In Their Shoes: Bartending is as much about performance as it is the cocktail

In Their Shoes is a series about jobs Minnesotans do and why they do them.

Many jobs can at times be performative at times, but bartending is all about the show.

“Think of bartending as a performance,” says Amanda Layer. “An emotionally draining, eight-hour act.”

As manager and bartender at Town Hall Tap in south Minneapolis, Layer has duties that include scheduling the front of the house, developing recipes, stocking the bar with syrups and juices, keeping the menu up to date and pouring drinks. Yet much of her energy is spent in the art of small talk and keeping it pleasant.

The 38-year-old St. Paul native had her sights on art history during her undergraduate years at the University of St. Thomas, but landed in bartending. She has not looked back since getting into it at age 22.

“Bartending is a job I fell into, and I’ve made the best out of it,” she says.

The self-taught bartender was the one who developed the Tap’s cocktail program — from scratch — when the restaurant first got its full bar during the pandemic.

She talks about the emotional weight and creative freedom of the job, draining the social battery and why it doesn’t pay to be an introvert. The interview is edited for length and clarity.

Q: What’s a little-known aspect of a bartender’s job?

A: People overlook how emotionally draining the job can be. We have to be nice and polite for eight or nine hours a day, and when we are busy there’s a lot of interactions to go through. Your social battery gets really worn out — not necessarily in the way you want it to.

Q: Is that because of the different personalities you encounter?

A: Yes, that, and because it’s a nonstop performance. Someone is always watching you — whether they are really watching you or passively doing it. So, you need to be in control of what you put out there.

Q: How do you keep it all straight during the busy times?

A: I equate it to playing chess. I take a pause and look at the whole picture of what needs to be done. Then I plan the next eight things that need to be done to be most efficient. Unless it’s a very large group, 90% of the time I don’t take down orders. I just remember what people want.

Q: Can an introvert be a good bartender?

A: It’s definitely a social job. You cannot be so shy that you are unable to talk to people or so timid that you cannot take control of a situation and throw people out. You’ll be even more emotionally drained if you are an introvert. [Laughs] Introverts just need to learn to fake it a bit.

Q: Are there other innate skills one should have?

A: A bartender needs to be able to read a situation and prioritize what needs to be done. It’s hard to teach that. I can show someone how to follow a written recipe but it’s harder to teach someone the basic steps of service, like approaching someone and saying hello.

Q: Is there something you made recently that wowed even you?

A: It was a slushy called Lavender Haze made with frozen rose, strawberries and a liqueur made with lavender grown in our back garden. It really elevated what people expected from a slushy machine.

Q: What’s your favorite part of bartending?

A: I really like the creativity that comes with it. I joke that I’m home-schooled as far as bartending goes. Although I do still get nervous sometimes when I create a new drink, I find it exciting to take risks. And I do enjoy the friendships I form with the customers.

Also, I can control my schedule. I work on Saturdays and Sundays, but I don’t mind that because I can shuffle things around if I need the day off.

Q: And the least favorite?

A: The job can be messy because it involves liquids and sticky syrups. Also, because the job is emotionally draining, you don’t have much patience or bandwidth left for those who are most important in your life because you have used it all up with strangers.

Q: Does your pay compensate for that?

A: I make $38,000 a year. It’s the tips that make up the majority part of my income, and that’s generally around $200 a night. But I get creative freedom and I appreciate that a lot.

Q: How do you keep yourself relevant?

A: TikTok is really a great place to see what other bartenders are doing even if it’s just for visual inspiration. Cool techniques get broken down. Last winter, I did a fat-washed rum with milk and lime juice and I got that from TikTok, beginning to end. I would have never figured that out on my own.

Q: Do you intend to bartending for the rest of your life?

A: Yes, the job can be tiring but for most part a bartender can have great time.