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| Here are excerpts from some of the articles written about Tony Sylvester's bartending schools, job training and employment placement services from 1977 to the present. |
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21
co-workers sign up for bartending school after losing high-tech jobs.
By
Tiffini Theisen
SENTINEL
STAFF WRITER
Two Tuesdays after he lost his
job, James Gordon sat at a bar along Mills Avenue. Gordon and the dozen others
lined up at the bar at Orlando's ABC Bartending School.
A few minutes later, Noel Shaw
entered the room. Shaw, the school's teacher and director graded their tests.
Gordon did well: another 100% score. He was mastering the drinks taught in the
week long course, remembering little things, such as what crème de cassis
tastes like "currants" which drinks get a sugared rim "side
car".
Their classroom boasts all the
comforts of a hometown tavern: neon signs, a radio tuned to soft rock and an
ice maker. In fact, you wouldn't know it was a real bar till you took your
first sip: All the drinks here are made with colored water.
Other students in a recent
session in the class included a laid-off dot-com work, a former marketing executive,
and a car sales-woman and an air-traffic controller both seeking part-time
jobs.
Those who were laid off in early
April made about $8 to $16 an hour plus overtime and bonuses. Bartenders in the
Orlando area can make $12 to $40 an hour with tips.
Others who signed up were at
first skeptical about bartending. "It seemed like one of those surfer
jobs", said Christy LeDuc, 33, a former process analyst.
But the idea soon spread among
the clannish clean-room crew. Suddenly, ABC Bartending School was a hit with
newly out-of-work microchip makers.
Many of the new mixologists
aren't thinking of bartending as a new career, but a temporary gig while they
go to school. "Look at it this way: If we go into a recession, people are
still going to drink," said Bonnie Oster, ABC Bartending Schools'
placement director. |
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Friday,
April 19, 2002
Passing the Bar
 It's
not unusual for someone to wander into ABC Bartending School and order a
cocktail. The faux bar on busy Kennedy Boulevard looks authentic. Notice
the Johnnie Walker rubber mats and Babe Ruth photograph on the
wall.
The libations poured by the students are fake, though,
a combination of food dye, water and a jellylike substance. Tiny bobbing
balls mimic fruit garnishes.
This classroom bar at 4601 W. Kennedy Blvd. has
offered instruction in what director Dan Bygden terms a "recession
proof profession." "Good or bad times," he says leaning on one
of two bars, "people don't like drinking alone."
ABC's Bygden says a certificate shows a potential
employer that a person is serious about doing a good job.
Janice D. Froelich - The Tamp Tribune |
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The adventures of on bleary-eyed Texan at the
Harvard of bartending schools.
By Adam Pitluk
 |
Jeff Hoferer moseyed on down to Fort
Lauderdale's ABC Bartending School from Dallas, Texas, to learn how to
make a mean cocktail |
A drunk, horny guy hits a drunk, horny town
-- to learn how to make people drunk and horny.
American Airlines flight 2042 from Dallas,
Texas, has just arrived at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport.
Pale, pasty South westerners file out like a flock of happy sheep, wide-eyed
and excited.
Ever since he graduated with a marketing and
international-business degree from Kansas State University in 1999 -- the
24-year-old Hoferer has worked as a bar and concert promoter in the
Dallas/Fort Worth area.
A few weeks back, though, he had an
epiphany. Staring down the barrel of a shot glass he had just drained of
Jägermeister, Hoferer saw his future: He'd move to Los Angeles and make it
big as an actor-model, but not before jetting to South Florida to earn his
license to kill... brain cells, that is.
Yes, Jeff Hoferer is here to attend Fort
Lauderdale's ABC Bartending School, the Harvard of mixology. Sure,
there are other bartending schools, but this is the big one.
He does pick up some rules of thumb to
take into his first day of school: The more drinks you serve, the more tips
you earn; a guy on a date is a bartender's best friend; and no real man ever
orders a Tom Collins in public.
ABC has been schooling the supply side since
before Hoferer learned to read. The largest chain of bar schools in the
country, ABC boasts 13 schools nationwide (and five more on the way). It's a
multimillion-dollar venture, granting 7000 degrees a year in cities coast to
coast -- and Broward County is where it all began.
