Running a brewpub isn’t easy- it’s a lot of work, a lot of sweat and the occasional tears.

There are a lot of good, earnest people working behind the scenes, who put in a great deal of effort, round-the-clock, to ensure that everything you love about Toit stays that way.
And these people are none other than our never-tiring, ever-inspiring staff.
Our very own Toit Army- a battalion dedicated to the cause of good beer!

He’s speaks five languages, which kind of makes him ideal for the job—say hello to Govind, our steward, who celebrates five years with us in May!

What do you do at Toit?

I am a steward here at Toit, in the service department. I joined in 2011, five months after it started.

What were you doing before that?

Before that also I was working in the hospitality and service department, in other restaurants. I like this industry a lot.

Are you from Bangalore?

Yes, born and brought up here. I live in Murugeshpalya.

How did Toit happen?

A friend of mine, Vinod, told me about Toit. He said it’s a very good company and that I should join. That time was actually my marriage time, so I told him I would join afterwards. So, four days after my marriage I came for the interview.

Actually, when I first joined here, I didn’t know anything about liquor or anything. The management helped me a lot, and taught me everything. They told me I could start off with assistance, and try. And then told me they would promote me to the service department later. That’s how I am now a steward.

Is your wife also from Bangalore?

Yes. Her name is Saranya, and she is actually Tamilian, and I am Telegu, but mine is a love marriage. *shy smile*

So what does a typical work day look like?

Mine is the second shift. We start a 2:30 pm. We start with a briefing and then 3:00 pm we start the work.

I take handovers from the other stewards before I start. I manage five tables, and whatever is pending before they go for a break, I take care of that.

We take the food orders, drinks orders and talk to the guests. We ask them how the service is and make sure everything is ok, and get them everything they need.

At 4:00 we go for a coffee break for 15 minutes, and once we finish that we’re back to work. Then at 5:30 we go for our dinner break. We have it at that time because after 6:00 pm, big crowds start coming in. We need to be here.

This way, we keep shuffling floors on different days, and it’s never boring because of that. We are so happy to work here. After this, I go home at closing time.

What do you do on your off days?

My off day is on Tuesday. I usually get up late at 11:30-12:00 because that is the one day I am getting rest. My wife also does not disturb me, because she knows.

I have one girl and one boy. Girl’s name is Ria and she is three years old, and the boy, Naksh, is 8 months old.

After I wake up, I spend time with my kids. Then we go to my wife’s uncle’s house. My wife likes a lot of serials, so once she finishes watching them, after that only we go to the uncle’s house. We stay there till the evening, and come back by 6:00 pm.

Then we go to the park, with our kids, buy some groceries, and after 8:00 pm I leave the house to go meet my friends, because I only meet them weekly once. That is 8:00- 11:30 pm, after I take permission from my wife.

I have two close friends, one is Kishore, who works at Cloud 9 hospital, and Venkatesh who does the coconut business. He has a contract for the whole of Murugeshpalya.

Do you have any other things you like doing in your free time?

I like music a lot. I love Tamil music. They have very good songs.

Even though my mother tongue is Telegu, I enjoy Tamil movie songs the most. But I also speak Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and English.

But before joining Toit, I did not know English. The owners took care of me, and gave me classes.

And now you can speak!

Yes! Before this, I could not talk also.

Back to what we were discussing, what is your current favourite song?

My favourite hero is Vijay, and I like a song from his movie called Google Google.

Can you sing it?

*laughs and then hesitantly sings just one line*

What’s your favourite beer and food at Toit?

Beer-Toit Tint-In-Wit

Food- I like the spicy fish starter, and I like the pizzas here because they are firewood pizzas, so it’s a very good taste. I like a half and half pizza, half Paprika chicken and half Goan Sausage pizza.

It’s going to be five years since you started working here in May—how has the experience been?

Feels very good. The management always takes care of us and helps us with any problems we might have or anything we need. Before this I have worked in almost ten companies, but no one took care of us there like they do here. I have learned a lot here and I feel great working here. I hope I can work here for as long as possible.