The Keswick Theater in Glenside, Pennsylvania brings over 100,000 movie goers a year. Failing to attract the pre and post theater crowds is Plush. After opening Plush, Bruno hired his now ex-wife, Shari to help manage the bar. After business began to fade, their marriage fell apart. Once Shari left the bar, Bruno struggled to manage the business on his own. Left with a careless staff, a dilapidated bar and $250,000 in debt, if things don’t change soon Bruno will close the bar for good.
On the outside, Plush has no visual appeal; it’s dimly lit and completely unexciting. The employees consistently drink on the job, can’t handle pressure and are extremely rude to customers. There are no systems in place and the staff has no technique behind the bar. However, the biggest problem Plush has is its owner, Bruno. He has excessive anger issues and does not manage the bar whatsoever. Bruno stays in the kitchen and ignores the problems out on the floor.
Taffer brings in Mia Mastroianni to teach the bar staff proper techniques in cocktail making and speed and Chef Nick Liberato to teach Chris the art of simple Italian dishes to compliment Bruno’s heritage and attract the theater crowd. Taffer also brought back the personality of Plush, Bruno’s ex-wife, Shari. At first this did not go over so well with Bruno, but once he accepted that he was fighting for Plush to stay afloat for his daughter, the two began to actually work together.
Plush was transformed into Osteria Calabria, ‘osteria’ meaning bar/tavern/pub and Calabria being the area in Italy which Bruno’s family comes from. Six weeks after the relaunch, food and beverage sales have gone up 21%. Bruno has paid 7 months on the $65,000 owed to Shari and he has also started making payments on his grandmother’s house.
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