When Tony Sylvester opened his first
bartending school in Broward County in 1977 on the corner of State Road 7 and
Coconut Creek Parkway, he knew there was no guarantee. "It was a
gamble," Sylvester says from behind his desk, His desk sits front and
center of the establishment, flanked by framed thank-you notes from various
bars around the country. "But just like the American Dream, a little hard
work still pays off in this country," he adds.
This Bill Gates with a twist of lemon
grew up in an orphanage. He has no more than a ninth-grade education, but
despite his accomplishments he keeps his ego mostly in check: He doesn't want
to forget his Passaic, New Jersey, roots. He keeps his reminders close at
hand: His GED, crusty and faded, dated December 19, 1975, stands on a filing
cabinet behind his desk, while a picture of him in the orphanage graces his
desk at home. He still works ten hours a day, seven days a week.
But larger than life is a framed poster of
the world's greatest celebrity bartender -- none other than Brian Flanagan (as
played by Tom Cruise) leaning over a bar, baby blues glistening in the pink
neon light of the sign that hangs above him: Cocktail.
So if your looking to learn how to bartend
just call 1-888-COCKTAIL. |
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Impress your guests, or find
a new
career, behind the bar
By Jennifer Olvera
|
 When it comes to
throwing a bash, it’s hard to deny that libations play an integral
role. In addition to being the festivity’s fuel, thoughtful beverage
selection also can be a tasty way to show guests you care. The
problem is, many people don’t know a mai tai from a Singapore
sling---and cocktails more complex than, say, a rum-and-Coke can
cause anxiety.
No excuses. The
holidays are just around the corner, and it’s time to get with the
program. Believe it or not, bartending courses can teach you to
sport a superb salty dog, hone your creativity and become a better
communicator.
“Both
professional bartenders and housewives looking to throw parties are
interested in learning to tend bar,” said Myong Park, a Chicago
resident and former bartender who instructs at ABC Bartending
Schools on Belmont Avenue. “It’s a life skill. It teaches you how to
treat people well and make them feel good.”
In his free time,
Park hosts parties for his nearest and dearest at home. “Being a
good bartender means your guests don’t want to sit in front of the
TV,” he said. “And it means you can be the life of the party. Who
doesn’t want that?”
ABC’s classes
teach everything from etiquette--women still get served first--to
the difference between a highball and rocks glass. “Bartending
classes go beyond the basics,” said Kelly Curtis, director of ABC.
“You do learn how to make and serve drinks the right way, but you
also learn what to--and not to-- talk about. A bartender, just like
any good host, is there to please his guests.”
While most people
don’t associate tending bar with keeping the peace (that’s the
bouncer’s job), there is
something
to be said for a bartender who helps visitors get along.
 |
ABC BARTENDING
SCHOOLS: Offers 40-hour courses that meet on five consecutive
days as well as weekend sessions, which last three weeks. Beyond
learning how to create traditional drinks,
bartenders-in-training begin fashioning beverages on the fly:
1034 W Belmont Ave, 312-664-0074. The school also has a location
in MT. Prospect (1699 Wall St.; 847-228-0700 |
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Instructor Myong Park says that
learning to help people feel good is an important skill. |
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THURSDAY,
JULY 17, 2003
How to be your own bartender
BY PAIGE WISER
| Bars are magical places, full of smoke,
fried foods, happy people with lowered standards ...and almost always
alcohol. But what happens when you entertain at home? Not only are you
expected to have a fully stocked bar, but those baby pearl onions had
better be at the ready, and you may hear reports that the drapes are on
fire. Panicked, we sought guidance on the art of being your own
bartender.
Q. Should I watch "Cocktail"?
A. "The Tom Cruise movie"? Never hurts," muses Jack McKim,
the director of ABC Bartending Schools (847-228-0700). The air-borne,
spinning techniques are called "flair bartending" -still very popular in
places like Las Vegas and Disney World. But Pace warn that there's a
distinction that Cruise missed. "The trick to flair bartending is making
a drink while performing the tricks," he says. "Not so in
'Cocktail'. "
Q. What are the biggest mistakes amateurs
bartenders make?
A. Taking shortcuts. A cocktail recipe may look convoluted, but
every step has a purpose. Chilling a glass, blending the ingredients for
the proper amount of time, twisting the lemon into a martini rather than
dropping it -a little extra time translates into taste.
Q. What are some of the intangibles about
bartending -the stuff you can only learn through experience?
