LEADS certified – Shaken Not Stirred in LA

lamart1b — New Skyscraper going up in Downtown LA

Shaken Not Stirred just finished providing bartending service for a three day event at the LA Mart in downtown Los Angeles. I have done many events for them, and for this event they were offering complimentary Mimosas to the buyers that were at the Mart for their annual Spring designer week. I always like doing these events and it is fun talking to all the people going through there. I have even made some friendships with some of the sellers in the building who have seen during the different events that I have done there.

lamart4 — People bring their dogs to work at LA Mart

The LA Mart is the largest marketplace of its kind west of the Mississippi. I think they like to serve complimentary drinks as a way to set themselves apart from other markets. Many of the buyers don’t want to start drinking at 9am, but it is a nice touch anyway. Some of the buyers are in ffrom out of town, so they try to have some fun and make a semi vacation out of it.

I am ABC certified and have taken the LEADS class put on by the California ABC, and that is required to serve alcohol at the LA Mart. Most venues and corporate clients require that. I will be taking another class soon to keep that up to date. The state ABC classes are held at various locations around the city once a month.

LA Mart/The Reef

Open five days a week
500,000 square feet of showrooms
Permanent showrooms
Furniture, gift items, premium product lines
South of downtown Los Angeles
Showroom window at LA Mart

I am now getting ready for a big weekend in the Coachella Valley. I have a wedding party in La Quinta on Friday night, and then another one on Saturday night. I will be serving several exciting drinks to hundreds of people in the desert, including the Sazerac cocktail, which I have never made before.

Last night I was one of the bartenders at the DIFFA Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS at The Reef in downtown Los Angeles. We served beer and wine to approximately 400 people. There were only two bartenders but we worked well together and we handled the crowd no problem. Most of the guests were interior designers all over the country.

I have no done too many of these events, but want to do more of them. When I arrived everything was pretty much set up. I just setup the cups and bottles the way I like them and went to work. People started coming in around 7:30 and we were pouring non stop until 10:30. A maintenance guy from the building acted as a barback and was a big help. By the time we were done serving, he had taken away all of the empty bottles and leftovers. We were out of there by 10:50.

I am LEADS certified, which they required for me to do this event. There is a certification put on by the LAPD called STAR certification. I will get that certification the next time the class is offered. Right now I am preparing for a birthday party in Lancaster. The host has about ten specialty drinks he wants me to make, including the Purple Hooter, King Kong Bomb, Long Island Ice Tea, and Mojito, among others. The party should be interesting.

Tomorrow I am off to the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps bases to bartend a wedding I booked months ago. Next week I will be doing a screening event in Hollywood and a birthday party in Orange County.

Tag: LEADS certified

Three Day Event at LA Mart

LA Mart/The Reef

Downtown Los Angeles Charity Fundraiser