It’s a typical Thursday night and as any Illinois collegiette knows, there’s really only one place to be – Thursday night Bros. Dan Zimmerman, a manager at Brothers Bar & Grill, is one of the guys who makes this popular night happen. We had the opportunity to sit down with Zimmerman and find out exactly what working at a bar is really like.
Her Campus: How did you get into working at Brothers?
Dan Zimmerman: Growing up in a small farm community in northern Illinois, I had a job and daily chores from a young age. After graduating high school, I decided to take off a few years before attending college and got a job as a waiter and bar-back in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. I enjoyed the interaction with customers and meeting new people, and not to mention the money wasn’t bad. Since then, I’ve always had a job in either a restaurant or bar.
HC: How did you get promoted to manager?
DZ: When I moved to Champaign for the fall semester in 2012, I needed to find a job. I filled out an application for almost all the bars on campus and a few of the downtown Champaign ones. Brothers called me for an interview, and I started a few days later as an ID checker and part of the floor staff (door guy). Over the next year, I was promoted to manager, due part to my hard work ethic and part to being in the right place at the right time.
HC: What’s a typical day at Brothers like, especially for the in infamous Thursday night events?
DZ: The bar opens at 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Most of the time it is relatively calm when we open until shortly after 9 p.m. and on Thursdays especially, there is usually a steady stream of people coming in. The line starts building and most of the time hits down the street to Campus Florist before midnight. At this point in the night, there are close to 400 people in Brothers. Once 2 a.m. rolls around we turn up the lights and start the hour or more cleaning process.
HC: How does being a manager at a bar influence your every day work?
DZ: I am usually in the office at Brothers in the afternoons doing most of the back of house work like ordering, hiring, training and maintenance. When we are open for business, I am either bartending or checking on the front door and upstairs bar.
HC: What are your plans for the future?
DZ: As of now, I plan on staying with Brothers Bar and doing what I can to make improvements to the Champaign location. Depending on how things work out, I’ll either stay in Champaign or get transferred to another location. But, to be honest, my ideal plan for the future would be to open my own fitness center.
HC: How does being a manager at Brothers help with your future goals?
DZ: Having a staff of employees that you are responsible for carries over to any other type of leadership position, so it’s good experience managing a staff. Also, working with customers on a day-to-day basis would help me in running a fitness center or health club.
HC: What’s the best thing about working at a bar?
It’s a great opportunity to meet new people, make a surprising amount of money and learn valuable people skills that can help you later in life. I think everyone should work with the public, you can learn a great deal about people.
Photo courtesy of Dan Zimmerman