

bob b
4:21 AM, 5/13/2009

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I agree with the other bartenders - don't waste your money. When I managed a bar in FL I'd throw away any application that had "Bartender School" on them. Get experience as a barback first and learn that way.

What they need is a "Personality School" because most bartenders I've seen in this town don't have much of one.

Bill
6:08 PM, 5/12/2009

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I agree that a certificate from bartending school does not necessarily mean that a person can handle a busy bar.

It's also extremely important to note that contrary to common belief, there's not any kind of state requirement to get a certificate from a bartending school in order to get hired.

My best advice, start working as a bar back first and learn from the bartenders you work with.

Another Bartender
2:13 PM, 5/12/2009

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Thanks for that comment...I've often wondered about the validity of a Bar Tending Certificate. Still, it sounds like it could be fun from an acedemic perspective but if it's just recipe following... I think running a small local bar is just about every man's dream job. Well, at least the bartending part of it.

Rob
1:20 PM, 5/12/2009

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