For a night of fun, University students won't say no to frat parties, apartment pre-games or dorm get-togethers, but when the clock strikes midnight the word "bars" seems to reverberate throughout Charlottesville. Students clutch their IDs and enter into the often dark, always loud bar scene.
A lot of questions arise when people head to bars. These include but are not limited to: "Are you 21?" "What's your favorite spot?" "How many drinks are you going to order?" Although these questions are relevant and the answers are key to a good time, they seem to leave out a big part of the bar scene: the bartenders themselves. Often overlooked in the haze of alcohol, music and chatty graduate students, bartenders are the foundation of many students' best evenings.
A talk with these guys and gals behind the scenes can teach one to appreciate where his Dirty Shirley's coming from.
Fourth-year College student Spencer Hall is a bartender and manager at Coupe De'Ville's - referred to as "Coupe's" by most students. Hall worked his way up to the position; starting out as a bouncer, Hall eventually became a barback, then bartender and manager. Hall said he enjoys the fast-paced environment of a college bar.
"In addition to the variety of drinks one must make here on the Corner, the volume of people at a given time is exponentially greater," Hall said, comparing his job at Coupe's to his previous one at a country club.
Like Hall, Trinity on the Corner Bartender Jenny Stoner, a 2010 graduate of the University, said she enjoys the student crowds at Corner bars.
"Coming to Trinity meant I had to make mostly shooters and other drinks," Stoner said. "Trinity also gets busier than my other restaurant usually does."
Shooters can contain up to 10 or more different ingredients, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, she said.
When this much alcohol starts flowing, bartenders have to consider student safety.
"Everyone on the Corner - and everywhere - has to follow ABC laws about over-serving," Stoner said. "If someone's clearly too drunk, we're not supposed to serve them, and obviously if they're like, sleeping or vomiting or something we have to send them home."
Unlike most student jobs, being a bartender requires becoming certified by the state, specifically the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control. Aspiring bartenders must take a four-hour course to prepare them for on-job challenges, according to the Server Certification's website, "The Virginia course will cover topics such as how to spot someone who has been drinking too much, how to properly check IDs, and the responsibilities and liabilities of the server," the website says.
Despite the responsibility that comes with their jobs, Stoner and Hall agreed that the working environment makes it worthwhile. Fourth-year College student Augusta Loomis, also a bartender at Trinity, commented on the more fun parts of the job. Rather than simply serving her patrons, Loomis said she has developed a special camaraderie with her co-workers.
"The bar brings together a really fun, really diverse group of people," Loomis said. "I have become friends with some really great people that I might not have otherwise have had the chance to meet."\nStoner said she has fun tending to her patrons' needs. When it comes to drink orders, Stoner said she's seen it all.
"People order all kinds of crazy stuff, some of it that I would never want to drink," Stoner said, noting occasionally a customer will order a Jersey Turnpike, a drink made of "everything off of the bar mat poured into a cup."
Loomis didn't recount any particularly crazy drink orders, but she admitted to seeing a pattern in the types of drinks males and females order.
"The most commonly ordered drinks by girls would probably be Cranberry Vodkas or Dirty Shirley's," she said. "For boys, I'd say Bourbon and Ginger or Bourbon and Coke, as well as Bud Light."
After filling patrons' orders, bartenders have the opportunity to see how students act when they drink. Watching the way students behave while intoxicated has made Stoner aware of her behavior while intoxicated.
"[Observing students] has definitely made me realize some of the things that I do to totally make a fool of myself in public," Stoner said with a laugh.
Bartenders don't only see outrageous drunken behavior, however. Stoner and Hall both said they take on the roles of therapists for some particularly distraught patrons.
"Every now and then you'll get someone who's just in to spill their guts about their life," Stoner said.
Hall said the only people who have sought advice from him were non-students after a few drinks.
A willingness to open up about their troubles isn't the only thing that differentiates students from non-students.
"I enjoy students, although I would have to say they do not tip as well as non-students," he said. "Perhaps that has something to do with income level, perhaps something else."
Stoner explained the importance of tips for servers.
"The people serving you in a restaurant make their living on tips," she said. "It's not like we get awesome wages."
Whether serving up a shooter or upholding government regulations, bartenders on the Corner play an integral role in the night life of University students. Maybe next time you go to Trinity or Coupe's, you'll leave a bigger tip.
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