thePULSEToasts of the Town!
Meet Worcester Country’s favorite bartenders.
March 2004 – Ever wonder who the best bartenders are in Worcester and surrounding towns? The Pulse did, and for the last three months we have been on a mission to find out who they are. After reading about the contest in Pulse ads and on banners provided by Budweiser, readers voted for their favorite male and female bartender by e-mail. As the votes poured in, we enjoyed reading sometimes funny, occasionally outlandish and even heartfelt comments about each voter’s bartender of choice.
We discovered Pulse readers take their bartenders very seriously.
The selection of bartenders we heard about ranged from individuals slinging brews at small neighborhood pubs to those serving elegant libations in high-end restaurants. Our lead vote-getter, Mike Capers, who works at Blarney Stone and Leitrums Pub on Worcester’s Park Avenue rocked the majority of the votes for best male bartender. Capers’ die-hard bar fans included Michelle who said, “Besides being handsome and sexy (a requirement for all bartenders), he’s efficient and very personable.” Another fan said of Capers, “Not only does he remember what I’m drinking but he has a stunning personality that brings patrons back to the Blarney again and again.”
Like top female vote-getter Angela Willard,a slim 24-year-old with a quiet smile who works in Blarney Stone’s sister bar, Leitrims, Capers will tell you that being a bartender is a great job, despite the late hours and the occasional drunk customers. Every one of the 10 bartenders chosen in this issue from 21 year old Taryn Lemieur of Hot Shotz in Leominster to 43 year old Pete Smith at Worcester’s One Eleven Chophouse said they love their job.
So give a toast to Worcester County’s favorite bartenders!
Everybody knows his name
Meet Mike Capers, Worcester’s most popular bartender
Drive north on Worcester’s busy Park Avenue. You’ll pass two small sister bars, the Blarney Stone and Leitrims Pub. You might not notice the Blarney tucked away on Maywood Street or Leitrims on the corner of Pleasant and Park as your rush to work or school. If you do, you might think both are just hole-in-the-wall, Irish bars. But stop by on a weekend and you’ll find a crowd of college kids lined up outside of Leitrims. The Blarney Stone will also be hopping, filled with Clark kids and regular customers. If cheap drinks and great crowds aren’t enough to get you out, maybe knowing both bars employ two of Worcester’s most popular bartenders will.
Mike Capers raked in more votes than anyone else in Pulse Magazine’s “Best Bartender” contest. Capers, who is a 6’ 2” bundle of Irish-Italian charm, bartends at both the Blarney and Leitrims. The people who voted for him by e-mail said of their favorite bartender, “He’s always got a smile on his face,” “is funny as hell,” and always “makes time for bartender chat.” Capers even takes pride in making Mudslides, a drink most bartenders hate to make because it is time-consuming. One patron wrote, “He really cares about the bar he works for… he’s so dedicated that when I first met him I thought he owned the bar.”
If you ask Capers the question, “What’s your least favorite thing about bartending?” he can’t answer the question. He says he likes having a good time and helping others have one too. He tells you he’s a “people person”, that he likes dealing with all kinds of customers that come past his counter, from the college kids looking for a good time to the regulars.
Capers is enthusiastic when he talks about several projects he is involved with at both bars. He promotes Leitrims’ “Back Bar”, which is also where the top female vote-getter, Angela Willard, works. “It’s both a fun place to hang out, drink, and socialize on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights, and a place to see great local music acts,” Capers says, inviting everybody “to make our place your place.”
Of course like all the bartenders we interviewed for this story, Capers has more that a few stories that feature customers-gone-wild. “I’m just working, and then, whoa…,” he says with a laugh. Usually though he’s surrounded by friends and happy customers. This Grafton Hill native says he loves Worecster’s little-big-town feel. He will tell you the city has a lot of potential, saying that the city has “a flow of positive energy and is ready to explode.” This guy should run for mayor.
Capers, who is just 24, says bartending has helped him get through school. Despite his success as a bartender, his dreams are bigger than Park Avenue. He’s taken classes at Worcester State, Quinsig and Clark. He’s talking about taking physics at Clark and has aspirations in the fields of astronomy and teaching.
Still, Capers says he would love to own a bar someday. And watching his ease and excellence behind the bar, we’re pretty sure that’s where you’ll find him!
Angela Willard
Bar: Leitrims, Park Avenue, Worcester
Favorite thing to do at Leitrims: Work in the “Back Bar”
Personal favorite to drink: Miller Lite
Best thing about bartending: “Working with a good crew, I really enjoy the people I work with — we are a close knit staff.”
Worst bartending moment: “The time someone projectile-vomited across the bar all over my back!”
Education: No bartending school, but recently got an MBA from Clark
Interesting personal facts: Owns three cats, volunteers several days a week at the Jewish Community Center
Favorite thing to do when not bartending: “Shop!”
Best fan quote: “I vote for Angela from Leitrims because she is pretty and always smiles.”
