Few can walk into Cynthia’s Ristorante and not fall in love with manager Brett Duwe. From the moment he emerges from the bar to greet you — and, if you’ve met before, deliver a quick peck on the cheek — it’s just over. He’ll steal your heart as he extends his arm and escorts you to your table. On a date? No worries. He returns it as he pushes in your chair. It’s up to you, though, to get the beats-per-minute back to normal.Brett Duwe, you are cute, cute, cute, no doubt about it!
Thank you, darlin’.
So when other kids were playing doctor, were you playing bartender?
No, no. But my mom taught me how to make the perfect margarita when I was about 10 years old.
You were just 10 and already blending up margaritas?
That sounds kind of bad. Maybe I was 14 or 15.
Oh, right, that’s way better! What’s her perfect recipe?
The secret is Grand Marnier.
Editor’s Note: Recipe at right!
Now Brett, what is it about you? You have such a great way of making everyone feel so at home at Cynthia’s.We’ve been at it 14 years now — it’s just treating everybody the same. Bill and Cindy (Gardner, the owners) — we all treat our new customers like our best customers. We know our food is going to be good, so we want to make sure the experience our customers have is the best possible. And we’ve had the same staff for a long time. Until BZ left for Mike Smith Toyota and Donny left for school, I didn’t hire anyone for seven years. So we have a lot of consistency.
Speaking of consistency, what drink are you always making?
Probably some type of Cosmo or Lemon Drop martini. I have a few regular Bombay Sapphire martini drinkers, too.
Guilty! Cosmos and Lemon Drops sound pretty girly, though. What do guys tend to order?
Bourbon and water. Cold Peronis.
Guilty by association! What drinks do you hate to make?
I’m going to say this, and then everyone is going to come in and order them!
Ah, come on.... We won’t tell.
OK. Well, even though I make the perfect margarita, I don’t like making margaritas or Bloody Marys — there are too many ingredients, especially when we’re busy. I also don’t like making Mojitos because I have to go to the kitchen and get the fresh mint.
I love Mojitos!
Don’t order ’em when I’m busy!
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| Brett Duwe’s behind-the-bar tie collection landed him on Laura K.’s MileHighStyle blog! |
Nine months out of the year, I ride my motorcycle to work, and I’m not going to wear my work slacks and shirts on my motorcycle. I wear jeans and a T-shirt. So I just keep everything here. I have about 30 ties above the bar, and I keep my shirts and pants in the back. I change clothes around 4 o’clock.
And you always look so handsome. Do women just constantly hit on you?
It’s just part of the job.
You have definitely mastered the art of innocent flirtation.
We try to charm everyone. When Quilt Week hits, I’m charming ladies all week long. We want everybody to have a good time.
You must hear everything! What’s the latest gossip?
I might hear a lot of things, but I won’t repeat them.
Never?
Never. I never repeat what I hear.
Well that’s no fun.
Sorry.
Have you ever witnessed a marriage proposal?
Oh yeah, we’ve helped with at least 70 proposals. We’ve brought out engagement rings, done the ring-in-the-champagne glass thing — all that. We see the guys getting all nervous because they’ve put so much thought into how the evening will go.
Has anyone ever said no?
I don’t think so.
How about break-ups?
You see a little bit of everything. You know, 99 percent of the time everybody’s happy and in a good mood. I did have this one lady customer and she just started…. Uh-oh, I’m gossiping, aren’t I?
No, no, keep going….
She just started out in a foul mood and I said, “We’re not having that right now. Everyone’s having a good time, so you need to stop it. This is a no-complaining bar.”
I bet you charmed her, too! So, clearly, you charm the ladies during work hours. What about your private hours?
Editor’s Note: A surprisingly long delay occurs until finally:
I’m taking some time off from dating.
Um, didn’t I just see you with a beautiful gal the other night?
That was the first date I’ve been on for awhile. I was a little nervous.
You? The Sultan of Suave? That’s hard to believe. What happened?
I don’t know.You never know what’s going to happen. I’m not really looking, but you never know when something’s going to happen.
You’re not looking? Everybody’s looking! Is there a particular type of gal you’re attracted to?
I like all types, but my mom says no more blonde hairdressers.
Ah, that was your ex-wife, right?
Who?
Your ex-wife. Do you think you’d be open to getting married again? She was a long time ago!
Editor’s Note: Yet another long delay occurs, but not nearly so surprising until finally:
I’m not totally ruling it out. Next question, please.
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| Brett with brother BZ, lookin’ all pretty for brother Jeremy McNutt’s wedding to Kelly Smith. |
If my brother BZ doesn’t have a baby boy Duwe with his wife Angie, maybe I’ll consider stepping up. I spend a lot of time with my brothers, my mom and my new nephews and nieces. And this time of year, Sunday is for watching football. We like to go to the games.
Yeah, what about that new party bus you bought?
Ah, now, that’s going to sound bad. I just bought a conversion van so that my brothers and friends and I can all go to games together. We went to the Titans game in Nashville the other weekend. We’re planning a trip to Dallas for a Cowboys game. That’s our team. It’s just a great way to all go together.
It’s got swivel seats, doesn’t it?
Yeah, well, sometimes I like to swivel.
Well, Brett Duwe, I know there are lots of gals who’d like to shake things up in that Magical Mystery Bus of yours! You are definitely one long DAR-LING drink of margarita! Swivel on, Brett Duwe!
