Chris Lotton:
CLASS OF 1988
Hanford High SchoolClass of 1988
Hanford, CA
Chris's Story
Chris is single. Chris's schools include Hanford High School. Chris later attended California State University, San Bernardino (BS Psychology, Minor: Computer Science, Minor: Human Resources). Chris works(ed) at Swift Transportation, Southern Wine and Spirits.
Music Chris likes includes Garth Brooks, Led Zeppelin Official, Kid Rock. Movies Chris likes include Bourne.
One of Chris's favorite quotes is:"“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” - Benjamin Franklin".
More about Chris:"I now drive a Kenworth T660 (big rig) for a living. I have seen all but one of the lower 48 (damn Vermont) and will probably start on Canada in May. The information below is still a good read though!
Chris Lotton currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Chris graduated high school in 1988. After which he spent eight years in the Air Force as an Air Traffic Controller. Chris started out in the food and beverage industry by attending the American Bartenders' Association Professional Bartending Course in Palm Desert, California, in 1996. After which he started bartending at various facilities (ranging from three to five stars and from night clubs to casual and fine dining) in and around Palm Springs, California; The Europa Restaurant, Woodhaven Country Club, and The Village Pub just to name a few.
After working his way up to bar manager at The Village Pub, Chris was approached by the Store Manager of Beverages & more!, Eric. Eric said he liked Chris' style and personality and offered him an interview for a position with his company. Beverages & more! (BevMo, for those in the know) is a HUGE beverage retail chain in California. Chris started out with BevMo as a store clerk and helped open BevMo's in Palm Desert, San Diego, and Los Angeles, California, as well as, Ft. Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines, and Aventura, Florida. Eventually, Chris made it to Assistant Store Manager of the Aventura store before the company closed its Florida stores in 2000. Fortunately BevMo still thrives in cities throughout California.
After BevMo, Wolfgang Puck was kind enough to let Chris work at one of his Cafe's! OK, not Wolfgang himself, but Chris did get to meet and work next to him on a few occasions! Wofgang Puck's was a great place to work. Their server and bartender training is some of the best in the business. Staff went through two straight weeks of eight hour days of training. The first two hours of each day was spent eating the food! After that, the training concentrated on things such as proper table service, proper customer service, the importance of memorizing menu item recipes, and food and wine pairing. WPC was a great place to work. However, Chris' personality, skills, and talent were remembered once again.
While at BevMo in Florida, Chris ended up making quite a few good impressions with the account managers at National Distributng Company (NDC) who soon offered Chris a position. As a NDC wine Representative, Chris represented products such as Jack Daniel's whiskey, Bolla, Ravenswood, and Glen Ellen wines, and Spaten beer, to both on- and off-premise accounts. Chris took full advantage of the corporate training programs offered by NDC. These helped to fine tune the management skills needed to be an effective leader. There was only one drawback to this business: 90+ hour work weeks!
Chris decided to take advantage of his GI Bill benefits that he accrued in the Air Force and attend college. The idea was to concentrate on building knowledge, skills, and abilities that would be beneficial to a manager (owner?) in the beverage industry. He studied Computer Science, Psychology, and Human Resource Management at California State University San Bernardino. While there, he participated in extra-ciricular activities that helpe...Expand for more
d build leadership skills. He was President of two psychology clubs on campus and attended seminars, such as the Leadership Academy, took courses in business, management, and human resource management, made presentations and conducted research in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and attended conventions that pertained to these subjects, to develop a working knowledge of the regulatory policies, business processes, and social processes that make up the beverage industry. He received his Bachelors Degree in Psychology (with minors in Human Resource Management and Computer Science) in 2006.
While in college, starving students need to earn some extra cash. John Hardaway took Chris under his wing as the Bar Manager at the Holiday Inn Big Bear Chateau (currently Best Western Big Bear Chateau). John taught Chris about the technical aspects of computerized inventory control procedures. In turn, Chris worked with the Food and Beverage Manager, Executive Chef, and the General Manger on marketing, promotions, events, and menu planning and designing.
After graduation, Chris ventured into the wonderful world of restaurant management! He worked with teams at the Crab Pot in La Quinta, Morongo Casino Resort in Cabazon, Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, and Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California. He is now a proud team member of the largest beer, wine, spirit, and non-alcoholic beverage distributor in the U.S. - Southern Wine and Spirits.
Throughout Chris' career, he has learned, and subsequently, advocated the importance of enjoying one's job. One way of doing this is to find ways of entertaining not only your guests, but yourself as well. Chris has been flair bartending since 1997 and sees the benefits of this style of bartending not just in entertainment value, but in customer perception as well. When guests have fun at a bar or restaurant, they tend to tell their friends about that experience, which in turn generates more business. Chris is currently a member of the Flair Bartenders' Association.
Another way to do well in the beverage industry is to gain knowledge. Chris has benefited from the extensive product line at BevMo, National Distributing Co, and Southern WIne and Spirits to help him learn not just the different brands of beer, wines, and spirits, but the actual histories of these products AND their brands! When one knows how the products are made and the subtle nuances that differentiate the brands, mixology becomes a whole lot easier and fun. Numerous people have helped Chris develop his management and people skills.
As a bar or restaurant manager or owner, liability becomes a big concern. Chris had taken California's Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs (LEAD) training and realized it concentrated mostly on the State's view of alcohol responsibility. This is where Training for Intervention Procedures (TiPS) comes in. TiPS touches on LEAD training but takes it further by teaching participants how to serve alcohol responsibly. So where LEADs is mostly why, TiPS is the how to serve alcohol responsibly. It is difficult to find training locally while living in a remote location such as Big Bear. After searching and waiting for a session, to no avail, in or around Big Bear, Chris realized that there were many bartenders, servers, managers, and owners that were in the same predicament. He finally made the treachorous trip to Los Angeles and certified as a TiPS Trainer. He is now qualified to teach ALL nine of the TiPS Programs.
Current memberships include: National Restaurant Association, California Restaurant Association, Flair Bartenders Association, United States Bartending Guild (pending), Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, American Bartenders Association.".
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