In the early hours on Friday, March 17, the warm temperatures from the day before had not yet departed. The sidewalks were coated with rain and muddy footprints. The early hour discouraged cars from hitting the roads yet — the only light came from the streetlamps and neon signs of bars along Grand River and Albert Avenue.
Outside of the strip of bars, the city seemed to be asleep or slowly waking. But on St. Patrick’s Day, celebrations start before the sun rises. Eager students arrive at bars as early as 5 a.m. to be the first to get their foot through the door and a drink in their hand.
But no matter how early patrons arrive, they will not be the first ones inside the bar. That title is saved for the crews of bartenders, servers and staff at these establishments, those whose jobs make St. Patrick’s Day what it is for many MSU students — an excuse to dress in green, drink and party all day.
At Landshark Bar and Grill, St. Patrick’s Day prep begins days in advance. Workers decorate the interior in green from top to bottom. They make hundreds of Jell-O shots and stock up on kegs and green beer. After the days of prep, the bar is set for the 14 hour shift ahead of them.
Agribusiness management sophomore Carter Pickering arrives for his bartending shift at 6:52 a.m. He woke up late and ran to work.
Pickering applied for the job in the fall after having worked in the restaurant industry for a few years in high school. He said it's exactly the kind of job he was looking for when he came to college.
“I like the fast-paced energy and talking to people and ... making people happy, giving them drinks and them having a fun time,” Pickering said. “That's always been what it is for me, what I like about it.”
Among the staff, there was a lot of anticipation leading up to St. Patricks Day. Busy days like these are Pickering's favorite time to bartend.
“I am excited, even after my early morning wake up,” Pickering said. “I'm very excited to work today.”
This attitude serves to benefit Pickering, because by 7:18 a.m. his bar top is surrounded by customers. He helps eight people at once. When he gets the chance, he takes quick breaks to sip on water and Red Bull, which he said will be his “savior.”
Servers work to stock pots of coffee and take orders from the tables. Undecided sophomore Ashtyn Mosingo makes sure there is enough bacon being cooked when she isn’t greeting people, taking care of tables and cleaning up after patrons.
Despite the festive décor — which she helped put up — and additional menu items — which she helped make — Mosingo treats St. Patrick’s Day with the same attitude she would any other busy shift.
“I kind of just know how to handle it,” Mosingo said. “I mean, we all kind of do. It’s no different than a Saturday or Friday night because it's already pretty busy. It's just a holiday this time.”
This is exactly how assistant manager Jenna Piotrowicz expects her staff to get through the day. A recent MSU alum who started serving and bartending in August, Piotrowicz said she knows the day can get busy but it’s nothing they can’t handle.
“We tell everyone to drink water, take breaks if they need to, but they're awesome so they kind of already know what to do,” Piotrowicz said. “They're excited to work and they're ready to work. That's kind of the nicest part, that everyone wants to be here.”
Knowing of what to do when things get busy proved necessary throughout the day. The 7 p.m. crowd rivaled the 7 a.m. crowd in both size and rowdiness, but with each situation came a swift solution from the staff.
When a TV playing the evening basketball games froze up, one of the bartenders left his spot behind the bar with the remote in hand to fix it. When a table of drunk college kids started messing with the decorative beads hanging from a light fixture, a staff member quickly approached the group and put an end to it. When a group of three girls started sitting on the floor, a server let them know they needed to go home if they weren't feeling OK.
This server was political science-prelaw sophomore Taylor Yanke, who is no stranger to dealing with whatever comes up. Earlier that day, she cleaned vomit off of the bathroom wall. The mess didn't surprise her, since patrons start drinking so early, she said.
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“Puke and rally is what we do here,” Yanke said. “Sometimes it gets taken care of, other times it doesn't and then we're left to clean it. But that's a part of the job … I'm used to it. If that's the worst thing that happens today, that I have to clean up some crappy stuff in the bathroom, I'm OK with that. We're used to it, we handle it, shut the bathroom down, clean it and open it back up.”
Yanke served 777 items between 2 p.m. and 7:20 p.m. Bartenders will serve over two times that, she said.
By the end of the day, Piotrowicz said the whole bar will have collectively sold over 5,000 drinks. At this time, the staff will clean up the remaining empty cups, wipe down all the tables and floors and walk out the door around 4 a.m.
The following day will not start as early. Bartenders will not serve specialty green drinks or play Irish music over the speakers. But the staff will still show up ready for work, like they did on St. Patrick’s Day and every day before.
