A native of Maine, Casey Metzger landed his first gig in Park City, Utah as a barback in the mid- ‘90s. From that time on, he realized that he had a passion for bartending. He has tended bars in fine-dining restaurants, worked in nightclubs, and eventually started his own private bartending company – Top Shelf Services. For over a decade, Top Shelf Services has provided bartending and consulting services to all sorts of people around Summit County. With a mission to “provide services aimed to exceed our client’s expectations by demonstrating professionalism, friendliness, and the willingness to go the distance for our client’s events,” Metzger and his staff have served drinks at weddings, fundraisers, festivals, and house parties. They have served celebrities like Michael Jordan and Post Malone and worked with crowds from 10 people to 1,010. “I have a hard time remembering people by their names, but always remember them by what they drink,” he says. Metzger also currently serves as the Board Chair for Park City Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau. He and others at the Chamber have been working hard to ensure the Park City economy rebounds quickly from the worldwide pandemic.
When Covid-19 hit, Metzger and his Top Shelf Services team had to pivot and get creative. “We started getting ideas together on what we could do in this term, but also keep moving forward,” said Metzger. They poured out their creativity and passion for entertaining and cocktailing and came up with The Bartenders Box. It’s packaging the fun of bartending and cocktailing into a box that is delivered to your door. Each box contains fresh-squeezed juices, prepared garnishes, handcrafted syrups, along with recipes and tips on creating the perfect cocktail at home. Now that is thinking outside the box!
FAVORITE taste ADVENTURES FROM THE resilient mixologist:
1. AS OWNER AND FOUNDER OF TOP SHELF SERVICES, A PREMIER BARTENDING SERVICE IN PARK CITY, YOU GET TO BE A PART OF MANY MEMORABLE LOCAL EVENTS IN A WIDE VARIETY OF VENUES. PLEASE SHARE THE STORIES OF A COUPLE OF THOSE EVENTS THAT REALLY STAND OUT IN YOUR RECOLLECTION. WHAT MADE THESE EVENTS SPECIAL?
#1 - I’m a co-founder of a brand called The Bartender Recharge. We throw events each year to show appreciation for local bartenders. It’s an opportunity to show them a good time for all the hard work that they put in to entertain our community. Two years ago, two hours before our event hosting 700 of our finest service workers, we got a call from Wu-Tang Clan!!! They asked if they could come and perform for our party free of charge! Without hesitation, we made it happen. Not a soul in the room knew who was about to hit the stage… and then…BOOM. The rest is history! Not one person in that room will ever forget that night. It felt great to be able to share that with our hard-working service industry.
#2 - So many to mention. Another one that stands out was when a client of ours set up a stage and bleachers in their driveway. An A+ professionally created venue for 400 of their closest friends. They had a comic, and then the Blues Brothers featuring Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi performed. Oh, and we had the opportunity to make sure Michael Jordan was well taken care of!
2. You have lived in Park City for some time now and the food scene continues to evolve and expand. Where do you go to satisfy your taste buds?
Park City continues to attract talented and passionate chefs from an array of diverse backgrounds with cuisine inspired from around the globe! One of our family’s favorite restaurants is 11 Hauz. It is a family-owned Jamaican restaurant. The amazing people, homemade authentic Jamaican recipes, and Red Stripe beer transcend you to their homeland. They really make you feel special with all the love they put into your experience. (you said, “tasty buds”! right? Ha-ha!)
3. THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC CAN IMPACT A BUSINESS LIKE YOURS. WHAT ARE SOME CREATIVE THINGS THAT YOU AND YOUR PARTNERS HAVE DONE TO GET THROUGH THE TOUGH TIMES?
The fact that Top Shelf’s recipe for success involves large groups of people gathering and consuming tasty libations, the pandemic has had an enormous effect on our business. In March 2020, as the Pandemic hit, we pivoted fast with The Bartender’s Box. A fresh, fun, and easy cocktailing experience delivered to your door. Being able to put our heads together and pour our creative juices into a box helped us remain positive and persevere through the pandemic.
4. WHERE ARE YOUR FAVORITE BARS OR BREWERIES IN SUMMIT COUNTY? WHAT MAKES THESE YOUR FAVORITE?
- Wasatch Brewery: The flagship of breweries in our state, and the home of my favorite “food” beer; the jalapeno cream ale. The spiciness in each batch of the beer can fluctuate in intensity based on the jalapeno makeup, which always makes me curious and excited to pair it with their great food.
- O’Shucks Bar & Grill in Quarry Village: I love dive bars! My wife and I had our first date at O’Shucks on Main St. 21 years ago. We still try and revisit that day each year with a beer and garlic burger. Now that we have 3 young boys, we like patronizing the Jeremy Ranch location where we can play pool and shuffleboard as a family. Still trying to beat my wife, Heather, in a game of pool after all these years.
5. What trends are you seeing in mixology? Is Park City/Summit County keeping up with those trends, leading the trends, bucking the trends? Anything unique to this area?
One trend that I see in our space is celebrating locally produced ingredients in cocktails and putting spins on classic cocktails. Our area has a lot of locally grown herbs, fruits, and vegetables grown throughout the year that can be paired with locally crafted spirits. Our local bartending scene continues to become more sophisticated when it comes to mixology as well. There are a lot of talented bartenders all around our county who have a passion for mixology and searching out interesting ingredients and techniques to share with their guests. To do this in Utah (an alcohol control state) with very limited selections of products and funky laws, demonstrates their dedication and interests in their profession. You can explore all this talent with the Park City Area Restaurant Association annual cocktail contest each summer.
6. In recent years, the landscape for purveyors of Utah spirits, wines, and brews has blossomed, and Top Shelf Services has been a strong supporter of local brands. Tell us about some of the local makers we should have on our radar and why?
Top Shelf has always been a huge supporter of locally made products. And the reason: there is so much talent and passion put in bottles by these makers. Sharing these products with visitors is something that my team and I love doing! We take a lot of pride in it. Twenty-five years ago, when I moved here, the thought of locally produced wine & spirits was so far-fetched to me. Now there’s an array of delicious and well-crafted beer, wine and spirits made right here in Summit County. We all must thank Greg Schirf, the founder of the Wasatch Brewery for his perseverance in blazing a trail for those behind him. Breweries and distilleries in UTAH? Yes. Thanks to Greg and his vision. Being able to share Wasatch Brewery, Alpine Distillery, Old Town Cellars, and High West Distillery with others is a true pleasure.
7. Why is Park City/Summit County’s art and culture scene important?
Our local art and culture scene is VERY important... It is how we as residents and visitors can identify with who we are. The creators of our local art and culture and their work play an important role in defining our character and who we are as a community as well as a destination. One way to understand how important Park City and Summit County's art and culture scene is to us; is to try to imagine what it would look like if it didn't exist.
CASEY AT WORK:
Find out about Casey Metzger’s work at the following: