With Joanna Blanche Lioce

Welcome to Behind the Bar where host Ginger Murray delves into the best and the worst stories of being on the job told by those people who serve the drinks and the celebration, the lessened loneliness and the moments in between.
The world comes to us and we want to share a little bit of our world with you.

In this episode: Being a Woman in a Dublin Bar, John the poet, Amusing Proposals, Fucking with Dodger fans, The beauty of feisty Old Women and the importance of a Finger of scotch.

Joanna is a bartender extraordinaire and is a rare entity, in that, she has always wanted to be a bartender.  And she has all the work the prove it. She has run Vesuvio with grace and an honoring that can only come from being a very great person who love these spaces and also knows how to fuck with people when needed.

She has also written a book based on her quips, experiences and moments of delightful strangeness of being behind the bar. It will be published soon - Stay Tuned

Vesuvio ~ first established in 1948 by an art-lover named Henri Lenoir who was looking to create a bohemian gathering spot. Housed in a 1913 Italian Renaissance Revival building, it became a popular hangout for members of the Beat Generation, including Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady, and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who opened the famous City Lights Bookstore next door in 1953.
It has been told that Kerouac was supposed to meet Henry Miller up in Big Sur but he was too happy being at Vesuvio that he never made it. 

Personally, I'm a bit tired of the adoration of those particular figures. Particularly, as there were also great women writers who also hung out there then. And more importantly, many great women writers who have been staff at Vesuvio. The recent years there under Joanna's care has been a great era of its own. Worthy, in fact, of history.

One more quote from Joanna's book because as she says, "Everything is so shitty, Donald Trump is president. Why not put out something that makes people laugh."   

"First customer of the day: a man in a suit jacket, a hot pink tie, and no shirt. Hooray." ~ Joanna Blanche Lioce
You can follow her here: https://www.instagram.com/jolioce/?hl=en

And you can enjoy a little bit of the 70th Anniversary here ~ Nora Toomey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkpM4JLL2IA




Ginger Murray has been a bartender since 1994, working in New York, London, Glasgow, Spain and San Francisco. She lives in Oakland tending lemon trees and enjoying the streets. Eventually - she will be back at the Rite Spot.