Every day in New York City, restaurant doors open and waitstaff clock in, ready to prepare the space for the starved and parched. Aprons tied, hair pulled back, hands washed (at least figuratively), over a million Manhattaners warm themselves up to take orders, course dishes, and flash smiles at patrons from boroughs and countries alike. They’ll spend anywhere from five to 13 hours feeding and imbibing locals, tourists, celebrities and foodies, and in turn, keep one of the global food capitals alive and sizzling. Black, rubber-bottomed shoes will walk miles, climb stairs, and tap the ground in adrenaline as dinner rushes fulfill their titles and morning commutes beg to be caffeinated. Waiters, bartenders, and baristas weave around tables and one another, hustling through diners for gratuity.

After a shift of inevitable mayhem, you’d expect those workers to take themselves home and tuck themselves in, to rest until the next stretch of hospitality chaos.

Maybe the average person does.

The artists among them, however, swap their aprons for smocks and get to their real work.

Moving to New York City in pursuit of an artistic career is a worn, warm path, tread upon at some point by some of the most well-known actors, writers, painters and musicians in history. The island’s pace mixed with its expressive personality creates an ever-evolving microcosm of opportunity and inspiration. Those who can survive the dysfunctionality of being a New Yorker come to crave the lifestyle.

New York’s painters, actors and musicians of the future are taking down the temperature you’d like your fish and the type of milk you want in your coffee. They are specifying your martini order, making leaves of milk in your lattes, and engaging with you – a complete stranger – from aperitif to after dinner drink, all to stay in the city of creativity and chance. They sustain the hunger of the city to feed their own dreams. These are their stories.

Waiting Magazine

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Waiting Magazine

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