Centre County bartending service company adjusts to postponed or downgraded events

From bartending at friends’ weddings, to a full-fledged bartending service company that appears at up to 90 events per year, including a swathe of VIP events, Melissa Mangan has grown her business, Drinks by Design, substantially over the last five years.

Her secret? Always putting the client first — even in the midst of an industry-shaking pandemic.

Mangan’s first stint as an event bartender came after volunteering to bartend as a wedding gift for a former college roommate.

“It was a lot of fun. I like interacting with people. A few months later, I had another friend getting married and her mother reached out,” Mangan said. “From there, I was just like, ‘I don’t understand why I don’t do this more often, I feel like people must need this.’”

Now, Drinks by Design works with up to 15 contracted bartenders and at between 60 and 90 events per year, including weddings, corporate events and Penn State events. Event venues often do not provide a bartender, requiring event planners to outsource, Mangan said.

“We’ve worked at the Bryce Jordan Center. We do any of their events that are bigger, where they’re doing some sort of VIP bar, or meet-and-greets where they need to outsource the bar staffing because it’s such a large event,” she said. “We do Penn State corporate sponsor tailgates every year. We do home games every year.”

She said the event vendor industry is highly reliant on word of mouth, and so client experience has always been a high priority for her and her team.

“We’ll do everything we can for the client to make their event as smooth and easy as possible, especially when it comes to their wedding day. There are already a lot of stressors that come from planning a wedding, so I feel like if we can, in one area, make it extremely easy, we will. So when someone books with me, with that, they get unlimited consultation meetings to go over drink recommendations, quantities, things of that nature,” she said.

The coronavirus pandemic meant that, so far, Drinks by Design’s 2020 looks a bit different from previous years. Many clients have postponed or downsized their events. At those events that have continued as planned, Mangan has implemented new safety precautions. Bartenders wear gloves and masks, and hand sanitizer is provided at each bar. Each mixed drink or glass of wine is served in a new cup to eliminate cross contamination from reuse; the business is also recommending clients serve drinks from cans and bottles versus kegs. Mangan has also overstaffed at events, to cut down on wait times for drinks and resulting lines and crowds around bars.

“My heart is more with my clients than in worrying where I stand in my business,” she said. “You think back on the things you’ve done in your life — prom, graduation, bridal showers, baby showers, things like that — you think about how, in your heart, you took those things for granted, when you watch clients go through (canceling or postponing their celebrations) ... I feel completely for these clients.”

Learn more about Drinks by Design on the business’ Facebook page, @drinksbydesignbartender.

Lavender Lemonade Mojito

• Lavender infused simple syrup

Boil water, sugar and dried edible lavender in a saucepan. Once mixture comes to a boil, lower to a simmer and let steep for an hour. Push mixture through a mesh sleeve to strain out lavender buds in a pourer.

Muddle mint leaves with lavender infused simple syrup. Add 1.5 oz of rum. Shake. Add ice. Top with lemonade.

-recipe provided by Drinks by Design