June, 2011
Page 13
Bartender Of The Month
W
Drew Shiomos of Barnaby’s lets you behind one of the busiest bars in town
E’VE all been to Barnaby’s at some point or another. If you haven’t, we’re unsure how you’ve managed to avoid this giant on High Street. Either way, they’re always so busy we’re willing to bet you haven’t had a chance to chat with their bartenders. Here’s your chance to get to know one. Name: Andrew Shiomos. I go by Drew. Age: 46. Hometown: Springfield, PA. Do you live in West Chester now? Yep. How long have you been in West Chester? Three years. What brought you here? Actually, working at Barnaby’s brought me here. I was commuting back and forth for the first year, and I got sick of it and just decided West Chester was where I was going to live. Have you bartended anywhere else in town? No. Before here I was at Packy’s Pub in Media and at The Bungalow Inn in Clifton Heights. Where did you get your start in bartending? Actually, I got my start working at family parties. My father taught me how to make drinks and whenever we had party I would end up being the bartender. In your adult life, have you ever held another job? Yeah, I was a currency option broker on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange for 15 years. Why did you get out of that? Well, the job sorta became obsolete. Everyone started trading online without using physical people, so they didn’t need us anymore. How many bartenders work at Barnaby’s? At least 20 to 25 How many of them do you know? Oh, I know every one of them personally. On a Friday night, which of the bars in Barnaby’s is busiest? It depends on the time of night. During happy hour the main bar and patio is crowded, but then the dance room gets the most crowded late night and the main bar still has a nice crowd. So we know the weekends are packed, anything great happen during the week? Monday nights we have bar bingo, live music Tuesday, Wednesday quizzo, live music Thursday. Actually, Tuesday is great because we have discounted fajitas and we have like four different types of margaritas for $5: blue lagoon, tequila sunrise, watermelon and traditional margaritas.
After mixing margaritas all day, Drew keeps it simple on his own time. “I just drink Budweiser and Jose Cuervo,” he says. Adam Jones
Let’s go back to the live music. Yeah, there is almost always some form of live entertainment every night of the week in here. Saturdays and Sundays we have great acoustic music out on the patio, too. If you’re not at Barnaby’s, where would you grab a drink? I would go to Ryan’s, Sidebar, Jitters or Square Bar. What do you drink? I just drink Budweiser and Jose Cuervo. Have you been to any other Barnaby’s? Oh yeah, I have been to every single one of them – Ridley, Havertown and Aston.
Which one is best? Oh, West Chester. They’re all good, but put it this way – West Chester is the best. Why? Oh man, you’re putting me on the spot here. I like the town itself, there’s a lot going on, great events like Swinging Thursdays, Super Sunday and the restaurant festival. You have five words to describe Barnaby’s of West Chester. Go: Good people, good times, great drinks, great food, great atmosphere. [Editor’s note: Ok, that’s 10 words, but we’ll let it fly.]