Sean Cole
Porter, Sierra Gold, ultra tavern
by Greg Jones
When General Manager Rusty Oakes came to the Golden Tavern Group for the 2005 opening of Sierra Gold ultra-tavern near Jones and the 215, he brought with him one of the hardest workers he knew in Sean Cole. The two worked together at another restaurant across town, and it didn’t take Oakes long to see he had something special in Cole that he wanted to take with him when he made the jump. Cole is described as a hard worker and a team player who will successfully handle anything that needs to be done; for him, no job is too big or too small. “You have to go above and beyond what is expected of you,” Cole explained. “You have to have the drive and be willing to put in the hard work.” But in the hospitality business, brawn will only get you so far. After all, with seemingly thousands of video poker bars, and more and more taverns opening up daily, creating satisfied customers is just as important as all the behind the scenes work. “This business is about taking care of people,” he said. “If you treat people well, they’ll come back. If you know what they drink and you have it ready for them when you see them come in, it really makes people feel special.” And that, as much as his outgoing and quirky personality, has people coming back to Sierra Gold and asking for him by name.
Greg Jones is the managing editor of the Nevada issue of
Casino Connection, as well as the associate editor of
Global Gaming Business.
