The hospitality community in our city offers some incredible opportunities to make a good living. And one of the most lucrative jobs can be bartending, especially for those who are professional and personable. There is a saying that a bad bartender can ruin a great bar, but a good bartender can make a mediocre one great. It’s all about perspective.
My Bartender of the Month is a fabulous guy who has been in the industry many years and is truly one of the nicest and most professional people in the industry. I am talking about Wayne Penton at the Bourbon Pub & Parade.
Hailing from Harahan, Louisiana, Wayne is a local who is a perfect mix of a Southern Gentleman with the Hot-Guy-Next-Door vibe. He has been at the Bourbon Pub for ten years; but has worked at Oz for five, Lafitte’s in Exile for one and Club LAX for two. This varied work history, mostly downtown but some suburbia, and the different venues have given him the experience of dealing perfectly with all kinds of clientele.
I have known Wayne for many years and I can attest to his incredible skills behind the bar. His assets are many, but he credits his success to teamwork which I find very humble. I talk about bartenders so much, I forget to bring up the fact that bartenders sometimes work in a team with their barbacks. Having a good barback that keeps everything fully stocked from ice to mixers to liquor makes all the difference in the world. So a well-deserved shout-out to all the barbacks out there for keeping things running smoothly!
Wayne knows how to make a good cocktail. He has a fun one he created called “The No Name”. He changes the name of the cocktail to the customer’s name; talk about keeping things engaged and interactive (and helping him get a great tip). The actual drink is Raspberry Stoli, Peach Schnapps, lemonade, cranberry and pineapple. One of his favorite drinks to make is a Hurricane. When he goes out for cocktails, he is a Ruby Red and soda person.
“I love working at the Pub because I get to meet new people from all over the world everyday,” he says. He added that the craziest/funniest thing he has seen while bartending was SpongeBob Squarepants and Chewbacca hooking up across the street. We do see it all in this city. His biggest pet peeve is putting out napkins for a customer’s drink and they use it for their phone, sunglasses always on top, but not the drink.
One fun fact about Wayne that most people may not know is that he has been breakdancing for over 20 years. Now that is something I would pay to see. If you want to catch up and enjoy a cocktail with Wayne, he works Tuesday evening and Fridays through Sundays from noon till 8 p.m.
