Photo by David Lebow (@lbow.3)
COVID 19 has brought waves of uncertainty throughout many communities. Historic London Town would like to take this time to record the voices of some in our community who have been deeply affected. In this series, we interviewed educators and restaurant workers within the community to gain their insight on how they have been affected by this global event.
Because our c.1760 William Brown House originally began as a tavern, we wanted to hear from people connected to the restaurant and bar industry today. So, we reached out to Josh Swisher, who is the Bar Manager at Tsunami, to ask him about his experiences in the field and how it’s impacted today.
What do you love about your job?
It has been a place for me to really hone my skills as a craft bartender while maintaining a welcoming home feel bar human interaction is key in building relationships and that's one of my strengths.
What is the biggest challenge of your job?
It can be very mentally draining. You spend 10 hours caring about everyone else's problems you get run down by the end it can really take its toll on you.
What is the hardest part of the COVID-19 situation?
It completely devastated my industry. As I said human interaction is key in what I do without customers to entertain it makes me irrelevant.
When this all ends what are you most looking forward to?
Going back to work! Hugging my friends.
What can people do to help your community?
There are numerous bar relief funds out right now. One of the main being the USBG relief you could donate to that. Order takeout from places still doing it. Over tip for it. We're all struggling and unsure of when we'll be able to work again. For someone with a career in this field, it's quite scary.