Top of the Morning, Aug. 30, 2024

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 .

ET’s Downtown in Rantoul couldn’t choose just one bartender, so we’re making a rare exception for not one, not two but three bartenders of the week!

Jennifer Wise of Buckley, Hannah Bray of Hoopeston and Haley Jones of Rantoul have been serving drinks at the restaurant for a collective 10 years.

They had each heard good things about ET’s and needed flexible hours; Bray also works at a spa, Wise works at Paxton-Buckley-Loda High, and Jones “even gets her teenagers to hang out with her occasionally.”

The best parts of the job turned out to be getting to know customers and making them smile, as well as coming up with new drinks to try.

ET’s drink menu rotates seasonally, so it can be hard to choose a favorite drink, but the bartenders currently recommend the spiked strawberry lemon shake-up, the blood orange Paloma or a classic old fashioned.

The restaurant is also known for having a great bourbon and rye whiskey selection, including its own private label available at the bar.

All three bartenders have been with ET’s through a lot of good times, whether celebrating alongside customers on birthdays and anniversaries or celebrating the restaurant’s own growth into a new building.

They’ve been through some less good times, too, but still remember multiple shutdowns during the pandemic fondly.

“While it wasn’t a great time to be in this business, we were so well supported by our customers, that we’ll never take them for granted,” said ET’s owner Kim Powell Harris, paraphrasing what her bartenders shared with her.