09/13/2026
You see this group of guys right here? This is the best group of guys out there. This is the group of guys that saved Shovel City Drinkery.
If you came into Shovel City Drinkery this weekend, the weekend of the Marion Popcorn Festival, things looked a little different behind the bar.
Where's Andrea? Where's Derek? Who are all these new people behind the bar?
Derek was there, he was sitting in a chair at the end of the bar near the cocktail station, a trusty set of crutches nearby just incase he needed to walk anywhere and in no shape to bartend. In fact the guys all affectionately gave that chair Derek was sitting in a name that weekend, but we'll keep that name off of Facebook, we don't want anybody ruining their Google search algorithms.
Andrea, well Andrea took a group of friends to Italy for the week. Far, far away from Shovel City Drinkery, no worries Derek can handle it.
I bet she wasn't mere hours into that flight, probably still over the Atlantic when Derek decided he forgot how to walk, took a stumble, maybe two.
Bandaged but luckily nothing broken, Popcorn Festival looming and nobody to run Shovel City Drinkery with one of the biggest weekends of the year coming up, what do we do?
We assemble a team. An elite team, a team of leaders, a rare breed of winners.
The A-Team.
Mason, bar back turned bartender, who runs a college food and beverage program stepped up to the job. Mason really knows his stuff. This guy put in double digit hours between both jobs that weekend just to help out, unbelievable.
Carson, bartender in training, worked the bar with surgical precision. At one point he was the only bartender for two hours and I don't think he ever stopped shaking drinks.You want a proper cocktail? You ask for Carson, he's a madman.
Heath, bar back in training, literally did everything else.This guy made the magic happen. He's the man behind the scenes. You cannot run a successful bar without a guy like Heath. From juices to dishes, ice to patio sweeps, pouring beer, running interference, making charcuterie boards, hell, he was even our bouncer at one point. Hats off to Heath.
Now Chris. If you would have seen Chris this weekend you would swear he's bartend before. This guy is a natural. Chris knows everything about beer, something tells me he's self taught, his salesman and leadership skills are second to none. When there was a line and everyone was already making cocktails and we needed more, Chris stepped up and started making them like a pro, you can't make this stuff up.
So next time you see these guys, Mason, Carson, Heath, and Chris. Give them a hand, hell, give them a standing ovation because without them Shovel City Drinkery, well I'd hate to think where we would be without them.
From the bottom of our hearts, thanks guys, you rock!!
