Bar Lingo: Bar Back

The “bar back” is a bartender’s right-hand man or woman whose goal is to make sure that the bartender always has everything they need so that they can make as many drinks as possible and never have to leave their well. Some general duties of a bar back include: cutting back up garnishes, refill ice in the wells, restock empty liquor bottles, wash glassware, grab inventory from the liquor room as needed, change beer kegs, CO2 tanks and syrups, and pull off dirty glasses from the bar. Every now and then a bar back will have to unclog a sink if one becomes backed up. Bar backs make it habit to always be wiping down the bar and add cash tips left on the bar to the tip jar if a bartender has kept them on the bar top for too long. Both bartenders and bar backs are equally responsible for cleaning up and restocking the bar at the end of each shift. Read More...