Welcome back to The Gatekeepers, wherein Eater and its correspondents traipse about town with the hope of meeting the fine men and women standing between you and some of your favorite impossible-to-get tables.
Jennifer Yin, 1/24/08
Despite a fourth birthday looming in February and the recent arrival of a hot younger sibling, A16 continues to be one of the more difficult reservations in town to nab. Friday and Saturday nights reservations at A16, in particular, remain coveted items for both local Marina-ites and non-neighborhood folk alike. While Nate Appleman does his thing in the kitchen and owner-wine director Shelley Lindgren handles her duties everywhere, Ms. Kellie Dunmore is the woman standing between the masses and that wood-fired oven.
Kellie Dunmore, Manager of A16: "There are about 100 seats. Anywhere is a great seat, but I love the chef's counter watching the pizza oven" 8 PM on a Saturday night. What's the wait for a table? "Depends. It could be twenty minutes, could be an hour."
Is there anything I can say to make my wait shorter? Let us know your party is complete, and being understanding also helps." [Ed. note: Sshhh, don't tell The Bauer about the party (not) being complete!] ... How about gifts or cash to speed things along? "Very nice thoughts, but we prefer to be fair, seating guests in the order they arrived."
Tell us about your favorite customers? Any celebs been by recently? "My favorite customers are all of our regulars! They are all awesome." How do you deal with VIPs, when there are no tables left to give? "Kindly and patiently. We always try to be fair and accomodating." ...the owner's friends? "The same."
What's the most outrageous request from a customer you've had to accommodate? "One person wanted us to charge their Blackberry while they dine." ...that you couldn't accommodate? "We do our best to accommodate almost anything." What's the one Gatekeeper tool you need to do your job? "My fabulous staff!"
· A16 [Official Site]
· The Gatekeepers: David Williams, The Slanted Door [~ESF~]
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