Welcome back to the internet’s favorite weekly contest (on this blog) showcasing the strangest stories occurring in restaurants from around the world. I’m your host, Dave Hayden, and I have diligently searched newsfeeds, public access television, and even some of your phone lines (thanks Patriot Act) to bring you this week’s top stories from restaurants […]
Most Recent Posts

Weird Restaurant Stories 8/21
For a while now I have tried to come up with a weekend concept for this blog. Traffic is down on the weekends and I wanted to come up with something lighthearted for everyone to enjoy. Last week’s point/counterpoint on why it is a good or bad idea to date coworkers didn’t work out that […]
The Upside of Dating Co-Workers
(Note: This is part two of the point/counter-point of dating co-workers. Â In part one I recalled the painful situations I have seen and experienced over the years. Â Taking the side of dating co-workers is our resident Spanish language adviser and PhD candidate Senor Esparza. Â He takes the position that it is in fact beneficial to […]

Why Not To Date Co-Workers
It is that time of year. Love or at least heavy lust is in the air.  That means just one thing in the restaurant business. It is too hot to sit on the patio. Well that and co-workers are starting the annual mating ritual. At the most recent count, there are six confirmed couples at […]

The Card
Generally I try to focus on tips on how to be a better server, a better manager, or just my random musings on the industry when I sit down to write for this blog. I made it a point when I started this blog to never become another server writing about how annoying his guests […]

The Evolution of Free Bread
In the far corner of Southeast Missouri is a town called Sikeston. If you have heard of Sikeston, MO it is probably because of a restaurant called Lambert’s Café. I’ve eaten at Lambert’s a number of times over the years, but don’t recall what I had. I always remember the food being good, but nothing […]

Retiring Jokes
I was 13 years old back in 1988. I know who Flo Jo and Greg Louganis are. I will never misspell potato. I remember President Reagan. I had a crush on Jessica Rabbit. I saw Rattle and Hum on my 13th birthday because it was rated PG-13.  My girlfriend taught me to dirty dance, but […]
Top Ten Songs About Waitresses
In all fairness, I spend a lot of time writing posts that share valuable information about how to make more money as a server. This is not one of those posts. Instead today I am in a bit of a celebratory mood. Last week, this blog finally broke the 1000 views in a week mark. […]
How To Flirt With Your Server
As a single man in his thirties, I can attest to the fact that it is difficult to meet people in a modern world. It is tough to meet people in a highly cynical and technological society. Dating co-workers is wrought with pitfalls and in social settings people move in intimidating packs. As your social […]
I Make Mistakes Too
It takes a certain amount of hubris to write a blog like this. To sit back and write about how to be a better server almost implies that you think you are good enough to be emulated. I will never claim to be the world’s greatest server. I do consider myself humbly better than average, […]
Clip Show: Starting a Blog
In television they call them clip shows. Instead of producing a new show, they edit together clips of old shows to create the illusion of a new episode. So I am right about at the two month mark on this blog. I could dishonestly say that this post is a clip show. In reality I […]
- The Greatest Customer Complaint Response Ever September 23, 2010
- Why Not To Date Co-Workers August 14, 2010
- My Response: 25 Things Chefs Never Tell You September 16, 2010
- A Food Critic Intervention August 31, 2010
- The Card August 10, 2010
- Random Thoughts from a Server 65: Beer Glasses July 20, 2013
- T-Shirts for Servers 5 July 19, 2013
- Random Thoughts from a Server 64: Chef Gordon Ramsey July 17, 2013
- Random Thoughts from a Server 63: Jealous Boyfriends July 16, 2013
- Random Thoughts from a Server 62: Wine Keys July 15, 2013
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About The Author
David Hayden was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He took his first serving job in 1996. Since that time, he has worked for over a dozen different restaurant companies. He has held both hourly and salaried positions at independent and corporate restaurants. He has waited on over 100,000 guests and trained hundreds of servers. He has been named "Best Server in Kansas City" the last three years by the local weekly paper.