A Toast to Teamwork, Running and Boundaries with Nick Amano-Dolan of Trick Dog

Trick Dog is an acclaimed cocktail bar in San Francisco, California. Their unique approach to drinks has won them multiple James Beard nominations and wins, the World’s Best Cocktail Menu award from Tales of the Cocktail, recognition on the World’s 50 Best Bars list twice(!) and more. Known for their ever-changing menu, twice a year the bar introduces a new concept that keeps  both guests and staff on their toes. Since opening in San Francisco’s Mission District in 2013, Trick Dog’s menu has taken the form of a Pantone color wheel, a children’s book, and even a museum guidebook, with drinks paying homage to the many themes the team has incorporated over the years.

At Toast, we create technology to help restaurants thrive, but we also know it takes a team of hardworking people from front to back of house to power great hospitality experiences every day. The “Toast to…” series salutes those individuals and gets to the heart of what makes this industry so special. We sat down with Trick Dog General Manager Nick Amano-Dolan to toast the team that helps him create work-life balance, the coffee shop that keeps them running like a well-oiled machine, and the run club that helps them all remember to enjoy life.

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? How long have you worked in restaurants?

I'm 31 years old, and I have been working in restaurants for the majority of my working life. The first job that I had when I was 13 was making sandwiches at this spot called Le Grand Appetit. It was kind of like the neighborhood hangout where I grew up in Great Falls, VA, my friends and I would hang at the pool and get our money together to split a sandwich or something like that. I ended up making friends with the family that worked there, and they offered me a job. That was my first taste of hospitality, taking care of people, even with simple sandwiches and stuff. Since then, from 13 on, I've kind of always had a foot in the door. 

I've been a server, host, expo, barback — I've kind of worked every position, front and back of the house. I even had a little stint making sushi in Sacramento. I kind of bounced around a bit, I was in Virginia and Florida working in restaurants, which is where I started bartending. I went back to Sacramento where I continued bartending, and was there until I came and joined the team at Trick Dog.

I’m the GM, and my role has also evolved — I also serve as Beverage Director for the group [The Bon Vivants]. My role now is majority behind the scenes, but I do hang out for service, mostly just because I still love being in service. I love being a bartender. I still like hopping behind the bar and trying to help guests, and even though I'm not very fast anymore as a bartender—the bartenders normally want to kick me out of there so that they can make the drinks in a proper amount of time. You know, it's still probably my favorite thing about the job, taking care of people, having them belly up to the bar, and learning about who they are and what their story is. 

How do you explain your job to your parents?

It's a funny question because early on, I was trying to explain it from the point of earning their validation about the job. I would talk a lot about P&Ls and scheduling, and all the administrative tasks I was doing. Now that I've just gotten cozy in the role, I think they've come to really love what I do, too, and they see all the fun, different things I get to do. So now, typically when I'm talking to them and describing my job, I just say, “I'm going to throw a party.” You know, we were doing some traveling in Hong Kong and Sydney, and they were asking about it, and they're like, “What are you doing there?” And I was like, “Oh, we're just going to throw a party.” And I like keeping it as simple as possible now. 

If there’s one thing you would want people to know about your job, what would it be? 

That it doesn't have to be such a grind. When I started young in this industry, there was so much of a culture of bragging about how hard you're working, and I would absolutely participate in that. And now, when I hear people doing that, it kind of just sounds like they're bragging about their inefficiencies. I feel like a lot of times I was really resistant to advice or help from people above me, and now, I realize this industry can be complex, and it can be difficult, and it can be stressful, but your perspective on it and the boundaries that you set are all within your control. 

Is there anything special about Trick Dog compared to other places you’ve worked that allows for that?

Having a good team. You can't have those boundaries or be able to go to sleep with nothing, no anxiety on your brain at night if you don't trust in the people that are working for you and who you are working with. I feel like I have a tremendous amount of capable and talented individuals that are looking to grow, and take on more. There's no bigger key to success than having strong individuals around you that are also passionate about the work and want to do a good job.

I think another big aspect at Trick Dog is how our menu changes. We change our menu every six months, and it's not quite like opening a new bar, but it is very similar. There's new glassware, new ingredients, new setups, new wine, new beer, and spirits to learn about—every six months, we're throwing everything out and starting from scratch. There are templates that we work with, but in going through that process, it really helps sharpen us each time, when you've gone through a certain amount of menu flips, it starts not to feel as heavy of a lift, it’s like a well-oiled machine.

The last thing I’d like to shout out is the BV Run Club. I came into this industry really passionate, really excited, like a lot of others, and the idea of owning a bar was definitely a goal. It was always kind of worrying or disheartening when I would see owner/operators just not getting a lot of enjoyment out of life, so one of the things that drew me to being a part of a Trick Dog and the Bon Vivants was Josh Harris, who lives life to the fullest both in the bar and beyond. 

This is kind of a boring answer, but also just using Google Drive. I use Google Drive and Slides and I’m trying to get better at Excel sheets. Every time that I'm making a new spreadsheet for an event, I wish that I paid more attention in class when we were going over that stuff. I’m always trying to get more savvy and find ways to navigate different tools so I can communicate with staff better and be able to lay out operations and all those kinds of things better. 

At Toast, it’s our mission to help restaurants thrive — what does “thriving” mean to you? What does a thriving restaurant look like?

I think it's just a happy, happy team. Happy staff is like a good barometer for the success and health of your restaurant or bar. It is a symptom of so many other factors—if they're happy, that means that hopefully the management's nice, everyone there is nice, and they're good to their employees. If they're happy, it means that they have reasonable work hours and good boundaries. If they're happy, it means that there's probably good business flow, it means typically the people that are coming into the space are happy, and the company is probably doing well. So I think a happy team and happy staff is a great barometer to look at the success of whether or not the bar is thriving.

Who in the industry (friend/mentor/icon you look up to) would you like to toast? 

We were just at the Sydney Cocktail Festival, which was put on by Stefano Catino, an owner/operator of the Maybe Cocktail Group in Sydney. I was absolutely blown away by the experience that they were able to create for all of the 17 international bars that came out, all of the guests, and all of their own staff. It was just one of those events where you could tell that every single detail was so intentionally thought out and well executed. The energy of the team was absolutely next level. And so, I would absolutely toast to Stefano Catino, what he's doing in Sydney is absolutely incredible and just super, super inspiring.

And what are you Toast-ing with today?

An oat milk latte from Sightglass Coffee, which is next door to the bar, and I could not appreciate their staff for caffeinating both myself and the rest of the team at Trick Dog. They are super crucial to our success.

Nick Amano-Dolan is General Manager at Trick Dog and Beverage Director for Trick Dog’s expanding restaurant group, The Bon Vivants. You can follow him on Instagram. To learn more about Trick Dog or book a table, you can visit their website, or follow them on Instagram.