We try to slow down Joe Keane of Alibis Café long enough to answer a few questions
HUMANS, by nature, are social animals, and bartenders are even more sociable creatures than most of us. It’s in the job description. Of all the bartenders we’ve asked, “What’s the best part of the job?” every single one has said, “Meeting new people.” That’s why we stopped asking the question.
But Alibis bartender Joe Keane takes that sociability to a new level. You’re as likely to find him behind the bar squirting water on himself with the soda gun as you are to hear him out front entertaining the smokers with rants about girls in high heels. Because of this, regulars at Alibis already know a lot about Joe. We thought it might be nice to give the rest of you a chance to meet him.
Name: Joe Keane
Age: 29
Hometown: Glen Mills
How long have you been in West Chester? I’ve always been hanging out here, but I just started working here eight months ago.
So, you still live in Glen Mills? Yeah. I have a house there.
How long have you been bartending? Uh… well… [sighs] ugh. I don’t know. I was a chef for more than ten years, and I just bartended here and there.
Where were you a chef? Pace One, and I got out of there right before it really started to go downhill.
That was a few years ago. What were you doing before coming to Alibis? Basically anything I could get my hands on. I was working construction. I was cooking. I was doing some catering. Then I got a call from my friend asking me if I wanted to bartend here, and I haven’t looked back. It’s too fun; there’s too many women.
What makes Alibis different? We have a phenomenal staff, tons of TVs and live music. Nobody has a sports bar with live music. Plus, you can watch the game on a 12-foot screen with our HD projector.
Do you watch a lot of sports? I watch hockey and football and a lot of extreme sports, like skateboarding and BMX.
Favorite teams? Flyers and Eagles, but I’m a Pennsylvania sports guy. I support my city first and state second, so if the Eagles are out, I support the Steelers. Same with Penguins.
What would you say to people to get them to come to this bar? Ugh. Man. You’re making me the voice of the bar. This is terrible. Umm… We have cheap beer and good drink specials. I mean, we have the cheapest drinks in town and live music.
What’s the most commonly ordered drink here? Oh, definitely PBR. We sell a lot of PBR pounders.
And what’s the most commonly ordered shot? I’m just gonna say what I want to be the most commonly ordered shot: the pickleback. It’s a tribute to Ryan Dunn.
What’s in that? It’s just two separate shots. One of Jameson and one of pickle juice. You take one, then the other.
Which comes first? Do it however you like. I take the Jameson, pour in the pickle juice, then swallow.
What other job do you think you could have and still rock that hair? Radio? I definitely couldn’t be cooking with this hair. It’s way too flammable. There’s too much stuff in it.
Other than the hair, what makes you stand out? I don’t know. [Fellow bartender Devin Toner chimes in, “His glasses, personality, shower scenes and overall hilarity.”] I do have thick glasses.
