Dear Floor Manager,
I'm applying for the Server position at Alinea. For the last three years I've been a server at a 90-seat fine-dining Italian concept in Chicago, running a 6-table section at 140-180 covers on Friday and Saturday service with an average $62 per-cover check — a volume and craft profile close to what Alinea's front of house runs during tasting-menu turns.
My wine sales have been consistently top 3 of 14 servers on the floor — I moved the house per-cover wine spend from $14 to $22 over 2024 through tableside tastings and pairing recommendations, which drove about $180 in incremental nightly sales. I trained 5 new servers through a 4-week structured onboarding program last year (all past 90 days, 2 promoted to captain), and I work in Toast POS and SevenRooms reservations daily. I hold a Court of Master Sommeliers Introductory Certification (2023), TIPS (2024), and Illinois BASSET (2023).
Alinea's approach to tasting-menu service and the level of operational polish your team is known for are the specific reasons I'd like to make this move — and the rotation structure you publicly describe is exactly the kind of structured craft development I want next in my career.
Happy to trail a shift at your convenience and meet the team. Thank you for reading.
Respectfully, Alex Martin
