Nick Macksood
This Week, I sat down with Gooch, a longtime bartender at the Wharf who made his way down to the island years ago and never left… Catch This Week’s interview to learn the observations of a washashore bartender!
This Week: So at the time this interview comes out, it’ll be August. Have you lost your mind yet?
Gooch: No, not yet.
TW: Will you?
G: Oh, no. I’ve been doing this for sixteen years so I’m used to it by now.
TW: Sixteen on the Vineyard?
G: Sixteen of ’em.
TW: Where are you from originally?
G: Dedham, right outside of Boston.
TW: What’s kept you here for so long?
G: Well, I moved down here in ’01, my buddy was running this place [The Wharf]. I’d just gotten out of the service and he told me, Why don’t you take a summer off and bartend down here? Fell in love with the place. That was it. Just never left.
TW: So you’re here year-round then. What do you do in the off-season?
G: Yeah, I’m married with a two year old now, so that’s been my life. In the past, I used to take a lot of trips in the winter. [The Wharf] is closed in February, too, so we miss a quarter of the real down-time in the winter, you know?
TW: What about during the summer? What do you do to keep sane?
G: Drink [laughs].
Mickey, a regular sitting nearby chimes in.
Mickey: Same thing everybody else does around here!
G: My daughter, really. Like I said, she’s two, so I’m chasing her around whenever I have a minute to myself. She keeps me pretty busy.
But it’s not that bad, really. You know, the season doesn’t really start until the 1st of July and then it’s over on the 15th of August. I mean, you get hit on Labor Day, but then that’s it. It’s done! But yeah, August is the worst around it.
TW: Let’s try and alleviate that! What should the August people know for a smoother interaction with us service folk?
G: Don’t be overly needy. Don’t expect more than what you should expect. Don’t be mad that it’s too crowded or hot. If you don’t want that–come in late September, it’s beautiful!
Mickey: Shhhh! Don’t tell them everything!
TW: So what I like about the Wharf is you see a lot of island faces in here, and it’s also welcoming to our visitors, too. Other than the fact that you know your regulars, how do you tell an islander apart from the weekender?
G: Oh, I mean… it’s very easy to see. Tourists are usually looking at the sky, or some other thing. And the islander is looking straight ahead, dead fast in front them, looking at where they should be–out of there! That’s how you can tell the difference. You can see an islander from a mile away, it’s funny.
