For Some, Y2K Eve Is Priceless Party Time

If bartender Tom Hawbecker wanted to work New Year’s Eve, he could make a cool $1,000 plus tips. That’s about two weeks’ wages for one night’s work.

But when 1999 ticks to a close, the 25-year-old North Hollywood resident intends to be in Las Vegas with his pals--bartenders and catering workers who also are turning down high-paying offers to cheer in the new year.

“It’s 2000,” Hawbecker said. “You’ve got the rest of your life to work and make money.”

Although Y2K galas have created a potential bonanza for party-related businesses, workers who would rather sip champagne than serve it on New Year’s Eve are causing headaches for companies that are trying to cash in on the Big Night.

Party planners say they are swamped with requests for their services but are stymied by labor concerns. Some workers are demanding $100 an hour--five times their usual pay--to pull a New Year’s Eve shift. Others, like Hawbecker, won’t work regardless of the pay, because they want to participate in the revelry.

“If you know anyone who’s ever worked in the business, now’s the time for them to dust off their black-and-whites and get back out there, because there’s money to be made,” said Peter Lydon, general manager of Posh Parties & Special Events in Costa Mesa.

To ensure they’ll have workers and still come out ahead, caterers are bumping wages, raising their rates and limiting the number of jobs they’ll accept.

“We’ve told clients we have to apologize for our New Year’s Eve rates, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime [event] and our servers look at it the same way you do,” said Karen Knapp, co-owner of Creative Cuisine in Orange, which has turned down at least a dozen requests in the last three weeks to cater New Year’s Eve parties.

Disc jockeys and bands also have dramatically increased their rates. DJs who make $500 to $750 on an average Saturday night--and get $1,000 to $1,500 on the typical New Year’s Eve--are demanding up to $3,500 this Dec. 31, said Wayne Matteson, a talent agent and event coordinator for Jam Entertainment & Events in Costa Mesa.

“You have to maximize the amount you make,” explained Bryan Wagstaff, a Costa Mesa musician. “New Year’s is like Boardwalk on a Monopoly board. That’s the night.”

Higher labor costs figure to eat into profits of party-related businesses.

“Typically, we pay double [on New Year’s Eve] and we’re paying triple this year, and that’s for our regular loyal staff who will work for us for that money,” said Jerry Edwards, owner of Chef’s Expressions in Baltimore and president of the National Assn. of Catering Executives. “If I have to bring somebody in from the outside, they want five times my regular pay.”

Knapp of Creative Cuisine has felt the same pressure. “They say, ‘You make it worth my while or I’m not working,’ ” she said.

Most caterers have a staff of “permanent part-time” workers, who may also work for several other companies. When caterers need additional help, they hire workers from temporary agencies.

Nationwide, catering workers--who perform such services as unloading trucks, serving hors d’oeuvres, pouring drinks and cleaning up--generally make $8 to $20 an hour. Wages generally rise on New Year’s Eve, industry experts say, but never to the peaks being reached this year.

Total Success Event Services, a Hermosa Beach labor leasing company, gets about 10 calls a day from individuals, corporations and caterers wanting staff for New Year’s Eve, President Rich Fuson said. But he turns them away because he doesn’t want to make promises he can’t keep.

Although he has a roster of about 600 servers, bartenders and culinary employees, Fuson said he has struggled to line up 250 workers for the jobs he has already accepted.

“We’ve just been slammed this season,” he said.

Workers who would normally make $75 to $150 for a six-hour shift, will make an average of $400 to $600 this New Year’s Eve, he said. He charges customers about 25% to 30% over that amount, but it’s considerably less than what some of his competitors are charging, Fuson said.

“We want to protect our reputation, and we’re taking it cautiously,” he said. “Some companies are charging about 10 times normal rates.”

Even after agreeing to pay top dollar, caterers say, they still have nightmares that workers will decide on a whim to go partying themselves New Year’s Eve, leaving hors d’oeuvre trays and bars unattended. That rash-provoking prospect has caused some caterers to trim commitments and rely only on their regular workers.

For example, Edwards of Chef’s Expressions booked four Dec. 31 events whereas he normally would have handled seven.

“I didn’t want to put myself in a position where I was dependent on 15 people I normally don’t work with to show up that night,” he said. “That’s not unusual. I’m hearing that all over the country,”

As it turns out, the long-awaited party season has drizzled disappointment on some businesses, particularly the hotels and restaurants that miscalculated by ratcheting up prices beyond what consumers would pay, said Randall Hiatt, president of Fessel International, a restaurant consulting firm in Irvine.

“Everybody went for the big price gouge,” he said.

But when those events fizzled, most bands and disc jockeys quickly lined up new gigs for the night.

“It’s still going to be the biggest night in the history of entertainment,” Jam Entertainment’s Matteson said.

Disc jockey and musician Phillip Roa, a La Habra resident, signed about six months ago to play New Year’s Eve at the now-closed Planet Hollywood restaurant in Costa Mesa. It didn’t take him long to recover when that job caved in.

Within 10 minutes, Jam Entertainment had lined up another job--at twice the usual New Year’s rate. And Roa will keep his deposit from Planet Hollywood.

Although some big events flopped, home parties have amplified the demand for caterers and musicians. In some cases, neighborhoods are throwing block parties, with residents sharing the cost.

Posh Parties & Special Events is planning a New Year’s Eve bash for one Orange County customer whose home will be transformed into an ocean liner, featuring various ports of call, General Manager Peter Lydon said. The theme: “Cruising the Millennium.” The cost: $60,000, not including alcohol. About 150 guests are invited.

“We went for the one big kill,” said Lydon, who declined to identify his big-spending customer.

For the season overall, Lydon said, he has not detected the frenzy many anticipated. “It actually seems a little flat compared to the expectation,” he said.

Generally, caterers say they are enjoying an increase in business this holiday season compared with last year. Creative Cuisine is in the midst of what one employee called the “Christmas crunch.”

The hectic holiday partying season will keep Hawbecker and his catering and bartender friends busy, making up for the night that they won’t be working.

“We’re trying to squeeze in the hours now,” he said, “so we can take that night off and just have it for ourselves.”

Someday, Hawbecker said, when his grandchildren ask him what he did Dec. 31, 1999, he’ll have a story to tell them. And it won’t be about tending bar.

“I’m not going to say I was working,” he said.