We are keeping the theme of Vera Pizzeria on the podcast this week with their Bar Manager Jon Karel. Jon has quite the story coming from NYC, touring the world as a drummer for The Number Twelve Looks Like You and Horse the Band and making his way to Buffalo. Along with Cam Rector, he’s helped bring mixology to Buffalo and has really kick started the local cocktail scene.
Jon and I discuss the ideal preparation and recovery for drinking, his MSR bartending philosophy, the only time he had to kick someone out of Vera, his former job as a drummer in a touring rock band, we discuss the atmosphere that Jon tries to create at Vera, the local response they received with a business plan of serving $10 cocktails and what he wants Vera/Buffalo’s cocktail scene to become over time.