cafe intermezzo: an inside look at a unique home away from home. if you are looking for a truly enjoyable and relaxed restaurant experience, it is incredibly beneficial for you as a customer to have a basic understanding of the way a restaurant works. it is my personal belief that the more an individual understands the way a restaurant works, the better their experience can be. with that said, out of every restaurant i've patronized, cafe intermezzo seems to fall in a category of its own. knowing this, i feel a sense of obligation to help educate those who know nothing about this place, and are curious about trying it out. too many people have walked into this place with no understanding of its structure, and have left disenchanted. i aim to fix that. because it has been a home away from home for me for the past few years. the restaurant itself has helped me grow as an individual, because of the learned staff turned close friends, the ebb and flow of the restaurant, the diverse clientele, even the many educational passages that are strewn about the novel-esque beverage menu.
far above all else, the number one complaint about cafe intermezzo has to do with the speed and efficiency of the service. most restaurants employ food-runners, server assistants, and bussers, not to mention the average server is given a three to six table section. at cafe intermezzo, which has approximately one-hundred tables, it is commonplace for a server to have a dozen, and up to twenty-five tables. all this with no food runners, no server assistants, and sometimes, no bussers or dishwashers. in the day-time, busy or not, the servers bus their own tables, and wash their own dishes, clean bathrooms, roll silverware; all while their other tables are waiting on other items, or needing refills, condiments, etc. last night when i was at the bar, i noticed the inside was split up between two servers. one server had twenty-five tables at one time. and the restaurant had a line out the door.
the reason why the restaurant is run this way is because it is expected that the majority of tables will just want a cup of coffee, and perhaps a cake. it is also expected that there will be tables who will sit for a while after their tabs are closed out. but the food menu has expanded exponentially over the years, and so has intermezzo's popularity. more and more clientele are coming in with full appetites, and even though the tables are small, intermezzo is frequented by more and more large parties. when a server has an eighteen table section with a newly sat large party, and three new couples, they're alone in their struggle to get everything out as quickly as possible.
cafe intermezzo is home to the world's largest espresso machine. it is made to pound out hundreds of beverages and withstand the most intense labor. and it is always operated by one person; regardless if one customer, or one hundred customers want coffee. this ensures that coffee is always accurate and consistent. so if one person orders a cappuccino after thirty other people do, its important to understand that your beverage should be expected to take a while, and i can't stress that enough. we all know that five minutes to a customer feels like an hour, and fifteen minutes feels like an eternity. customers are conditioned to think that their beverage is being made the very moment they order it. this is because we live in a country where the majority of restaurants that we as a nation are most frequently exposed to are corporately run, and extremely wealthy, so they can afford to staff more individuals to get everything out in time. and we as a fast-paced nation are used to getting a "quick cup of coffee." intermezzo is about atmosphere, conversation, and relaxation. it is designed and operated to create a change of pace in a day in the life of each of its patrons.
cafe intermezzo is a privately owned company, owned by a single hard-working and passionate family-man who has been working diligently the past thirty years to make the business he started thrive during an unforgiving recession in a cut-throat economy. because it is a privately-owned business, the staff is required to work much harder than they would at other restaurants to help keep the place going. and underneath the panic and sweat, your staff member is a kind-hearted, skillful, and hard-working individual. keep in mind that the staff are human beings not unlike yourself, be it a starving student, struggling artist, even a parent.
if you are thinking about trying out this place, especially on a busy night, come in with the understanding that your server, your bartender, your chef, your manager, and your barista are moving mountains and sweating buckets to try to get your items out as quickly as humanly possible. i repeat: humanly possible. when you go out to a restaurant, do yourself a favor, observe the behavior of the staff. take note on how many other tables your server is taking care of. keep in mind that every server receives a bi-weekly paycheck that reads "void." because unlike other coffeehouses where the staff-members make hourly pay, at cafe intermezzo and almost every other restaurant in the united states, your server's financial situation depends entirely on you. on top of that, your server also has to tip all the non-server employees in the restaurant an amount based on his or her sales, not based on his or her tips. so if you leave a server nothing, it turns out that your server paid money to serve you. many people believe "if a server wants a good tip, they have to work hard to earn it." well to be honest, your server is working extremely hard. they're working, as one person, the jobs that other restaurants employ multiple people for. they're sweating. their feet are throbbing. and on a busy evening, they are constantly undergoing intense labor, hours before you walk into the restaurant. far too often, i see the most kind-hearted and hard-working servers receive no tip. so if you are dissatisfied, please talk to a manager. please don't take it out on the server. nine times out of ten, its no one's fault. things are bound to happen.
when the restaurant gets packed, it becomes utter chaos, and it is humanly impossible for your server to service you and the dozens of other customers instantaneously, simultaneously. if you can't understand and accept this simple truth, then perhaps mcdonald's across the street can better suit your needs. that way if you are in a hurry, you can get a quick cup of coffee, and an apple pie. plus, you don't have to tip, and you never even have to get out of your car. but if you want atmosphere, personality, connectivity, and the most diverse menu on the planet, do yourself a favor, and befriend the staff at cafe intermezzo. thank your barista for the coffee, make small-talk with the host, and tip your server accordingly!