What do you do?

BARTENDER
James Flemming
Vincent—A Restaurant

History in this line of work:
I have worked at Vincent since March of this year. Before this I had worked as a bartender at Auriga for five years or so, until it closed. I have been a bartender for twenty years, working at such places as Sapor Café and Bar, The Loring Café, and The Blues Saloon in Frogtown, St. Paul. My first job in a restaurant was at an A&W in Cresco, Iowa, when I was fourteen years old. Jimmy Carter was president.

Health insurance benefits:
Vincent provides health benefits after one year. I currently pay for my own health insurance.

Fringe benefits or perks:
I like what I do, and I have had the privilege of working with many of the best people in this business in this community.

Education and employment background:
I have worked in picture framing and art sales. I have worked in landscaping and even the beauty industry. I have been a reserve [substitute] teacher for the Minneapolis Public Schools. I am an artist (oil painter) and do some commission work and have displayed my work in various places around town. But I have always been a waiter and/or bartender even while doing these other jobs.

I have a master of fine arts degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

I learned the art of bartending from working next to good bartenders.

Interests outside of work:
I make a point to read good books, take my dogs for long walks, and work in the garden with my girlfriend.

Drawbacks, hassles, or hazards of the job:
State laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages that put responsibility for the behavior of the person consuming the beverage on the person selling the beverage sometimes bother me, on account of the fact that I would prefer all people assume responsibility for their own behavior.

I have the same expectations for those drinking at my bar as I do my friends and family: Be fun, know your limitations, mind your manners, respect and enjoy yourself and those around you.

Family:
I live with my smart and beautiful girlfriend, Shauna, two dogs who always get into the trash, and a mean cat.

Housing:
We own our home.

Transportation:
I bike to work every day.

What he wanted to be as a child:
Pope of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, but I have made good choices in my life and now I get to be the bartender.

What else, if anything, he’d rather be doing:
I would rather live the life of the idle rich, but even then I would still be the one mixing the drinks.

Where he sees himself in five years:
Painting pictures, reading good books, gardening with my smart and beautiful girlfriend. And still mixing the drinks.

Income or salary:
I imagine I will make about fifty grand this year. Mind you, there is always room in the budget for a little more or less.