Durham Mayor Bill Bell is building his résumé. He’ll be stirring and shaking drinks behind the bar at Revolution restaurant from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 5. Bell will spend the two-hour stint behind the bar at 107 W. Main St., for charity, said Teresa Anile, co-owner of Revolution. Twenty percent of the proceeds from the bar during that period will go to benefit the John Avery Boys & Girls Club in Durham.
It’s unlikely Bell will be tossing bottles and catching them behind his back, a la Cocktail, but the newly re-elected mayor is sure to bring a turnout of supporters, politicos and “frenemies,” if we may borrow vernacular from The Hills. Anile said she’s heard from one patron who will be celebrating his 81st birthday that evening, and is thrilled at the thought that the mayor might be making him a cocktail.
Bell said Monday he doesn’t drink often, so he doesn’t have a signature cocktail to reveal (the staff at Revolution just might come up with a special namesake drink for him to serve that night), and he also said he wants to remind participants to line up designated drivers if they plan to imbibe.
Bell’s appearance is the first of a guest bartender series, Anile said. On Jan. 12, two staffers from Durham ad agency McKinney will be on hand to serve McKinney Manhattans and other drinks from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. to benefit Urban Ministiries. On Jan. 19, Scott Harmon of Center Studio Architecture will serve up Five Points Martinis and other cocktails from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., with proceeds benefiting Builders for Hope, Anile said.
More guest bartenders will be announced soon, Anile said.