A. It's all about the customers (or, in our case, guests). "They
can have quirks on exactly how they prefer to have the drink made," says
McKim. " 'Shaken, not stirred' comes to mind." |
Q. What are the latest fabulous
cocktails?
A. New and trendy is so... last summer. this year, the
classics are back. "The Cosmopolitan, Kamikaze, Sex on the Beach,
Martinis, Long Island Ice Tea, Woo Woo," Pace suggests. "I bartend at
night in Vancouver [British Columbia], and the most popular drink was a
Long Island Ice Tea." Just make sure the traditional drinks are prepared
properly, say McKim. "Martinis, Manhattans, Rob Roys, Old Fashioned,
Whiskey Sours. They have been made since Prohibition, and still are
popular today."Q. How can a party
host stock a home bar without going bankrupt?
A. The basic liquors should do the job: vodka, gin, rum, tequila,
scotch and whiskey. A popular brand name of each will run you about
$10-$20 each. "You should also have things like dry and sweet vermouth,
triple-sec, lime juice and grenadine for mixing cocktails," Pace says. If
you're inviting more than 30 people, consider professional help, McKim
suggests. His school can help stock the bar and juggle drink orders
while you mingle.
Q. What about barware -is it necessary to
invest in grappa glasses?
A. You should be alright with rock glasses, highball glasses,
martini glasses and margarita glasses. Or you could simplify things with
high-end plastic glasses. "A cordial glass can be used for grappa,"
recommends McKim. |
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Sunday, September 22, 2002
Ex-dot-commers
belly up to the bar! by
David Lazarus
They've been joined by a variety of others seeking new
opportunities amid the economic downturn - a trend that's seen enrollment boom at bartending schools in the Bay Area.
"This industry is pretty recession-proof," said Chris Grant, director of ABC Bartending School in San
Leandro. "When times are good, people drink. When times are bad, people
drink."
All local bartending schools say they've been deluged with former dot-commers and technology professionals seeking
careers in a slightly less volatile field. |
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|
 Business Monday
ABC Bartending School director Kim Chiacchiaretti and owner Tony Sylvester with his newest bartending school at 5036 Katella Avenue in Los Alamitos. ABC has
schools nationwide and now has its first location in California. Founder Tony Sylvester is a third generation bartender, who opened his first bartending school and started teaching his craft in 1977. He plans to open three or four more schools in Los Angeles County soon. The 40-hour program can be done in
1, 2 or 3 weeks. To reach the school call 1-888-Cocktail (1-888-262-5824.)
Marilynn Young/Press-Telegram |
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ABC Bartending Schools
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Where You
Can
Become a Master of
Mixology
By Lauren Halperin
07/10/2002
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Today’s classroom of
tomorrow’s bartenders includes Tony Genco, 22, a recent South Florida
implant from New Jersey, and Craig Silverberg and Michael Barrows, both 31
and both looking for career switches. Perla Bodden, 21, wants a job in an
area nightclub and knew ABC Bartending Schools was the best start to her
new profession.
Since 1977, Tony Sylvester has been the key ingredient
of the largest bartending schools in the country, matching the right faces
with the right places. At ABC, students are taught to walk, talk and think
like a bartender. Third generation in the hospitality industry, Sylvester
has set up opportunities for his ABC Bartending School graduates across
the country once they graduate from what has been called “the Harvard of
Mixology schools.”
ABC now boasts 15 schools nationwide, including seven
schools in Florida along with plans for further expansion before 2003.
This multi-million dollar venture grants over 7,000 bartending degrees
each year in cities across the country. Not bad for one man’s simple
entrepreneurial belief: “Have a dream and work hard for it.”
“Many battles have been fought and won by soldiers
nourished on beer.”
--- Frederick the Great ---
At first glance, the classroom looks like any other
tavern or bar. Instead of desks, students sit at the bar, on barstools,
next to sipping straws, strainers, and selections of garnishes. Behind the
instructor are three shelves, which span the width of the bar, loaded with
a kaleidoscope of liquor bottles. The bottles are different sizes, colors,
and contain different types of alcohol, with recognizable brands like
Bacardi, Captain Morgan’s, Crème de Cacao, Bailey’s, Absolut, and
Peppermint Schnapps. The other side of the ‘desk’ is a full working
bar, stocked with different size glasses, liquors, and ice. |
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Our
students are shown Flair Bartending
(bottle
flipping) at no additional cost. |
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