Q&A with Caitlin Wheeler, bartender/manager at the Dutch Goose Sports Bar & Grill, 3203 SW 10th Ave.:

So, on a typical night, what’s the crowd at the Goose usually like?
This place is really eclectic. Because it's a neighborhood bar, you'll get your blue collar workers and your white collar workers. I mean you seriously get every type in here. Pretty much everybody in here knows everyone else's name. We get a lot of the same people, but anytime new people come in, someone always starts talking to them and gives them the whole history of the place.


What's the best thing about working here?
Probably all of the friends I've made and the people I've met. I never knew any of these people before, but they're people who would do anything for me if I ever needed it.



What would you be doing if you weren't working at the Goose
That's a question I've been asking myself for the last few weeks: "What am I going to do after this?" I guess I'd ultimately be working at a library. But, it's hard to walk away from here.



Do people ever order a drink that makes you cringe?
My favorite answer to those people with the crazy drink orders that I have no idea how to make is "I guess I never made it to that frat party, so you're going to have to tell me what it is." Sometimes people come in here and order crazy stuff just to try and throw me off.



What's your favorite drink?
Oh no! I drink Tuaca. I should probably lie about that, but everybody already knows what I drink, so they'd know I was lying. So ... I really like Tuaca, so lets just go with that. Oh, I'm partial to Ketel One (vodka).



What advice do you have for new bartenders?
I think you have to understand what it is like to be around 5-year-olds. I hate to say it, but towards the end of the night, sometimes you really have to kinda babysit people.



What's the worst way for someone to try and get your attention when they need a drink?
The whistle will piss me off more than anything every time. I don't mind someone yelling my name, but I'm not a dog, so stop all of the whistling.



You spend a lot of time working in a bar, but where do you party?
I hang out here. I'll go to Varsity Blues and Tailgators and The Dugout, but I feel like, being the manager, if I'm going to go out and spend money, I probably should spend it where I make it.

Have you ever dated any of the customers?

Next question! As a manager, I used to tell the girls (who work here): "Would you please stop dating the customers, because when you break up, their whole group of friends will stop coming in here." It's bad for business!




Don't get anybody in trouble, but what’'s the craziest thing that’'s ever happened while you were working here?
We had a streaker once. It was late at night, around closing, and a customer who had been drinking a lot went into the bathroom, took off all of his clothes and came out hollering and running through the bar. There weren't a lot of people here, but we all just kinda turned our heads and tried not to look. It was CRAZY!

Q&A with Rick Seifert, bartender at Speck's Bar and Grill, 2105 SW Mission Ave.:

How long have you been working here?
For about seven months. I worked at Pigskin's for a year and a half and worked at the Bottleneck and Granada in Lawrence before that.

So on a typical night, what’s the crowd usually like here?
Homegrown. I know everyone's name who comes in here. Seriously, I know about 95 percent of the clientel that walks through the door. It doesn't take long to get to know these guys and what they're drinkin'.

You spend a lot of time in this bar, but where do you like to chill on your off nights?
I hang out at The 20's actually. I live right next door, which is great since I can walk home if I need to.

What's your favorite beer?
Boulevard Single-Wide ... it's an IPA and I really like the hoppiness.

What's the best thing about working here?
It doesn't take long to get to know these guys. I know everybody's name and what they drink. It wasn't like that in Lawrence.

Don’'t get this place in trouble, but what’'s the craziest thing that’'s ever happened while you were working?
There are so many crazy things. Especially in Lawrence. It's pretty low key here. This is the calmest place I've ever worked. In Lawrence I saw it all. Sex in bathrooms ... you name it.

What would you be doing if you weren't a bartender?
I'd probably be a chef. That's what I did for many years before bartending. I do some catering now and did a couple of weddings last year.

Do you think that you have to drink in order to be a good bartender?
I drink, but I've found you run into more problems than solutions when you drink at work. There aren't many jobs where you go to work and actually have the opportunity to drink while you're there. I've worked with people (in Lawrence) that I honestly didn't know how they could make it through their shift.

