A Seat at the Table
In the restaurant industry, the fast-paced environment and prevalence of workplace drug and alcohol use can be a trap for those struggling with substance abuse
Story by ANGELA WISSMAR
June 8, 2018 was a hard day for restaurant workers. Celebrity chef and personality Anthony Bourdain died after losing his battle with mental illness. A catalyst in creating conversation in the culinary world surrounding substance abuse, Bourdain was a hero to many in the hospitality industry.
In restaurants all over, chefs and servers feed others on weekends, late nights and holidays, just to feed themselves. With bread and butter, comes wine.
According to a 2015 national survey on drug and alcohol abuse by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, 19 percent of food service industry workers had abused illicit drugs in the past month alone. This study reported 17 percent of the food service industry had a substance use disorder, the highest in the national survey by industry.
Help groups like Big Table, a Spokane-based nonprofit, have come together to support restaurant workers with community-based development in an effort to prevent tragedies like Bourdain’s death.
Course 1: The perfect storm
“I’m an alcoholic and an addict, and I hardly ever said no,” said a member of Alcoholics Anonymous and former server who preferred to not be identified by name. “I don’t know one person who hasn’t been affected by an addict, or an alcoholic, or someone in their lives with substance abuse.”
After serving 14 months in federal prison on charges of drug possession, she committed to sobriety. She has been sober for the past six years. She now works as a volunteer for a chapter of Whatcom County’s Alcohol Anonymous.
She struggled with using illicit and prescription drugs that were first introduced to her by coworkers at a commercial franchise restaurant.
“I was like ‘Oh! that looks like fun.’ I tried different things because they were offered.” she said.
The drugs helped her work quickly to keep up with the fast pace of the dinner rush.
“I would love to get tips, but when I use to get tips, they’d go up my nose,” the former server said.
She is a mother of two, and now works as a maid to avoid being around alcohol at work. She spends time every week helping organize AA meetings and community outreach, and finds joy in helping people find sobriety.
“A lot of people in our program say, ‘The only thing you have to change is everything’ and that sucks, but how bad do you want a different life?” she said.
She believes it’s dangerous for a recovering addict to be around people drinking, at or outside of work.
“Sense and sounds are the two of our biggest triggers for memory. If I smell tequila it makes my mouth water. If I even think about the smell of a Corona, it makes my mouth water,” she said.
*Lee, whose name has been changed for privacy, has worked as a chef in the restaurant industry for six years. He struggled with substance abuse before he started working in the business, but things started to escalate both in the kitchen and after work.
“I was drinking a lot, I was taking a lot of Xanax, and one time I burned [a] pizza…and they fired me after that,” said Lee, who was working as what he calls a “prep-bitch” in the back of the house. At this point in his career, he was reading Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential.” Bourdain’s words encouraged him to move past the dishpit.
He’s worked this way up through the line over the past couple of years. He is now an assistant manager, but climbing the ladder hasn’t been easy.
“That place really broke me in, and it was a good thing that I started at the absolute bottom and had to work my way to the top.”
While being surrounded by alcohol in the workplace doesn’t always result in problems with substance abuse, for those who’ve struggled previously, it can be destructive.
“It was so hot on that line, and people are yelling at you all day, everyday,” Lee said. “So it feels really nice to come to work with a little bit of a buzz, and that’s when things started getting out of control.”
Lee’s story isn’t out of the ordinary for people in food service, according to a report by American Addiction Centers Inc.
“In most jobs, drinking at the office (or coming to work drunk) would be an instantly fireable offense; in the restaurant business, it is par for the course, almost a badge of pride,” the report said.
“You can clock in, get ripped up, show up to work and just coast,” Lee said. “There was a walk in, in the walk in everyone had a vape pen, everyone would bring weed to work. We would go rip bowls and pens on the breaks.”
Course 2: The road to recovery
Kevin Finch began his career as a food critic in eastern Washington. After seeing restaurant workers struggle with substance abuse, financial issues and mental health, in 2009 he founded Big Table, a nonprofit based out of Spokane.
Big Table is designed to help people in the industry keep their head above water by providing financial and emotional support.
“Someone in the industry once told me, ‘Here’s the deal, if you go to a new town and need a fix, you just talk to a couple dishwashers in a restaurant because they either are dealing or they know who are,’” Kevin said. “The supply and demand of substances, as well as bills to pay, leads to easy access in almost any kitchen.”
In Lee’s back of the house positions, wages were less lucrative as he didn’t earn tips and gratuity. He struggled to work full time to support himself while also attending university full-time his senior year of college.
“So, I’m at work, high and a little drunk, and then I clock off, beeline it to the bar, and get more fucked up. And then where is the homework?” Lee said, “Not a lot of stuff got learned, and not of lot of homework got done, so I withdrew from school.”
The kitchen and back of house positions earn close to minimum wage.
“You need 40 [hours], 35 is fine but really you need 40,” Lee said. “Taking time off for legitimate reasons is looked at as a weakness.”
Big Table’s mission works to help workers in these situations by providing support through community-based efforts, with shared meals and “caring for those in crisis, transition, or falling through the cracks.”
This is done through a referral process to the organization from a friend, or a coworker, or a boss of someone struggling.
“[Restaurant workers are] so successful at being hospitable that no one is paying attention to them,” Kevin said.
Outside of the case management, once a month the organization hosts a large dinner event, so that those who feed us can be served a fine meal, around a big table and decompress the stress of the industry. This event is about acknowledging the work of being hospitable, and having it be their turn to be waited on.
“Unless you’ve worked in the industry, you probably have no concept of how hard it is, and how much your feet can hurt at the end of the shift,” Kevin said. “What makes the difference is when people treat you like a human, rather than a faceless servant whose name is only going to be used if you screw something up.”
Kevin suggests restaurants help their employees with housing and transportation to work. Big Table suggests bonding activities that are not alcohol saturated for coworkers and staff to have fun. Restaurants in Seattle affiliated with Big Table have done yoga classes, laser tag and kayaking.
Lee said people of the industry could be better supported if they were paid more so they could work less physically demanding hours. He also said it would be nice if they could have short breaks besides cigarette breaks and air conditioning on the line to make the kitchen more workable.
The former server suggests a shift meal rather than a shift drink for those recovering. She also suggests changing one’s environment so they’re not constantly reminded of alcohol, and to reach out to your community for accountability.
Although food and drink brings people together, it’s not always obvious what goes on in the lives working behind the line.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, there are several resources available in the area, including Whatcom County Alcohol Anonymous, Big Table’s local Advocacy Group, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Ben’s Friends National Advocacy Group.
