Jan/Feb 2007

Mix Master

Julie Coleman pours on the charm and pours out the cocktail as a Hot Tuna bartender.

By Patrick Evans-Hylton

By mid-afternoon for most people, the day is winding down, and that candy bar in the vending machine is calling, promising office workers a sugar rush to get through the last few hours of work.

But not for Julie Coleman.

Her day is just starting, and instead of reaching for chocolate-coated caramel crunchiness, she grabs some lemons and limes.

Coleman’s “office” is about 12 feet long with walls that are just a bit more than waist high. And it’s not your typical workspace. Zesters, shakers and jars of maraschino cherries replace staples, paper clips and file folders.

As bar manager and one of six bartenders at Hot Tuna, a restaurant/club located in a strip shopping center at the intersection of Great Neck Road and Shore Drive in Virginia Beach, Coleman works in a fishbowl environment for shifts of up to 12 hours long. The whole time, she is smiling, dancing, laughing, pouring drinks, dispensing advice, wiping spills and doing what she loves.

First, she cuts lemons and limes into wedges to use as festive touches in a variety of mixed drinks. Then, it’s show time, when Coleman’s cocktail craft is employed.

For the rest of this story, see the January/February issue of Hampton Roads Magazine, currently available on newsstands.