Stacey Donahue, 28, Iowa City
Manager @ Donnelly’s Pub

How long have you been a bartender?
About a year and half, two years.

How’d you get into bartending?
I started out as a server, and then kind of just worked my way up and became manager and started filling in as a bartender.

What’s the best part of being a bartender?
Honestly, we have a pretty amazing group of regulars here. I like being able to converse with them, meet new customers and just get the whole atmosphere of Donnelly’s. We’re a little bit of a different kind of a bar in the middle of the ped mall. We’re kind of relaxed. We’re open only to 21-and-over after 10 p.m., and we have a little bit of an older crowd, one that likes to come out for good conversation and good drinks.

What’s your favorite night to work?
Wednesdays, definitely. We have a $2 drafts, bottles and wells, so we remain pretty steady all throughout the night. It’s really rare to find a $2 Guinness or Boddingtons, so people get pretty excited about it. We get a good string of awesome, awesome regulars coming in on Wednesday night too, you know, everybody knows your name, knows who you are, and that’s so awesome.

What’s the best — or worst — pick-up line you’ve heard while working?
Ah, I’ve definitely heard a few. People always try to give you their phone numbers. You get them a lot of times on credit card slips with “call me later.” One guy, once, asked “Do you have a pen?” OK, why? “So I can give my number to you.” I think our guy bar tenders get hit on more, though. The women here are more aggressive.

What’s your favorite drink to pour?
A really good whiskey. We have a really good selection of single-malts. We have really good scotches here, too. We have Templeton Rye, which is made here in Iowa. It can be hard to find, and we pride ourselves on the fact that we’ve been able to keep it in stock for a couple of years now. Our top shelf liquors are so good. The Johnny Walker Blue Label is one we always recommend.
— ANNE