Bernard Young
Bar: (Owner/bartender) Foo Bar, Park Avenue, Worcester
Bartending history: “I first started bartending at Scarlett O’Hara’s and learned it myself and read some books.”
Least favorite drink to make: “Five liquor drinks.”
Personal favorite drink: Miller Lite
What are the challenges of owning a Bar: “Anything from cleaning up the most disgusting things…to a girl last week who was playing pool and just decided to play naked around 10:30-11 at night.”
Education: “I majored in management at Clark University. Management was always something I wanted to do, so it worked out for me ending up managing Foo Bar.”
Outside interest: “I am going to be a realtor soon.”
Best fan quote: “Bernard at Foo Bar is the best – he is so handsome and an awesome bartender.”
Vincent Hemmeter
Bar: (Owner/bartender): Vincents, Suffolk Street; Ralphs, Grove Street, Worcester
Favorite drink to make: “Martinis…different stuff, nothing frozen because it takes too long and is too messy!”
Bartending background: “I didn’t even drink when I started bartending…when someone asked for a certain drink, I would have to ask what the color the bottle was to find it. Now I’ve been bartending for 18 years.”
Advice to potential bartenders: “Find something you’re good at, something you enjoy doing and make yourself the best at it.”
Best fan quote: “I love Vincent and his bar. Vincents has the best jukebox in the city and I like to look at the pictures on the wall.
Get rid of the stuffed animal heads though!”
Cathy Ruberti
Bar: Tweeds, Grove Street, Worcester
Favorite drink to make: “Anything frozen…it’s much better than slinging beers and vodka & tonics all day long!”
The best thing about bartending is: “I love being around people all day…socializing rather than working behind a desk.”
What’s the worst thing about bartending: “I really couldn’t say. There’s nothing bad about it!”
Advice to potential bartenders: “It’s great money so long as you enjoy it and people like you….this job has nothing to do with status. I know a lot of people in this business who have PhDs and are really happy being bartenders. Just follow your heart and do what you love.”
Best fan quote: “Cathy is always cheerful and a great bartender!”
Elizabeth Benoit
Bar: On The Rocks, Park Avenue, Worcester
Favorite drink to make: Martinis
Bartending is great because: “The people. It’s fun!! I get paid to throw a party!”
Worst bartending moment: “I got thrown over the bar by a guy one night. He was yelling about his credit card, saying I didn’t give it back to him, but I did… I got up on the bar to tell him to leave and he swung me over the bar!”
Favorite thing to do when not bartending:“Shopping. I buy shoes, I love shoes — I have over 80 pairs of shoes!”.
Best fan quote: “Elizabeth is very talented twirling the bottles around, serving way more than one customer and always with a smile on her face.”
Kirsten Anderson
Bars: Pub 99 and Tammany Hall, Worcester
Favorite drinks to make: ”At Tammany Hall, I like to make Long Islands and Grateful Deads.”
Best thing about being a bartender: “It’s always fun being a bartender. So many people wake up and hate going into work — this is just fun, I love it!”
Outside interest: ”I like music. I do classical singing with different groups around Worcester at WPI and with the Choral Arts Society. And I also like to play the guitar and sing …the acoustic guitar, I’m not into the hard stuff.”.
Education: Graduate of Notre Dame Academy, Worcester. Took courses at Assumption College and Worcester State.
Best fan quote: ”Kirsten is really cute and she is an excellent bartender.”
Pete Smith
Bar: One Eleven Chophouse, Shrewsbury Street, Worcester
Favorite drink to make: Flirtini (Stoli raspberry, peach liquer, Cointreau, pineapple juice, crushed raspberries).
Best bartending moment: “The best thing that ever happened to me in a bar was that I met my wife bartending at The Sole Proprietor.”
Favorite thing to do when not bartending: “I love my family – just being with my two little girls.”
Bartending is challenging because: “I think people tell bartenders things that they won’t tell their spouses , their shrinks, the clergy, all unsolicited….it’s amazing what people will tell you. I know more stuff about people that I really wish I didn’t know!”
Best fan quote: “Pete makes the best Grey Goose martini and he’s always polite and friendly.”
Taryn Lemieur
Bar: Hot Shotz, Leominster
Favorite drink to make: “Anything fruity!”
Bartending is a good job because: “I’m a people person – it’s just fun! And the time really flies by – it’s not like you’re at work. Also the money is awesome!”
The worst thing about bartending is: “Seeing all your friends on the other side of the bar!”
Personal favorite to drink: “Captain and Coke, or wine.”
Best fan quote: “Taryn is beautiful!”
Amy Denning
Bar: Rack n’ Roll, Marlboro
Favorite drink to make: Blue Margarita
Favorite thing to do when not bartending: Play pool or snowboard
Daytime job: Provides tech support for local company
Likes job because: “Rack n Roll is a great place to work because there are three separate bars, 12-15 pool tables….and people come from Marlboro, Framingham and Stowe because it’s the only good place to dance!”
Best fan quote: “Amy makes awesome margaritas and is always friendly.”
