Neighborhood: German Village
Hometown: Pickerington
Years behind the bar: 6
What's the crowd like here at Dirty Frank's?
I feel like this restaurant has phases. Lunchtime is very corporate with suits and ties, and it feels more like a diner. For dinner it turns more into a restaurant; people are here to eat and drink. And then at night it turns into a bar.
What do you like to drink?
Beer and Jameson. I like craft beers and I keep in touch with craft breweries to make sure we get really neat stuff in. I try to rotate our draft list at least once a month.
I also kind of like those kitschy, low-rent beers like Black Label and Blatz. It's fun to offer something cheap and easy, but still good.
What drinks do you like to make?
One of my favorites is a Bloody Mary - the spicier the better. I like finding ingredients to make it even spicier. We use habanero-lime syrup and we put sriracha sauce, the chili sauce we use on our hot dogs, in there with some Old Bay seasoning. I want to bring water to your eyes and make your nose run.
I also love our slushy drinks. We may be the only bar that has slushies. They just look so cool - our Two Tickets to Paradise looks tie-dyed the way the red and green slush mix together.
What do you do when you're not at work?
I'm an avid outdoors person. I do rock climbing, kayaking and hiking.
I also do asana yoga and I just started Brazilian jiu-jitsu. I like martial arts a lot. I've never done jui-jitsu before, but I've done aikido, taekwondo, karate and kickboxing.
So, do you handle customers that get out of line?
Yes, I can definitely defend myself. [Laughs]
Where do you go for outdoors activities?
It's nice to go to Zaleski forest. I also like to go to West Virginia and the Red River Gorge. I'd like to make it out West eventually.
I grew up on the Appalachians, so I've always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. I want to do it so bad, but it's hard to take six months out of your life. Eventually, I'll get there - I might be 60, but I'll do it.
