Meet Marino Pavicic | Bar Manager

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marino Pavicic and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marino, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
Working as a Bar Manager a lot of people assume you walk into the shift ready to go and everything is calm. Very little do they see the storm hours prior to the shift. Arriving maybe 3 to 5 hours early, most times even earlier, just to prepare for a night. From meeting with vendors, other managers, to overall small projects you have behind the bar those hours fly by quick. No matter how prepared you think you are, the last 30 min before doors open is energetic and fast paced. You’re looking for every little detail you may have missed. Is everything wiped down, do you have enough glassware and fruit cut, how much juice do you have on hand for the shift? All these little details that when you come sit at my bar, you never realized had to happen. But you’ll see me with a smile and youll get one hell of a drink.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
To summarize my job, I essentially. create and develop cocktails and run a bar program for a restaurant group. I started off leaving medical school and ended up working at On Swann in Tampa. My first day every in hospitality was their opening night, and boy was it hectic. I quickly worked my way from cleaning tables, to the kitchen and eventually becoming a server. I fell in love with the energy and connection you make with people, something I missed in the medical field. After a year I wanted more. Just ironically there was a bar position open at On Swann and they took a chance on me. 6 years later and Im still with Chef Ponte at Olivia and Ponte Modern American. When you create cocktails and drinks for people you find out that youre a little chef behind the bar creating flavors and moments for people. Ive constantly heard that as a bartender, youre on a show. Youre always performing. You never know whos going to sit at your bar, what they want to talk about and what their day is like. You become almost like playdoh and confirm differently to all sorts of conversations. Every shift has to be perfect, every drink as to be perfect, and you, yourself have to be perfect. Its a high stress, high pressure, fast paced nonstop job. And I love it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
In my bias opinion, I think Tampa has one of the most up and coming hot spots all over the city. From Armature works to catch food and a rooptop bar overlooking the city skyline. To bars like Hotel Bar, Ciros, and Fly bar that deliver incredible cocktails. Little hubs like Midtown, Hype Park and Soho to create energy all over the place. And of course Olivia to for the best food in town.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A big shoutout goes to two mentors for me. Vicente and Chef Chris. Vicente was the one who got me into bartending and showed me the ropes. He understand balance, freshness and how to create cocktails on the fly. The way a bartender should look and behave behind the bar I learned from him. On the other hand Chef Chris allowed me to expand on my core principles of bartending. What Vicente laid down in foundation, Chef Chris helped me expand on it. Pushing me to further limits and seeing more of bartending as an art and how to properly handle all aspects. Ordering, inventory, prepping, garnishes, and anticipating what a guest wants are crucial for a bartender to succeed.

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