Top of the Morning, April 18, 2025 | Business

Bellying up with …

On Fridays, we’ll spotlight the men and women serving up cold ones and conversation in our neck of the woods. Let us know about your favorite bartender by emailing ltaylor@news-gazette.com.

When she’s serving drinks at The Boldt in Humboldt, ALEXUS DIBARTOLOMEO says the customers really keep her on her toes — but that’s a good thing.

“They’re just very friendly people that come in there, and it drives me to love my job there, and it gives me motivation to be there every day,” Dibartolomeo said.

She has been a bartender for less than a year, starting after a visit to The Boldt’s summer block party. Dibartolomeo is looking forward to the next one in June, when the band Country Sky is set to perform, but every year, it’s a big get-together for the community.

“I kinda got a feel for the crowd … and I was like, I’ve never bartended before, but I would like to try it,” Dibartolomeo said. “I’ve learned a lot from it and really enjoy it and see myself staying out there for a while, at least until I get done with school.”

When she’s not at the bar, Dibartolomeo is most likely studying at Lake Land College, pursuing her degree in environmental biology, which she’ll finish out at Eastern Illinois University. If you can’t find her at either place, she’s hiking with her dogs, Destin and Demi.

At The Boldt, Dibartolomeo says she enjoys making mojitos for folks, but she’s usually going for a Moscow mule.

The people who drew her to the bar in the first place have made her one of their own; Dibartolomeo laughs about customers who always play “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan on the jukebox because they know she likes it.

“It always gets stuck in my head,” she said. “But it always makes me feel good that they remember what I like to listen to. It gets me through the night.”