Bartender of the
Month
PHOTO Sabina Sister INTERVIEW Skye McDonald
Chatting with Drew Hall about the benefits of being behind the bar at Limoncello. How long have you been bartending here? Three months. I was barbacking for a year here before that. Why did you become a bartender? I enjoy it; it’s a lot of fun. The opportunity came up, and I was able to fill some shifts as a bartender. What is it you enjoy? It’s a different atmosphere, compared to serving. You get to have fun, and your real personality comes out instead of being formal at the tables. We’re also friends with a lot of the regulars here, so we see them outside the bar. It’s cool to be able to hang out with your friends and joke around.
When do you normally work? I work Tuesday and Thursday lunch shifts, and sometimes I pick up night shifts on Wednesday, Thursday, and the weekends. I like nighttime more because it’s busier at the bar and more of our friends come out. Sunday nights, I split the bar and serving tables with the other bartender working that night. I like it because he’s one of my buddies, and this whole area is ours. I like being able to move around instead of being stuck in one place. So it’s never slow? No. Especially with the way the Eagles are playing this season, it keeps us busy, and I like that a lot. What do you think makes Limoncello so popular? The entire atmosphere here. No matter if they’re employees or customers, they’re all family. I used to serve here before I became a barback and bartender, and I’ve always taken advantage of the opportunities here and seen what an awesome place it is. What’s your favorite part of being behind the bar? I enjoy talking with the customers and creating the featured, specialty drinks. Sometimes I tweak them.
Do you have a favorite drink? I like the drinks we have on our menu — our martinis and cosmos are the most popular — but I’m a bourbon and whiskey guy. Have you worked any crazy events here? When I first started out, there was a QVC event, and a group of ladies took up nearly the entire bar at lunch. There were martinis and cosmos everywhere! I like learning about all of the different drinks because I was only a beer guy before. What better way to learn and get your feet wet? Now I’m learning more about wines, Scotches, and vodkas. I’m learning about the best ways to serve and drink other kinds of alcohol, and it’s pretty fun. How did you get into the restaurant industry? I grew up in Coatesville and the diner down the street, Little Chef, was looking for bus people. I was 13 and I stayed there for 10 years rising up in their ranks. After graduating from West Chester, I was working at a restaurant in Parkesburg and my friend got me the job here. At that point, I was at my limit — 13 years in the industry and I didn’t think I wanted to do it anymore. But working at Limoncello made me fall back in love with it.
FEBRUARY 2018 THEWCPRESS.COM
31