With great eye contact, an easy laugh and a warmth about her that makes you feel instantly at ease, it's no wonder that everyone from her boss to a popular local band adores "Peaches."
"Peaches," a long-time bartender who refuses to divulge her real name, currently works at Una Cafe, 4410 W. Forest Home Ave.
"She has such a great personality," says Pete Djilas, owner of Una.
The Milwaukee rock band The Probers wrote a song called "Peaches (Is A Rockstar)" and although she seems way too unpretentious to wear a loaded label like "rock star," one can easily understand where the inspiration came from. In her own way, on her own stage behind the bar, "Peaches" really is a rock star.
OnMilwaukee.com recently stopped by Una to drink a couple of margaritas with "Peaches," and we thought that maybe after a drink she would tell us her real name, but no such luck. Neither "Peaches" nor Djilas would spill it.
OnMilwaukee.com: So, what's your real name?
Peaches: Oh, I never, ever tell. I like being a little mysterious.
OMC: OK, so how did you get the nickname?
P: My best friend worked with me at Hi-Hat. He was a cook, and anytime he put my food in the window, I would say, "Thank you, Sweet Peach" and so he just started calling me "Peaches" and it stuck.
OMC: Really, everyone just calls you "Peaches?"
P: At this point, yes. It's who I am.
OMC: What's your specialty drink?
P: I'm pretty good at margaritas, rum punch, old fashioneds ... I love making the more complicated cocktails.
OMC: What is your cue to quit serving someone?
P: I used to only cut someone off if they were drooling all over the bar or really irritating another customer, but I had to get more serious.
OMC: Where did you bartend before Una?
P: Riverhorse -- that was a fun one -- and Hi-Hat.
OMC: What's the worst pick-up line you've heard?
P: I don't even know where to start with that one. Let's see ... Recently, I was wearing really tall heels and a guy said, "I'd like to climb those trees." Or another time, I was wearing hoop earrings an a guy said, "When you gonna let me jump through those hoops?"
OMC: What's a fair tip?
P: I don't try to worry about it too much, but if people leave me something at the end, that's great. You don't have have to tip me on every drink, but if you don't tip at the end, after a night of drinking, I'm like, "Wait a second?!"
OMC: How many nights a week do you work?
P: Four, but I like to hang out here, too. I live across the street.
OMC: What do you like about this bar?
P: I like the jukebox for sure. It has everything from The Beatles to Nine Inch Nails to Tool. The regulars are fantastic. It's an "everybody knows your name" scene here.
OMC: If you weren't a bartender, what would you be?
P: Probably something artistic. If I could hold a tune. I would sing.
OMC: How do you feel about the smoking ban?
P: I smoked for 19 years and I quit smoking in June. I have a love / hate relationship with smoking. But I'm personally glad about the ban.
OMC: What's the most annoying aspect of your job?
P: (Pointing and laughing) That guy, right over there!
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
