Who's Behind the Counter: Candace Bonnie at Bill Bateman's Bistro

Reisterstown resident Candace Bonnie has been eating at Bill Bateman’s Bistro ever since it opened. Now, she can’t be more thrilled to be working there.

A married mother of two, Bonnie loves the restaurant when it’s at its busiest and relishes the opportunity to talk to swarms of different people every day.

Coming up on her fourth year at Bateman’s, Bonnie sat down with Patch to talk about why she’s perfectly suited to be a hostess, her thoughts on the Ravens AFC Championship debacle and more.

Patch: What do you like about living in Reisterstown in general?

Bonnie: The access to everything. We have a lot of shopping, we have a lot of dining. Most of the friends that I grew up with are still in the area. A lot of the ones who have moved away have come back. It’s a very hometown kind of feel for me. I really couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. It seemed like the most logical thing to get a job working at a place that’s close to home, close to my children's schools, so I have easy access to everything from here.

What is special about Bateman’s? What makes it fun to come to work every day?

Bateman’s is definitely a family oriented restaurant. It definitely feels like a family with the employees that work here—and we do have a lot of employees—from the bar staff to the servers and the kitchen staff. Some of them have been here as long as me and some have been here longer. Some of our chefs have been in our kitchen for over 14 years. When you come in, it’s kind of like leaving your first home to come to your second home … There have been opportunities to go other places, I just can’t imagine being somewhere else because you want go to a job that you can enjoy that’s fun and rewarding. The hours they provide for me are very accommodating to my schedule.

What qualities do you think you have that make you a good, friendly hostess?

I think I’m about as perfect of hostess as you can be. When people walk in, I’m a talker. I grew up in this town in a way where that social aspect of things is really important. I’m not shy, I love to talk to people and I think when you have a host, that’s what you’re looking for. A host is the first point of contact for somebody when they come in a restaurant. You want to see somebody that looks excited to be there and looks excited that you’re there. And, they’re not just here like, ‘hey, thanks for coming.’

When you’re up front answering phones you also want to be the one on the phone that sounds cheery. That makes it appealing to people to want to come in. When you’re on the phone with them telling them about the specials and things that are coming up as far as events, that gets them interested and makes them want to come in.

Were you a natural at it right away, or did you have to get a feel for it first when you started?

I had never done hostessing before, but I’ve owned businesses and worked in food service. Having been in customer service many years in my life, starting out when I was young at Owings Mills Mall like a lot of people did … Then I took a hiatus from the food service and was still doing customer service in my own business, so that kept up the skills with communicating with people. I was never afraid to be a public speaker. I’m somebody who is very comfortable talking with people.

Were you here Sunday for the AFC championship? How was the crowd?

I heard there was a huge crowd. I wasn’t here. I don’t do a lot of weekends because of the children. But that’s the other great thing about Bateman’s. In addition to being a family oriented restaurant, the sports fans in Baltimore are really like no other fans, and it does get very loud here in terms of excitement.

Did you get to watch the game though? Do you think Lee Evans caught the ball?

Yes. I thought he did. I have a son who is 11 who is a diehard Ravens fan. It was a devastating moment when the field goal was missed at the end. His heart literally broke. There were tears and that split second of wanting to give up your Ravens fandom, but a couple hours later he comes to me and says, ‘you know, I have to move on.’

I heard that a lot of sports professionals looked at it the next day and said that if it had been ruled a touchdown on the field and reviewed they wouldn’t have overturned it. I guess that’s where the heartbreak comes in. you’re this close and you know we had the chance to win it, and as we all know from seasons of Ravens football, refs are not  always on our side, especially when you are going against a Tom Brady team.

After a long shift, you’ve been on your feet a long time, what’s the first thing you like to do when you go home?

You’d like to think I would go home and relax but I actually don’t. I go home and I work out every single day. That is my first goal when I get home: to get my exercise on … The day doesn’t end for me at the end of work. When you have children you kind of feel like work is your break from the day. The day kind of starts. I get home, my son gets home, then my daughter home. Then there’s homework and dinner and showers. The day starts early at five and it ends late. Work is a break in between.

Editors Note: This conversation has been shortened and lightly edited for brevity.