We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rusty Lewter a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Rusty thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry

During 2020 when the hospitality industry was limited; I utilized the opportunity to provide an at home cocktail catering experience. This allowed my customers to host a gathering in the comfort of their own home with first class service. As the industry continues to climb back, we have found that people still lean towards our quality service hosting from their preferred location, mostly their homes.

The industry continues to focus on sustainability and personalization, which is “Your Charlotte Bartenders” focus. You have heard of “farm to table” . We try to be “farm to bar” . We recently harvested our first crop of honey from our own local beehives, which we are utilizing for simple syrup. Recently our focus is looking for ways to reduce single-use plastics; and we continue to recycle our liquor bottles to support our fresh made mixers. Personalization is always the focus with our customers; we take the time to tailor each experience; customizing the menu and bar features they may want for their event and guests.

The hospitality industry is constantly changing; we at “Your Charlotte Bartender” are always continuing our education on cocktails trends as well as consumer preferences; our focus is always to meet the needs of our customers.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Rusty Lewter here ! I grew up in Apex, NC, and moved to Charlotte at the age of 18. I have over 20 years of bartending experience; I was discovered when a regular customer invited me to a Carolina Panthers game; upon arriving at the game, I quickly learned that she was responsible for all Food & Beverages at the stadium. I was hired to work within her department and one day filled in servicing the Richardson Family. The following week I was asked to become his stadium butler. I worked with the Richardson family for 8 years until they sold the Panthers. When I left, I took over as head mixologist at Carmel Country Club. While working at both locations, I was working on private events and building up my network. During 2020, when Covid and quarantine happened, the golf club closed, and it gave me the time to focus on creating my side business into a full-time job. I created a logo, and website, and filed for an LLC.

As of 2023, I have 12 bartenders and 5 servers working with me and our growth was 112% from the previous year. We provide craft cocktail catering for all types of events, birthdays, weddings, and corporate events, and also teach mixology classes virtually and in person. Recently I started beekeeping, and I am harvesting my own honey to use as a natural sweetener in our cocktails.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When starting out I got GOOD advice on starting a social media for my business. Understanding the importance of consistency; I committed to posting on each event I was hired for. I highlighted the homeowner, other vendors as well as the brands I was utilizing. As people shared, liked, and commented on my posts I grew my audience. I still see the importance of acknowledging all those that comment on my socials as I want to engage with my followers. 40% of our new clients have come from my Instagram and I have formed a personal and professional relationship with Sutler’s Gin through our social media interactions. If you are looking to build a social media presence my advice is to stay consistent; interact with your followers and whenever you can give back to the community.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

If our new clients are not finding us on Instagram; they are interacting with us at an event or are being referred from a loyal customer. When potential clients are reaching out to hire us for their events they either have experienced our best in class service and got to try one our top rated cocktailst. Or asked around and we were highly recommended by a trusted friend, family, or co-worker. There is no better compliment to our business than this !

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cltbartender.com/
• Instagram: @your_charlotte_bartender
• Facebook: Rusty Lewter

Image Credits
Cameron English @camondacam18