Submitted by Melissa Howsam — Correspondent
Mura's master mixologist, or officially "head bartender," has been in the bar biz for seven years and landed at the Midtown sushi hot spot in 2009. "I started working in restaurants after I left school because it was profitable, and [it was] a job I could easily get and advance in," he said, his quick move to head bartender a clear nod to his skills. But when he's not shaking things up behind the bar? You might find him bending the boards. A music buff (with a penchant for vinyl — from Wiz Khalifa's "Rolling Papers" album to M83, Mastodon, The Doors and the off-hand random classical Beethoven or Brahms), he's not just all ears. During his first year at Mura, the guitar-bass player "took a four-week leave of absence to tour with my band, at-the-time Cougar Magnum, [but] currently known as the Windsor Oaks Band. We did the East Coast from Florida to Upstate New York. ... Pretty awesome experience." A master of mixing it up, when he's not spinning records, strumming guitars or slinging drinks, he's a fan of a good ole tete-a-tete — especially a challenging one. Sounds like an invitation to cop a squat at his bar and bring it.
Q&A
Hometown: Winston-Salem, N.C.
How long you've been mixin' martinis and servin' up Saki at Mura: Hired mid-March 2009.
How you landed at Mura: Got fired at Firebirds and hit up my buddy Conrad (bar manager), who helped me get a position at Mura.
Mura in three words: Fresh, classy, passionate.
What Mura brings to Midtown: The pretty people.
Mura is one of the many successful concepts of Eschelon. What's it like working for a restaurant corp that's so in-tune to what our palates are hankering for? It's really interesting to see the direction the industry is headed in. I'm also grateful to work for a company that has such a broad, unlimited perspective, instead of the myopic single-concept mindset I'm used to seeing in more corporate chains and companies.
Everybody says it wrong, no? Hooked-on-phonics the resto's pronunciation for us: I personally say it as it's spelled MURA (mer-uh). [Which is how it's intended to be pronounced].
Your go-to libation: Mostly beer. I'm a big gin fan, preferably new Amsterdam or Plymouth with a twist. I also enjoy bourbon — preferably Basil Hayden on the rocks.
Drink you could teach a toddler to make with your eyes closed: Whisky rocks. But in the words of Steve Allen, "Do not allow children to mix drink. It is unseemly and they use too much vermouth."
You're anywhere you want to be right now. Where can we find you? Either Ocracoke Island, N.C., or Linville Gorge, N.C.
Which of your coworkers are you most likely to send into a booby trap? Ha, is that a trick question?
If they made a movie about your life, who would play your mother? Meryl Streep.
If you could live in any fictional place: Xanadu from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Kubla Khan."
The decade you should have been a teen in: '60s to the '70s.
The current TV program you most identify with? Not a big TV fan, but I'll go with "Burn Notice."
Something you believed as a kid you realized was a hoax: Big Foot, Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy.
Trip on your bucket list: Andes Mountains.
Last book you read: "The Lie," by Chad Kultgen.
Your fav indulgence: Sweet foods, cookies, ice cream, anything chocolate.
The last thing that made you want to run red lights to get to: Phoenix at Koka Booth last summer; maybe The Kooks in DC this year.
A pop culture phenomenon you could live without: "Jersey Shore;" seriously hate that show.
Your perfect roundtable: What like people to sit down and talk with? Reagan, Kissinger, Talleyrand, Benjamin Disraeli, Kurt Vonnegut, Neil Strauss, Frank Zappa, Jerry Garcia.
A book that made you want to be a better person: "Ishmael."
A piece of advice you got that's good enough to pass on: Only start out like you can hold out.
If you were a car, you'd be a: Porsche Carrera Turbo.
Something old school that makes you nostalgic: Old diesel Mercedes.
Hidden talent: Watercolors.
Weakness: Patience.
If we paid you enough, you'd: Do almost anything.
Something that makes you want to poke people in the eye: Poor driving; texting and driving, eating and driving ... all that stuff makes me nuts.
What one thing do you wish you could tell people about patronizing any bar? Realize that sober people are working very hard to be sure you have a fun time.
If you're not at work, you're most likely: Chillin' at the crib.
Other sip spots in the Triangle you've worked: No thanks.
