Top of the Morning, Sept. 27, 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 .

A longtime visitor to Bud’s Bar in Rantoul herself, Angela Jones has now been working behind the bar for about three years.

“I was recently engaged, and I was using it as a way to start saving money for my wedding,” Jones said. “Three years later, I’m still working and married!”

Jones, whose full-time job is over at Dirtworks Trucking and Excavating, ended up keeping the part-time role because she loved meeting all the customers, whether locals or from surrounding areas.

She had been a player on a Bud’s-sponsored volleyball team which always met at the bar after games.

“Now we’ve retired from volleyball, but we still go to Bud’s,” Jones said.

While she couldn’t pick a favorite drink to make, she said that the bar is known for its bloody Marys, complete with house-made spicy pickles; Jones’ personal order is usually a Carbliss.

Jones says everyone is welcome at the bar, especially if they like the Cubs, the Illini, or other sports teams whose games are usually on TV.

“It’s a fun-loving atmosphere. Everybody knows everybody there and if you don’t, well, we’ll always talk to everybody that comes in,” she said.

Jones gets pretty busy between her two jobs, but says that when she isn’t working she loves traveling with her family.