Every hour at Craft & Vine Taproom and Eatery is happy hour for Kiley Shaw. Whether she’s serving up an Old Fashioned or just sparking up a conversation, Shaw serves up more than a few good times over at Craft & Vine.
What is your favorite part of the job?
The people I work with. I don’t feel like I’m coming to work because I love coming here and seeing the people I work with. It’s kind of cheesy, but it’s kind of like one big family.
How did you first get into the business?
We had an old bartender who worked here, and I started barbacking for him on busy Friday and Saturday nights, just doing dishes. He would hand me a ticket and ask me to make an Old Fashioned. Then every week he just kept going, hand me another ticket and ask me to make another drink. It just kind of happened.
What sort of misconceptions are there about being a bartender?
People think bartending is more aggressive and quick-paced, so they think we’re just out there serving drinks. But we actually love to take the time and talk to people and get to know them. That’s how we create all our regular people.
How long have you been a bartender?
About a year and a half. I started as a server’s assistant, running food and cleaning tables for four or five months, then I went straight into it.
Does it ever get stressful during rush hour on the weekends?
Absolutely. I think it’s because we’ll step on each other’s toes sometimes, and we’ll find ourselves all doing the same thing at once. So we’ll separate it. Sometimes one of us will take the bar top, one of us will take the tap row and another one of us will do cocktails. We’ll take a step back and say, ‘You do this and you do this.’ Once we get into our roles and each of our tasks, that makes it so much easier.
What does your job entail besides serving drinks?
It’s really just creating relationships. We have so many nights where our whole bar top is full of regular people who come in here. Yes, we serve drinks. But it’s also about creating conversation and creating relationships with people.