Raising the bar

By Alexandra Sanders

Ten minutes after Ryan McDonald became the official owner of Ted’s Restaurant and Bar in Storrs, Conn., the power went out.
“A squirrel got fried in the transformer, blacking the place out,” he said. “But the stoves are gas and somehow the beer lines kept working, so we did too.”
McDonald has owned the bar for 16 months and has worked there for two years. The electricity failure is one of the least strange things he’s seen in his time at Ted’s.
“There is the usual bunch of people who throw up and then there are some occasional fights,” said McDonald. “But there are some outrageous people who take body shots or are too affectionate with each other in public.”
“There was a couple who was practically having sex in the corner the other night,” Dani Langer chimed in. Langer has been bartending at Ted’s for a year and she said she loves her job. She usually gets to lay low on the job and spend time with co-workers and the pay is good, but she can recall a few rough nights.
“I’m usually the one who tries to break up fights,” said Langer. She has the bone structure of a model, making it difficult to imagine how she pulls guys off of each other. She admits that she got punched once in the process of breaking up a fight.
Rich Wrigley, a bouncer at Ted’s, said that the usual scene is mellow, and fights only really break out when it is crowded. So, fights usually occur on holidays or when people become too intoxicated.
“We have to kick people out when they get too drunk or it will get chaotic,” he said. “I will never forget my first night working at Ted’s. I had to kick out my best friend because he was obliterated. He was also an employee here and my housemate.”
The bouncers also check IDs strictly and turn underage drinkers away at the door. About twice a year, the state raids the bars just off campus to make sure that the state’s drinking codes are being followed and IDs are properly being checked. Underage drinkers that are present during the raid receive citations from the University of Connecticut police.
Dave Stokford, a bouncer at Huskies, which tends to be a more rowdy scene, had his share of breaking up fights and kicking people out as well.
“There was one night where a bunch of football players came in and tried to start a fight,” said Stokford. “Luckily they didn’t because I was afraid. I’m a pretty small guy.”
He quit his job there recently because of the late hours. Stokford had friends who worked at the bar and never slept at night. They slept throughout the day and missed all of their classes. He chose to make school a priority.
“It was all kind of a blur,” he said. “I was always so tired. I had to quit.”
Langer also said that the hours are the worst part of her job. She is a nursing major at the university so she has to wake up at 5 a.m. She usually doesn’t leave the bar until 1:30 a.m. The job pays well because she only has to split her tips between one other bartender. At other bars, tips are usually split up to six ways. Work as a bouncer pays significantly less.
“Dani makes more money than me so her job is worth it,” said Wrigley. “The hours are rough for the pay that comes with being a bouncer. I took 18 credits this semester and I am failing a bunch of classes because of this job.”
Wrigley would be graduating in the spring but now he has to make up the credits that he lost.
“Huskies goes through a lot of bouncers because of the hours,” said Stokford. He said he is much happier now that he isn’t working at the bar. He is doing better in his classes and he has more of a social life. Most of the bouncers and bartenders who work at bars just off campus are students, so their jobs are temporary.
They are all in their early 20s and don’t necessarily look the stereotypical part for their jobs. Langer dresses rather conservatively for the stereotyped female bartender and Wrigley is smaller in build than many would picture a bouncer to be.
“I would love to do this for the rest of my life,” said Wrigley. “There is just no way to earn a living doing this job.”