Being in a bar, you must hear a lot of pickup lines. What's the worst one you've heard?
Usually just guys trying to convince girls that there is an afterparty at their place. It's so obvious there is no party and it's probably just going to be four or five guys sitting around hoping any girl will stop by.

Finally, do the girls really get prettier at closing time?
Of course. The later it gets the less and less choices remain. People get desperate.

Q&A with Jessie Jones (aka “JJ”), bartender at Mikey’s Bar & Grill in Rossville:

How long have you been bartending and how did you get started?
I started working here June 29, 2008. I’d just moved here (from Texas) 20 days before, and apparently they’d had a bar fight and the bartender ended up breaking his wrist and couldn’t open bottles. My mom knows the owner and the owner called me at home and asked if I’d come to work for him, so I came to work here. It was a Sunday and I worked open to close by myself and just kind of went with it. We had sooo many baseball and softball players in here. It was crazy.

What do like best about your job?
Friday nights when it’s really busy in here. I like it because of the people who come in. Everyone’s so friendly here; it’s like a family. They welcomed me with open arms as if I’d been here my entire life.

What is your favorite drink to mix?
I came with one we named Mikey’s Golf Ball after the owner. It’s one-third vodka, one-third Kahlua and one-third Bailey’s. When you put the Bailey’s on top it turns into a ball.

Your least favorite?
The only one I can really think of is a Jägerbomb, because I don’t like black liquor.

What can you learn about people from the drink they order?
Normally I can kind of tell what they drink when they walk in.

When the juke box is going, what song makes you cringe?
I don’t hate the song, but it got played enough that it drove me insane – ‘Paint Me A Birmingham’ (Tracy Lawrence). It hasn’t been played much lately, but it was played seven to 10 times a day in a five-hour period.

What’s the worst pick-up line you’ve heard on the job?
I don’t think I’ve had any bad pick-up lines.

What’s your most memorable night at the bar?
Halloween. We were all dressed up as pirates, and we had Dick Cheney, who was shot in the face, Ronald McDonald, Marilyn Monroe, a couple baseball players, a whole gangster group, a couple of rodeo clowns, a couple of witches (our bosses) and an Indian. We had a blast. We had a sex education coach in very tight shorts and a muscle shirt, and a guy with a homemade costume that said ‘Free Mammograms’ and his face was where you stuck your boobs. I think we did awesome that night.

Do you do any bar tricks?
We kinda keep it to a minimum.

Ever go out with someone you met at the bar?
Actually, yes I did. We met the first night I was here at the bar. We dated off and on for almost a year. We’re no longer together.

Q&A with Jacob McCullah, bartender at Bosco’s:

How long have you been bartending?
Since October 2008.

What is your least favorite drink to mix?
I don’t like making Long Island Iced Teas. Every time you pour it, no one expects there to be that much booze in it. It’s kind of funny to watch their faces.

What is your favorite?
Windex Martini.

What’s your best bar trick?
As the new bartender I have yet to learn those ropes.

What can you learn about people from the drink they order?
One thing I can see by what people order is if they are willing to try new things or what kind of night they want to have or what kind of day they’ve been having.

So how do you spot a good or bad day?
It kind of depends on the customer. If you’re used to them coming in and drinking a beer, and they come in and order a dirty martini, you know it’s been a good day. They’re treating themselves to something good. There are people who come in and say, ‘Oh it’s been one of those days,’ and they have their beer with a shot.

What’s the worst pick-up line you’ve heard on the job?
There was a girl that actually approached the owner (who also happens to be Jacob’s brother, Craig). She asked him to take her tab to the trash. He said, ‘I can’t do that. Then everyone would like free drinks.’ She said, ‘I’m a really good kisser.’

Did he take her up on it?
I don’t think he did. No. I think she ended up paying.

What’s it like working for your brother?
He is extra hard on me. He feels like he needs to be extra hard on me because he thinks I’ll get something over on him.

So, do you like working for him?
We get along like best friends. I help him. He helps me. I try to give him all the input I can when he’s asking me about things.

Ever go out with someone you met at the bar?
No.