The following newsletter is for folks in the restaurant business that are ready to look at work differently, while staying true to their creative roots that led them to hospitality in the first place; like those unicorn Gen Xers still working the floor - that love what they do, while also acknowledging what once was a good fit, needs to evolve. It’s also for folks who have been laid off or are simply tired of being tired when it comes to how we work.
At some point in a restaurant career the body and mind will start to leave hints - both big and little, that working the floor may have a shelf life. And while we rarely discuss the many pains that can lead us to leaving it - which are worthy of discussion, we often only see a few paths after our in service days are behind us.
No matter the positions front or back of house, most folks usually move into sales or service of some other sort - Bartenders become Nurses, Sommeliers become Wine Reps, Chefs become Instructors - the list goes on, because our professional1 skills transfer well.
And while the presumably stable paycheck and “quality of life” can be a whole new world for our nervous systems and bank accounts, it often comes at the cost of creativity or flexibility - sometimes both. It’s also a trade off many cannot or simply don’t want to make. But what if we don’t have to?
How we work is changing and as the world burns around us literally and figuratively, folks are reprioritizing living a life that is nourishing rather than depleting - no matter the vocation. And it’s happening by building portfolio careers.
Seeing any type of art in person is always a win. It gets us thinking, and sometimes outside our comfort zone.
Portfolio Careers aren’t really new, even though the terminology still tends to send most to the internet for clarification. And folks working in restaurants have long been putting financial and creative puzzle pieces together to make up a life of pursuing dreams; while artists of all kinds have paid rent on the flexibility of restaurant work.
As we welcome in a new era of how to keep roofs over our heads, as well as engage in community to help our neighbors do the same - folks that have made restaurants both craft and career are in a prime season to put structure around something sustainable for the future.
A portfolio career is a professional path of multiple part-time jobs, freelance gigs or projects, often across different fields - instead of working a single full-time job with one employer. It’s a flexible and self-directed way of working that combines various income streams, interests and skills. And it typically includes layered creativity - in terms of how to make it all work to pay the rent and the vocational mediums it encompasses. It’s also a structure that builds safety when one stream hits a roadblock or worse, ruptures.
It’s been a part of the restaurant industry for decades, mostly across the middle class - and it is the future of sustainable work for folks thinking about moving or already in a position beyond the floor. And we don’t have to look far for revolutionary examples from the past.
Before becoming an American culinary icon, Julia Child worked for the Office of Strategic Services - a precursor to the CIA. While we know Josephine Baker for her performances in Paris - she was also a spy for the French Resistance in World War II. Edna Lewis was a legendary chef of the south and a founding voice of American farm to table cooking - long before the phrase became buzzy. She also worked in fashion as a seamstress.
Today, as the word hospitality has become expansive and far reaching beyond the walls of restaurants - we’ve seen portfolio careers take shape on premise and off. So much so, that the playbook seems to now write itself: excel in a field, then find ways to branch out (expand the portfolio) and diversify revenue streams. Depending on values, purpose and goals - this can also include going viral, winning game shows, getting private equity funding, and/or a product acquired.
Yet, the biggest examples I’ve seen in my own life of portfolio careers are from middle class, restaurant folks. Those often known by their neighbors and in local communities, with little recognition while grinding out a solid life working the floor - while also writing, drawing, playing music, traveling and anything else that fills up the creative soul.
Musicians, writers and artists turned sommelier, chef and barista pour their creativity into the craft, leaving little room for anything else. And while that has become a badge of honor in the current state of our industry, it can often leave creative folks feeling depleted and looking around for next steps in new paths.
At The Luncheonette I talk a lot about the creative, middle class because portfolio careers don’t have to be reserved for those with more access or money. While both of those things can sometimes make it easier, they aren’t the defining elements needed to start working in a way that may look unrecognizable to some, but feels natural to creative folks.
Work is changing. Businesses are being forced to pay folks a living wage - which all humans deserve. Because of that it’s not only working folks that benefit from portfolio careers - restaurants can as well. However, it can be difficult to see a different way of working when you’re trying to make payroll, after paying retail tax and execute marketing plans while managing staff - which means that part of the portfolio career conversation needs to include all aspects of the restaurant industry embracing this idea - but we’ll leave that piece for another time.
Collaborative, evolving, living art
Two years ago I told a zoom room full of former restaurant folks that had all made the move to a corporate, hospitality adjacent world that I wanted to build space for a network of makers - which led to all six of them chiming in with what they were working on outside of the nine to five grind. Each of them noting, they didn’t want to turn a hobby into a side hustle - rather, they wanted to get creative and find a way to live a more connected, grounded life. Centering the work that they loved, without having to sacrifice their wellbeing. I vowed after hearing their stories, that I would ramp up exploration of my own creative work while building a safety net to sustain myself when I did make the leap to working differently.
Today, it’s happening - my music and art centric worlds from the 90s have started to take new shape with my hospitality and beverage career. Zero proof, zines, workshops, courses, digital products and events have become my personal hodgepodge of a portfolio career. It’s only come with great costs, and diligent organizational skills2 - because portfolios take time to create, and even longer to build a network around. All of which doesn’t necessarily generate revenue right away.
But it can, and it’s a power move in this moment. Not in a viral, social media ‘look how great everything is’ monthly drop of hustle reels. In a way that builds agency, community and sustainability into how we work - without losing the ability to live with decency while being creative.
Yes, to be able to do so is rooted in privilege but part of a portfolio career is that last block of Legacy & Leadership - where those of us who have an opportunity to brave a new way of working clear a path and help other folks find their way from the floor to the future.
Beyond the paywall this week are examples of hospitality careers evolving into a portfolio. If you are not a paying subscriber, the resource is also available on the Aldea Hospitality + Productions website.
The Luncheonette is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support the creative middle class - consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
