Americano Restaurant & Bar at Hotel Vitale, a Joie de Vivre hotel in San Francisco, announced that Chris Bahrke has returned as the director of food-and-beverage and Eric Day has been promoted to head bartender for the restaurant. The two have nearly four decades of combined experience in the service industry.
“I am thrilled to be back and to lead such a talented and accomplished team,” Bahrke said. “I look forward to building upon Americano’s outstanding reputation and continuing to bring guests an elevated dining experience reflective of its location on the bay.”
Bahrke comes to Americano most recently from the Clift Hotel in San Francisco, where he served as the assistant director of F&B. As the department head, he oversaw financial aspects of the hotel, such as forecast and budget, profit and loss, and managed the hotel’s extensive nightlife offerings. Prior to the Clift Hotel, Bahrke served as the F&B manager at Americano. In this position, he took ownership of the bar, lounge, restaurant and Hotel Vitale’s in-room dining. Bahrke previously held positions as a busboy, food runner, lead server, bartender, roomservice server and floor supervisor, working his way up to managerial and directorial roles with increasing responsibilities, culminating in nearly 20 years of restaurant experience.
Day also has an impressive background with more than 20 years of experience in the service industry. After moving to the Bay Area from Belgium in 1996, he served in several capacities and developed a dynamic skillset. Before joining the team at Americano in 2005, Day held a bartending position at Murio’s Trophy Room for five years. He previously worked in chain restaurants, such as Claim Jumper and P.F. Chang’s, where he gained his bar speed from working the busy nightlife scenes. After gaining experience in these restaurants, Day worked with nightclub company SF Clubs, rotating between four clubs in San Francisco. His passion and pride for Americano propelled him to earn his new position as head bartender, where he will play a significant role in developing the beverage program and menu offerings.
“It’s an exciting opportunity to now serve as head bartender after being on the Americano team for over a decade,” said Day. “We have always offered guests an exceptional bar and dining experience here in San Francisco, as it is a mecca for local, sustainably-grown fare and we utilize all the great ingredients this bountiful area has to offer.”