"I know I'm not alone in saying this, especially for bartenders, but as a social butterfly, the separation of myself and the public has been a difficult one. I have 2 degrees, and still choose to be a bartender because I love being around people. Lots of people.
Financially I have suffered as well. We are a little over a month in and my apartment complex has done absolutely nothing to help with housing costs for anyone living here. My bar, thankfully, has been pulling their hardest to get us paid somehow, some way. Its stressful for everyone involved.
I will say, however, I'm happy that I've been in Austin during this time. No service industry I've ever worked in, in any other city, feels like this one. It's a very tight knit group of people here in Austin. And it's the closest thing I've got to family in this state. The response within the service industry community during this time has been incredible."
-Jess, StarBar