WNY School of Bartending, Williamsville

Seasoned restaurateur Paul Briandi had already spent decades in the hospitality industry when he started WNY School of Bartending in 1978. Now located in a 2,800-square-foot facility, the company entertains the drink-mixing ambitions of both amateurs and soon-to-be professionals seeking certification. Paul's band of New York State Education Department-certified instructors focuses on both drink-mixing skills and the professional demeanor that characterizes top-notch service and leads to tips in more monetary forms than emoticons written on a napkin. The full-scale facility offers plenty of hands-on learning in garnish preparation, measuring methods, and computerized sales systems common to the industry. The instructors draw upon long barkeeping careers to engage students in role-playing scenarios, along with other instructional tricks that instill the importance of customer interaction—the finer points of which the school boasts as its specialty.