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Earn your certificate in 2 weeks or less

Here are excerpts from some of the articles written about Tony Sylvester's bartending schools, job training and employment placement services from 1977 to the present.


21 co-workers sign up for bartending school after losing high-tech jobs. By Tiffini Theisen SENTINEL STAFF WRITER Two Tuesdays after he lost his job, James Gordon sat at a bar along Mills Avenue. Gordon and the dozen others lined up at the bar at Orlando's ABC Bartending School. A few minutes later, Noel Shaw entered the room. Shaw, the school's teacher and director graded their tests. Gordon did well: another 100% score. He was mastering the drinks taught in the week long course, remembering little things, such as what crème de cassis tastes like "currants" which drinks get a sugared rim "side car". Their classroom boasts all the comforts of a hometown tavern: neon signs, a radio tuned to soft rock and an ice maker. In fact, you wouldn't know it was a real bar till you took your first sip: All the drinks here are made with colored water. Other students in a recent session in the class included a laid-off dot-com work, a former marketing executive, and a car sales-woman and an air-traffic controller both seeking part-time jobs. Those who were laid off in early April made about $8 to $16 an hour plus overtime and bonuses. Bartenders in the Orlando area can make $12 to $40 an hour with tips. Others who signed up were at first skeptical about bartending. "It seemed like one of those surfer jobs", said Christy LeDuc, 33, a former process analyst. But the idea soon spread among the clannish clean-room crew. Suddenly, ABC Bartending School was a hit with newly out-of-work microchip makers. Many of the new mixologists aren't thinking of bartending as a new career, but a temporary gig while they go to school. "Look at it this way: If we go into a recession, people are still going to drink," said Bonnie Oster, ABC Bartending Schools' placement director.

Passing the Bar

December 2000

School teaches the ABC's of drink mixing

By Michael Tomberlin

Job in demand

With hotels, bars, clubs, restaurants, bowling alleys, caterers and others needed bartenders, trained pros are always in demand.

Nardone said some Birmingham employers already have approached the school looking for bartenders. Some employers pay the tuition to put their own bartenders through the course.

Vi Noblin is one of the first students to enroll in the Birmingham school. She's 35 and single and has cut hair for 18 years. She sees bartending as a way to work a few nights a week and supplement her income.

"I'm a people person," she said. "Being a hairdresser, I've had people tell me I was like their bartender."

Ms. Noblin said she expects the class will include much instruction on how to mix drinks, but beyond that she concedes she is not sure what to anticipate. "I have no idea," she said. "I want to have fun and meet people and bartending interests me."

If they prove themselves to be trustworthy and hard working, they can make bartending a full-time career, Nardone said. Part of the attraction, he added is a versatile lifestyle where four nights of work can earn a bartender as much as a 60-hour-a-week job, much of it in tips.

Moreover, Nardone said, this is on job that always survives economic downturns.

"In a recession, people drink to forget their problems; when the economy is good, people drink to celebrate," he said. "Whether the economy is good or bad, people are always drinking."

Classes range in size between four and fourteen students ages eighteen and older. Though Alabama bartenders must be 21, some states allow them to be 18. ABC Bartending, owned by Florida's Tony Sylvester, has schools across the nation and helps place students in jobs coast to coast. (ABC can be reached at 1-888-262-5824; its internet address is www.abcbartending.com.

Trade School

June 1997

Mixing studies

If sleeping late is your thing, get a night job, but first try Jacksonville's bartending school.

ABC Bartending School offers 40-hour courses that mix hands-on experience with classroom studies. Students learn how to mix drinks, cut fruit and operate a cash register. The history of beer and wine is also taught. "We teach people how to walk, talk, think and look like a bartender," said Ron Hobbs from ABC Bartending, " and of course, that comes down to customer service." Apparently, the stereotype of bartenders as confidants is true.

"From my experience, we're the poor man's psychiatrist," Hobbs said. "We don't use couches, we use bar stools."

Graduates get jobs at night clubs, hotels, restaurants and sports bar.

Collen Hiltz, 36, of Jacksonville attended the ABC school in April. Now she works weekends at Seafood Galore in Neptune Beach.

"I would recommend bartending for everybody," Hiltz said. "It's good to have on the side to make some extra money. "Hiltz graduated from college with a degree in advertising. She chose the bartending school so that she could have a flexible schedule and a way to make money while she looked for a full-time job.

Hiltz recently started a job at Apple One employment agency, but she plans to keep bartending.

Students of the Bar

March 1997

The Perfect Bartender

Always light the customer's cigarette. 'I was like a panther moving towards them if I saw someone lighting a cigarette
Always give the customer a clean glass with each drink.
Always acknowledge a new customer. If you're busy, let them know you see them right away
Don't buy drinks for a good customer. Introduce him to the owner or manager, and that way, they're both flattered.
Serve the ladies first. Chivalry still exists, and remember, the lady always tell the man how much to tip.

Hey, bartender

By Daniel P. Ray (Freelance Writer)

Almost anyone can belly up to a bartending job, but making a decent living at it requires a double shot of personality and hustle.

Training is relatively brief, and available either on the job or from a private school. Age, gender and looks, while important, won't preclude employment. And an ever-thirsty South Florida keeps the job market brimming.

Mastering Mixology

Getting set with a job requires training and several private schools offer bartending courses. They generally last for two weeks, with varied hours to accommodate day and night students. The schools boast tremendously high placement rates for graduates.

Students learn drink mixing, procedures for opening and closing bars and cash register operation. They also learn about Florida's dram laws, which hold bars responsible for the actions of over served customers.

At the end of ABC's two-week course, owner Tony Sylvester also demonstrates how to flip bottles, a la Tom Cruise in the movie Cocktail.
"I used to teach it early in the course, but then there would be broken bottles and glasses all over the place." he said. "I learned my lesson. Now, I do that in the last hour to two hours of the program, so they'll go home and practice it on their own bottles."

Compatible with the club

Clubs tend to hire bartenders who match their clients.

"This business is set up on the theory right face, right place." Sylvester said. "That means your style and your personality matter, in addition to your ability to get the job done. Different bars require different style, and that's what gets you the job."

November 1990

Tony Sylvester's Advance Hospitality Services Connects Employers and Restaurant Personnel

When you are new to an area, such as South Florida, it is an unusual experience to find people who know their business, and are ready and able to help you get settled. Tony Sylvester is that kind of person. His motto is "Don't Worry, Be Happy! Help is Here." Tony Sylvester owns and operates one of the finest hospitality employment agencies in the Broward/Palm Beach/Dade corridor - Advanced Hospitality Services. He has a long and illustrious record with the restaurant and hotel industry. To say that Tony knows everybody is an understatement. They not only know Tony, but respect him.

Tony started his career after serving in the military during Vietnam. In New Jersey, he started out by running a successful cabaret nightclub. He then spent many years traveling the east and west coasts of the United States tending bar and managing various facilities. He has worked in every imaginable operation. This is why Tony knows the business. And that is why Tony is more qualified to help those in the industry. When Tony Sylvester moved permanently to Florida in 1977, he opened the first school for bartending and restaurant service. Later the company grew to four schools. He noted the tremendous growth and the severe need for well trained personnel. After ten years of providing top notch graduates to the area, he sold his interest in the schools to concentrate on his latest venture - the employment service. His knowledge of the area and it's restaurateurs make him highly qualified to provide successful career guidance.

The Broward Times

August 24,1978

By Shirlee Williamson

Staff Writer

Bartending School Teaches Gracious Service And Style

School Courses Mix Well

Bartending Classes Teach Attitude