Monday, January 20, 2025, 3:03AM |  21°
MENU
Advertisement

Tonight: It's a late New Year's celebration for bartenders and DJs at Elixir

Tonight: It's a late New Year's celebration for bartenders and DJs at Elixir

Tonight we have what amounts to "the company party for the people who worked at your company party."

It's the sixth annual Real Bartender's New Years at Elixir Ultralounge on the South Side.

"The point of it is to give service industry people a night to go out and party and enjoy themselves because we're all working the holidays," said organizer Dave Lander. "In fact, we work more while everybody else is off.

Advertisement

"This is our chance to celebrate. The bartenders, the DJs, the managers."

Mr. Lander, who goes by the moniker "Digital Dave" when he's standing behind the turntables, put together the first Real Bartender's New Years in 2007, when he was a manager at Privilege in the Strip District.

The event was a hit as the workers finally got to join the party instead of hosting it. Even after Privilege closed, people were asking Mr. Lander about the next event.

It also proved popular with the liquor companies that seized it as an opportunity to roll out their new products.

Advertisement

"The sponsors feature new and upcoming brands that they're focusing on," Mr. Lander said. "Flavors or rebranding that they're trying to promote. The flavored vodkas and tequilas, the honey whiskey and the Crown Royal Maple.

"One of the cool things that we're doing [tonight] is Red Bull is bringing out three new flavors -- red, which is cranberry; silver, which is lemon-lime; and blue, being blueberry. Those flavors are not yet available in Pittsburgh, but they're going to be available at this event.

"Service industry people like to be the first to try these products because they're the ones behind the bar and people are asking questions about them. So this ends up being win-win for sponsors and the public."

The evening also can be more than a chance for bartenders to catch up with their brethren. It can sort of serve as an alcohol-fueled job fair.

"The service industry in Pittsburgh is very tight-knit and a lot of the bartenders, owners and managers from different neighborhoods know each other and are friends," Mr. Lander said.

"Sure, everyone is in the business to make their own money, but Pittsburgh has a lot of night-life districts, and everybody in those districts knows that people like to go to multiple places at night. So being near each other helps each other. People like to go to an area where there's 10 bars, and they bounce from one to another. The bars feed off each other.

"They're hard-working to do the best they can on their own, but they're not cut-throat. When one bar runs out of something, people always help each other."

And you can't have a party for the service industry people without inviting DJs. Mr. Lander said tonight's event will have 24 of them -- including Bromeo, Nitro, Outtareach and Sean Nice -- each playing a 10-minute set.

"The music ranges from house to hip-hop to rock to '80s," he said. "The music is not the style you would hear all weekend in a club. The service industry people hear that all weekend, so we're looking for music that might be a little more unique."

The Real Bartender's New Years Party usually brings in more than 200 people, even when the weather is nasty.

"Traditionally, it's been held the Monday after New Year's, but this year we decided to do it on a Wednesday because of the national championship [college football] game," Mr. Lander said.

Oh, wait. Did you get the impression that I was talking about a party to which you were not invited? My bad!

Of course, you are welcome. The cover is $15, which should get you some samples of different drinks between 10 p.m. and midnight. Then there's always the cash bar.

But you better be on your best behavior. Nobody hates an obnoxious drunk more than a bartender. And tonight Elixir, at 1500 E. Carson St., is going to be wall-to-wall with them.

First Published: January 9, 2013, 8:30 p.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS (0)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
President-elect Donald Trump, center, and former first lady Melania Trump, center right, with family members, arrive at Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 19, 2025.
1
news
Trump’s Day 1 plans poised to impact Pennsylvania on energy, immigration
Russell Wilson #3 and Justin Fields #2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers warm up prior to the game against the New York Giants at Acrisure Stadium on October 28, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
2
sports
Gerry Dulac: The Steelers are looking for direction and purpose. How will the roster look in 2025?
Donte Jackson #26, Minkah Fitzpatrick #39, and Damontae Kazee #23 of the Pittsburgh Steelers warm up before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on December 15, 2024, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
3
sports
Let's plan the Steelers' 2025 offseason: Cut, trade or keep
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stands on the fields during a time out while playing the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Philadelphia, Pa. The Philadelphia Eagles won 27-13.
4
sports
Joe Starkey: Steelers, Mike Tomlin missed a golden opportunity when the Chicago Bears called about a trade
Josh Willy, Penn Hills High teacher of 23 years, died in a single-vehicle crash on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025.
5
news
Penn Hills High mourns loss of longtime teacher in vehicle crash
Advertisement
LATEST local
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story