Oh Bennigans. Most people remember this restaurant for its Irish pub atmosphere and the infamous Monte Cristo sandwich. For us, though, it became the beginning of a story we never could have imagined.

It all began when Keith started bartending at the local Bennigans in Clarksburg. He enjoyed pouring drinks behind the bar while working alongside his friends. Unfortunately…with some unforeseen turn of events things changed and Keith became the “last man standing” of the original crew.

It’s funny how life works because at this very same point in time Amanda was starting to look for a new bartending job. As she came into Bennigans for a quick lunch one day, she ran into an old friend of hers that said they were hiring. Her friend then ran to the back to grab her manager and just like that Amanda found herself in the middle of an interview. Two days later Amanda was the newest Bennigans employee and was now working alongside Keith.

During their first shift together, Amanda and Keith were still trying to figure each other out. Keith had “taken his time” on some of Amanda's bar tickets (which she still won't let him forget) and Keith was still partial to keeping to himself and his guests instead of the newer crew. Despite this, they were able to build a strong friendship over the next couple months. They would bring one another preshift coffees and energy drinks, cover each other shifts, and grab drinks after work to unwind. One of their most memorable shifts together was St. Patty's Day. You see…every restaurant seems to have one or two days that are mandatory for every employee to work and the goal is just to survive the shift. This was that shift for bennigans and not only did we survive but we had so much fun working together.

Then one day, Keith told Amanda that he was splitting his time between bartending and working towards getting his Masters. She couldn’t have been more supportive, even though secretly she was a little sad she would be missing time with her best friend. This would turn out to be their first true test as there was a good chance it could have easily caused them to grow apart. Fortunately, they remained close friends throughout the program. Amanda would periodically check in to see how his classes were going, and Keith would surprise her at bennigans with a monster energy drink. As it turns out, the 49ers would have a great season that year which gave Keith ample excuse to visit Amada at work.

Little did we know that the world would change in 2020. For some, the lockdown was not so great. For us, we had the most amazing opportunity to learn, listen, grow, and really get to know each other. We couldn't be more appreciative to have had that experience and now excited to discover the journey which is yet to come.