For this installment of Behind the Bar, we spoke to Colin O’Neill, who heads up the bar program at Oyster House. O’Neill, who grew up outside of Baltimore, moved to Philadelphia 10 years ago to study sculpture at the University of the Arts, and he now lives in Overbook while pursuing a graduate degree in accounting at Drexel’s Lebow College of Business. We talked to O’Neill about his start at the Franklin, scuba diving, and FDR.

 

Colin O’Neill (CO): Oyster House offers a kind of nostalgia - since it’s been open since 1976, we present our guests with classic cuisine and drink in a modern setting. I took over the bar program when Mission Taqueria, our sister restaurant, opened upstairs. I try to concentrate on expanding our gin program and increasing staff knowledge about gin. My bartending background is very classics-based, which I think is the perfect fit here. Novelty wears off on newer things, but you know you can always come here to get a great drink.

 

CO: My very first bar gig was barbacking and working as a bouncer at Sisters in 2010, before it closed. I started as a barback at The Franklin in the summer of 2011, and I worked there for three years. I was a barback for a year, and because I was barbacking for Al [Sotack], he took me under his wing and he helped me become a bartender. I became the Robin to his Batman. Lindsey [Krueger] picked up a few shifts at The Franklin, and we loved working together, so he told me he had an opening at Oyster House. I started out splitting my time between the two, and eventually I made the jump to being full time here.

CO: I don’t like when bartenders try to put their “craft” before attending to their guest. I think the whole point of bartending is to give people what they want, the best way you know how to make it.

 

 

CO: I think there’s a growing trend where bartenders are trying to take better care of themselves and turn bartending into a career rather than just a “job.” I think more and more people are working to make bartending into a real path.

 

CO: I got certified to scuba dive when I was 14 - the best place I’ve ever dived was an island off the coast of Venezuela named Bonair, where there’s an amazing haven for sea turtles. I also love kickboxing, and I’ve been doing that for about a year.

 

CO: In cooler months, I usually go for porters, but I’m always a fan of saisons.

 

CO: I love drinking cognac (Pierre Ferrand), but I love working with gin.

 

CO: An Americano. Super low-proof, and it works all year round.

 

 

CO: Someone who comes in, knows what they want, and is excited to have a conversation with me.

 

CO: Pick your favorite cocktail and buy those ingredients, and then think of what your friends like to drink, get those ingredients, and build a bridge between those two.

 

CO: Oscar’s, definitely. Everyone there is great. I love Fergie’s, because it’s not pretentious. Good Dog is another favorite of mine, and I don’t go there for any one particular person, because I know I’ll always have a good time no matter who’s working.

 

 

CO: Being humble and always listening.

 

CO: Right now, I’d love to sip a Martini with Franklin D. Roosevelt.