Brett Klein, 28, Cedar Rapids
Bartender @ Cedar Rapids Piano Lounge

How long have you been with Piano Lounge?
I’ve been with Piano Lounge just a short time after they opened. Going on almost four years now.

Piano Lounge has always had a big draw, especially with dueling pianos. What makes this kind of place work in Cedar Rapids?
The dueling piano was something not really offered on a consistent basis around here before the Piano Lounge. It was something different. That plus the atmosphere, live music during the week. It just seemed to fit.

One image I will never forget was of you guys carrying out a piano after the flood. Tell us about the impact of the flood and your decision to come back.
We anticipated getting about two to three feet of water total and ended up getting six feet of water above our ceiling. Ben (another manager), Brett (Thomas-owner) the landlord and myself got to work quickly on a strategy to rebuild. People are still blown away when the see pictures we have from the flood. We knew right away we wanted to come back and take it a step further with some cool new ideas.

New ideas like the game room?
Exactly. We expanded our area with a place for recreation and relaxation. It became kind of a joke. We asked people “What would you like to have in your make-believe basement?” We have it stocked with a big flat screen TV, theater style seats, dart boards, pool tables, a Nintendo Wii and more.

It is amazing. My guy friends have a hard time leaving that new wing. Now me? I was excited about the return of the martini list. It’s one of the best around. Who created it?
When I came on board there were already a few recipes created, but over the course of the first few months we started taking the list and tweaking it based on what worked, what didn’t. We added or eliminated. We listened to the customers, got creative on some new ideas and new names and it’s what you see today.

What’s your favorite night to be behind the bar?
Definitely Saturday night. Big crowd. Everyone is into the dueling pianos and as a bartender you’re observing and giving the best service you can. You get people in celebrating a variety of things like bachelorette parties, birthdays or just life in general. I love the variety from farmers to lawyers.

The staff at Piano Lounge has a knack for dazzling customers with fun bottle tricks. Is that a required talent or do you take them under your expert wing and show them the ropes?
It’s not something we really teach. Before my job at Piano I worked at a bar that had a lot of slow time during the week, so I started practicing some moves. A few other bartenders here had done the same thing and before long we were known for throwing the bottles around. The goal is to always to get a drink out as fast as possible. But if you can pull in some fun moves while accomplishing that, all the better.

Raspberry Martini
Raspberry Stoli
Deyaner Razmatazz
Raspberry puree
Sweet and sour mix

 Brett says: My (favorite drink) would be the basic shot of Jager, but for the sake of the story, let’s go with a Raspberry martini. Shake all of the above with ice, strain and enjoy.

Details: Cedar Rapids Piano Lounge, 208 2nd Ave SE, Cedar Rapids; 4 p.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; (319) 363-0606; www.thepianolounge.com