Daily Wildcat: Where does the name come from?
Niccy Brodhurst: The name comes from a couple of different things. There’s a classic cocktail by the name of Sidecar, so that’s an influence. You can also look at this space as kind of a sidecar to the rest of this … building. One of the owners is a motorcycle aficionado, and so the name … for the drink, actually came from an Army officer in World War II — it might have been World War I — who rode around in a sidecar.
What kind of bar is Sidecar?
We sell a lot of cocktails, for sure. We primarily sell spirits, but it’s designed to be an Everyman bar. We also have a very smart wine selection, and we’ve got a great beer selection as well. … Pretty much anything that you want. We have things throughout price ranges. … It’s not designed to be pretentious at any capacity. Come in your flip flops and be comfortable, sit on the couch. It’s kind of an underlying belief of mine that everybody should have access to good drinks.
Do you have a favorite drink to make?
That changes almost daily, to be totally honest. Right now, I really like the Gaelic flip that we make, that uses Jameson’s new offering, the Black Barrel. That’s a fun one on the radar right now.
Though Sidecar hasn’t been around very long, has there been any particularly memorable or odd occurrence at the bar?
Nothing particularly. We’re pretty young. So far it’s been nothing but good times, to be honest. … It’s really a nice, friendly experience, which is a cool thing, and it’s part of the ethos, too, that going to the bar doesn’t have to be this devastating, unhealthy experience. Definitely haven’t had to clean up any vomit on the floor or break up any fist fights.
What do you really like to see in a customer?
That’s a tough question. I mean, because there’s no one category, there’s no one thing that you’re looking for. That’s part of being a bartender, I think. There’s a pretty well-known bartender that says that often you have to be a hundred different things to a hundred different people in a hundred different ways, so every engagement’s a new, different, fun experience.
How long have you been bartending?
I’ve been working in bars for close to a decade, but I did the more traditional route of starting basically at the bottom of the totem pole, as a bouncer or a door guy. Then, worked into barbacking and bartending under a couple different people, and then getting tossed to the wolves on my own at a bar and kind of figuring out a lot of things that way. … One of the bars where I cut my teeth as a bartender, every night I’d go to work I’m like, “All right, who’s going to try and stab me tonight?” It’s definitely nice to not work in that environment.
So you don’t miss the adrenaline rush of almost being stabbed?
Not particularly. I’m getting old. I mean, those kinds of environments are really fun, too. … But this is definitely better.
_______________
Follow Alex Guyton on Twitter.
