“Where else would I be. There’s no better place to be.”
By Peter Conway
This week visited the Lampost Bar &z Nightclub on a rainy day – the perfect kind of day for Islanders and visitors to pack into a cozy bar. In the mix of it all, Jimmy Shea took the time to share what keeps him on Martha’s Vineyard.
This Week: Where are you from originally?
Jimmy Shea: I grew up in Milton, MA. Born in Dorchester.
TW: What brought you here in the first place?
JS: Four summers ago, my sister was trying to get me to come down. And I kept saying “No, no, no. Not for me.” She said, “Well, I put a payment down for $1000 bucks. The house is open in a week and your rent in due in 5…” So I moved down here, liked it, and haven’t left.
TW: That’s a story unlike most. Someone gets a house for you and you have to move in.
JS: Yeah, literally. And I was broke at the time, so I had to get a job.
TW: Have you always been a bartender?
JS: I’ve been in the restaurant business since I was 14 and I been all over. I learned how to bartend at a pub in Boston.
TW: I am sure that in all that time you have had to seen some interesting stuff, especially when people have had enough to drink. What is the most interesting thing you have seen along that way?
JS: I’m going to have to pass on that. I have seen a lot of stuff. In Boston, every now and then I’ll be closing down, getting ready to go and I check the bathrooms as part of the procedure. I’ll walk in and see some guy passed out on the toilet.
TW: When it gets busy, what is the best way to keep yourself sane?
JS: Keep on Keeping on. Don’t pick your head up unless you’re taking an order. Try to stay out of each others way. We all work with each other pretty well and you kind of need to.
TW: I guess this will be my last question and then I’ll let you go. What keeps you here?
JS: Where else would I be. There’s no better place to be.
MORE INFO:
6 Circuit Ave, Oak Bluffs
To order: (508) 693-4032
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