Caroline Dunlevy feels at home behind the bar at Limoncello
How long have you been at Limoncello? It will be one year this January.
Only one year? That’s pretty quick to earn Bartender of the Month. I worked my way up pretty quickly.
To what do you attribute that climb? I’ve been serving for my entire life, basically. I worked at my family’s restaurant, Brother’s Pizza growing up, and most recently I moved to Jacksonville Beach, FL and got a job bartending there. It was a really nice place, like Limoncello. When I moved back, I knew some people who worked at Limoncello, and I got to talking with Frank [Mingrino, the co-owner and GM], and I showed my worth and worked my way into the role.
What brought you back to West Chester? I have a big Italian family, and I missed them. I didn’t expect to be as much of a homebody as it turns out I am, because I love to travel, but I think I like coming back home best. I missed my grandmothers home-cooked meals.
How’s it been? I’ve made so many new friends. Coming back from Florida, I knew things would be different. Since I’m about to be 25, a lot of the people I knew here had graduated and moved back home or to the city. I was worried I wouldn’t have anyone here, but I’ve made a great group of friends which makes going to work fun.
What’s your favorite aspect of the job? Probably getting to know all the customers and seeing everyone I know in town. I’ve worked all over town, and I get to see these people I wouldn’t typically get to catch up with on a regular basis.
Because everyone comes to Limoncello? Oh yeah. The place is always busy, our hour hour is great, and everyone is a friend to everyone else because of how often they’re there.
What do you think keeps bringing them back? The atmosphere. We offer complimentary bruschetta and limoncello, which makes everyone feel special. Our staff go out of the way to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable, not just the regulars.
And the food’s not bad either right? It’s amazing. Before I worked here, it’s where we came for special occasions.
Where can we find you when you’re not at work? Probably having a drink with my coworkers at Split Rail or Ram’s Head (or Limoncello). I’ve also found a new passion in CycleBar at Dilworthtown Crossing — I try to go six times a week. It’s really fun and getting me in great shape.
Name one thing you can’t live without? The shrimp and crab fra diavolo: spicy marinara with a long hot pepper, over linguine with shrimp and crab meat. It is amazing.
Anything you wanna tell our readers? Come see me at the bar on Wednesday and Thursday nights, especially for our happy hour, which runs from 4-6:30pm, when we have great discounts on drinks and an awesome tapas menu.
