Audry Sheeley

Today for our occasional #BartendersOfGoshen series, meet Audry Sheeley from Kelly Jae’s Cafe, 133 South Main Street in Goshen! 🍻

“I’ve been here for four years, and have been bartending and serving in general for around 14 years.”

Where I Got Started
I got started at Hacienda in Goshen. I first started hosting there when I was in high school. It was an environment I liked, the fast pace. I also liked watching the journey from the time a guest enters the door until they leave. That journey is so incredible – they’re having a great time. And if they’re not having a great time, being able to help turn that around and make their experience be all that you can help make it be for them. The work energizes me. It’s fun!

Favorite Drink to Make
An Old Fashioned. I enjoy the process it takes, with the muddling of the cherries and the orange and stirring it in the container. I enjoy pouring it over the big rock of ice and then setting it in front of the guests – especially when they’ve watched how much you’ve put into the process. You’re creating something. It’s not just pulling a beer off the tap.

Advice to Beginning Bartenders
Have patience. You’re not going to get it in the first week. It takes some time to learn your craft and to learn to take the extra time and the extra care to make sure things are done properly. Watch and learn from people who have the experience, and then hone what you’ve learned to make it your own. Just stick with it, and don’t sweat the frustration.

What I Enjoy Most About My Job
It’s the challenge and the reward of leading people on a journey with great food, great atmosphere, and friendly faces, and just letting them experience something that might be out of the ordinary for them. Some people may only get out once a month or twice a year, and this may be their one time to have a really nice evening. If you can give that to them, that’s an incredible thing. You go home feeling really good.

Kelly has put together such a great team here. The way we all work together to make sure that your experience when you go out to dinner is the best that we can provide is a pretty incredible thing. It’s been a really great time. Put your blood, sweat, and tears into something you love and good things happen.