INDULGENCES mixology


The Rage Monthly: Chalon, you have a very interesting and beautiful first name. Does it have a special meaning attached to it? Chalon Pires: Oh thank you. It’s a river in France; I’m not French, so I have no idea how my mom came up with that. She just wanted us to all have different names.


Rage: How long have you been in San Diego, and what is the best thing about living here for you? Chalon: I have lived in San Diego off-and-on for about ten years. I’m from Boston


originally, so clearly the weather [is a great thing about living here]. I mean I love L.A., but there’s just something about San Diego; I always end up back here. I was pretty much over shoveling my driveway and that was not good. I’m from Cape Cod, so I cut fish, and I’d have to be there at 5:00 in the morning, so I’d shovel my driveway at 3:00 a.m. just so I could get out and be there by 5:00. It was ridiculous and it was not fun! I went to college in L.A. and I got out [from Cape Cod] as soon as I could.


Rage: How did you become interested in bartending? Chalon: Well I own a clothing company, so I do a lot of work with promoters, and


networking, in general. It was kind of a thing where I could still be social and go to my events. It just gave me the most flexible schedule.


Rage: What’s the name of your clothing line, and where can people purchase it? Chalon: It’s called La Familia Clothing, and they sell it at House.Boi, actually.


Rage: Which days and nights find you behind the bar at Fiesta Cantina? Chalon: Well I manage here, so typically the busier nights and definitely on week-


ends.


Rage: Is there a particular day/night when you love to work? Chalon: Sunday is my favorite; people coming in to watch football gets really busy,


so I’m usually the opening manager. And, I just started a new night here called “Double Wide Wednesday.” (laughs) I know, keep it PC.—it’s kind of a white trash Wednesday theme. But, it has Happy Hour all day and $5 all-you-can-eat macaroni and cheese all day. It’s gonna be a good time!


Rage: What would you say is your signature drink? Chalon: I actually do a rendition of the “Mind Eraser.” Because, obviously, this is a


tequila bar, I use the Patron XO, instead of Kahlua, and then I’ll do the vanilla vodka— people are super into that, it’s the hot item right now.


Rage: How do you go about steering customers to try a drink that they aren’t sure about? Chalon: Well luckily here, this company, in general, is really good about giving us


comp tabs. And Happy Hour is always really good, too, you get two shots for the price of one. So people aren’t as scared to go out on a limb for something else. I have no problem comping drinks for certain servers or bartenders, if they want to try out their signature shot, or whatever it is.


Rage: And that seems like a good way to keep Happy Hour so happy… Chalon: Absolutely! That’s why we have two of them a day at 4:00 to 8:00, and our


late night Happy Hour is 10:30 to 12:30. Those get insane, we’re typically at capacity on Friday and Saturday for those late night Happy Hours. We have ten stores, from here all the way to Brentwood; it’s always consistently on Yelp as “Best Happy Hour” in all different locations.


Rage: Which food item on the menu is your absolute favorite? Chalon: The “Muchos Nachos” hands down.


Rage: Aside from ‘White Trash Wednesdays,’ are there any upcoming special events slated for the next few months? Chalon: We’re going to try to start throwing a party once a month here. We just did a Grindr party yesterday that went over really well. Collaborations are what we’re looking


Fiesta Cantina’s


SERVES UP SHOTS THAT ARE ALWAYS IN FASHION


CHALON PIRES


by brad shaw


to do in the new couple of months, for sure. We do promotions with Jagermeister every Thursday for our “Size Queen” game night hosted by Paris. They give away a lot of fun gear and it’s always a good time. We have a great spot to host in; people love to throw their parties here.


Rage: What would you say sets Fiesta Cantina apart from other bars and restaurants in the area? Chalon: Everytime I get somebody from out of town who hasn’t ever been here,


they’re like, “This makes my vacation feel like a vacation.” When I’m at work I feel like I am on vacation myself. There’s just something about the vibe in here, the décor, and everybody’s always in a good mood; you can’t be in a bad mood at Fiesta Cantina.


Rage: When you aren’t working, what is something that you enjoy doing in your free time? Chalon: Well, like I said, I design. I also DJ, I play the drums and enjoy anything social. I go out a lot. Of course, when you work in the industry, you have friends in every bar. So, I like to do that whole bar hop thing with my core group of friends.


Rage: What is the most satisfying aspect of being a bartender? Chalon: This community, in general, is really close-knit, but just the people that I’ve


met, and been able to network with [has been very satisfying]. We have a great staff here; everybody is really friendly and very close. It’s very social and very fun, and I’m very lucky to not have to be working a 9-to-5; I was working a 9-to-5 marketing and account manager job, and I left to go back to bartending. I love it and I’m so glad that I did! I’ve done everything, like when I cut fish, and this is by far my favorite job.


FIESTA CANTINA Located at 142 University Avenue in Hillcrest


64


RAGE monthly | JANUARY 2011


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