By Gene Davis, DENVER DAILY NEWS
DENVER — While the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported that Colorado had 92,000 fewer jobs last month in comparison to the same time last year, one sector is bubbling with good news — the local bartending industry.
Colorado bartending schools have reported a large increase in enrollment since the recession began. The Colorado Bartending and Casino College says enrollment for its bartending training program is up more than 35 percent compared to the same time last year, and the ABC Bartending School in Denver says enrollment is up more than 15 percent.
“We’re doing very well,” said Ron Skaggs, regional director of the Bartending and Casino College for the western states. “To be honest, the recession helps our schools.”
The Colorado Bartending and Casino College has seen a significant increase in the amount of former white collar workers who have been laid off and are looking for a new line of work, according to Skaggs. Before the recession began, bartending students were predominately from a low-income demographic who were looking to upgrade their job and make more money by being a bartender, he said.
Skaggs added that the former white collar workers who are laid off and become bartenders typically lose a little bit of prestige, but that they don’t necessarily lose money.
“It’s just a different style, a different lifestyle change,” he said.
Aaron Smith, director of Denver’s ABC Bartending School, said his bartending school has also been attracting some former white collar workers who “want to bartend and have a social life or else they’re going to murder people.”
“There’s no polite way to say it, but lots of people (sign up for bartending school) to get laid and bag cocktail waitresses,” he said.
No surprise?
Denver bartenders said they were not surprised that enrollment at bartending school has gone up. Three bartenders in the downtown Denver area said they have not seen a drop-off in business due to the recession, and that their job has always felt secure over the past year.
“People are still going to drink and go out for entertainment,” said Stephen Elkins, a bartender who has worked at The Falling Rock Tap House off and on for 10 years. “If anything, people come in here after they get laid off.”
Lizzie Fitzgibbon, a bartender at the Blake Street Tavern, echoed Elkins comments, adding that while her friends who work in fine dining have not had an easy time in the recession, she has never worried about job security.
“Anything that’s a little bit cheaper is going to make more money (in a recession),” she said.
Denver in particular is a good market for bartenders because it’s a young, vibrant, eclectic city that likes to goes out to bars, according to Skaggs. Also, since people only have to be 18-years-old to be a bartender in Colorado, it opens up jobs to a wider demographic.
“People drink during good times and drink during bad times,” Skaggs said. “We hope for continued success, but there’s ups and downs in everything. We don’t expect to stay at this level for ever.”
Distributed by Colorado Capitol Reporters
