Ray Foley - Running a Bar For Dummies

Ray Foley, a former Marine with more than 30 years of bartending and restaurant experience, is the founder and publisher of BARTENDER magazine. BARTENDER is the only magazine in the world specifically geared toward bartenders and is one of the very few primarily designed for servers of alcohol. BARTENDER magazine is enjoying its 27th year, currently has a circulation of more than 150,000, and is steadily growing.

After serving in the United States Marine Corps and attending Seton Hall University, Ray entered the restaurant business as a bartender, which eventually led to his becoming assistant general manager of The Manor in West Orange, New Jersey, with more than 350 employees. At The Manor, he instituted a video-in-house training program one of the first in the country. Ray is very proud to say that many of his students are now serving in such capacities as owners, managers, and vice presidents of national restaurants, general managers of major hotel chains, as well as bartenders and waiters at some of the nations finest dining establishments. In 1983, Ray left The Manor to devote his full efforts to BARTENDER magazine.

Ray is the author of The Ultimate Cocktail Book;The Ultimate Little Shooter Book;The Ultimate Little Martini Book;The Ultimate Little Blender Book;Advice from Anonymous;Spirits of Ireland;Jokes, Quotes and Bartoons; and, of course, Bartending For Dummies, now in its third edition. He has also published numerous articles in many magazines, including Playboy and Mens Health, and has appeared on TV and radio shows, including The David Susskind Show, ABC-TV News, CBS News, NBC News, Good Morning America, The Joe Franklin Show, Larry King Live, Patricia McCann, WOR-TV, and Live with Regis and Kathy Lee. Ray also serves as a consultant to some of the USAs foremost distillers and importers. He is also responsible for naming and inventing new drinks for the liquor industry, including the Fuzzy Navel.

Ray is the founder of the Bartender Hall of Fame, which honors the best bartenders throughout the United States, not only for their abilities as mixologists but for involvement in their communities. Ray is also the founder of The Bartenders Foundation Inc. This non-profit foundation raises scholarship money for bartenders and their families. Scholarships awarded to bartenders are used to either further their own education or go toward the education of their children.

Ray resides in New Jersey with his wife and partner of 25 years, Jackie, and their son, Ryan. He is also the father of three other wonderful and bright children: Raymond Pindar, William, and Amy.

Ray is foremost and always will be a Bartender.

For more information, please contact Jackie Foley at BARTENDER magazine, P.O. Box 158, Liberty Corner, NJ 07938; phone 908-766-6006; fax 908-766-6607; e-mail barmag@aol.com , Web site www.bartender.com.

A veteran of both the restaurant and publishing industries, Heather Dismores published works include such titles as Running a Restaurant For Dummies, Jewelry Making & Beading For Dummies (both published by Wiley), and most recently, Start Your Restaurant Career, published by Entrepreneur Press. She has contributed to many books on a variety of subjects, including Diabetes Cookbook For Dummies, 2nd Edition, John Paul II For Dummies, and Einstein For Dummies.

A graduate of DePauw University, she succumbed to the restaurant business while applying to law school. She orchestrated the openings of 15 new restaurants and developed the training, procedural, and purchasing systems that were used as the gold standard in numerous concepts throughout her tenure. She rapidly rose through the ranks at such regional and national chains as The Italian Fisherman, Don Pablos Mexican Kitchen, and Romanos Macaroni Grill.