Mom By Day, Bartender by Night
It’s odd to see a bar in Fort Myers Beach empty, but it often happens when it’s 9 a.m. and the start of Leah Lynch’s shift. Here, bars and the beach are synonymous. The 24 different kinds of draft beers, both foreign and domestic, stand behind her.
The early 2000s pop hits are low, but serenade Yucatan Beach Bar and Grill. The music contrasts the tropical theme. The workers have on black uniforms, but the patrons are dressed accordingly with sandals. Lynch wears a jacket because according to her, filling cups with alcohol can be cold.
Lynch, 29, stands prepping the bar for the day. The white rag she uses to clean the bar is dry. Her right hand sprays the pink sanitizing solution. Within 10 minutes the bar and attached stools are cleaned.
Customers are already here, but she prepares for the lunchtime rush. To the right of the bar are three men. One man sits on a stool and places the silverware in napkins.
Her smile covers her face as she greets customers.
“What can I help you with? Would you like something to drink?” she asked. The couple sits and orders two margaritas.
“Do you have Patron Silver? they both say simultaneously.
Lynch’s eyes open wide and says “We’re at the beach. I have every type of Patron.” Then she asks if they are interested in trying her favorite tequila, Cuervo Gold.
The couple declines the offer. This is followed by the crashing of ice with the cups she is using to serve the drinks. The rim of the cup is lightly covered in salt and topped with a slice of lime.
There are regulars at the bar that Lynch has grown fond of. There is a man who orders the same breakfast order every Wednesday. Today is not the exception.
The customer grabs her attention.
“Ready? Up! Up!” he says.
She stands across the bar and her mouth opens. He throws multiple pieces of breakfast potatoes and she catches none. The pieces lie on the floor but are quickly picked up in matter of minutes.
Bartending DNA
At 15 years old Lynch started working in restaurants. However, she has not always been a bartender.
Her first jobs were hosting, serving and once she turned 18 she began her journey as a bartender.
“It’s the legal age for it. Florida,” she said, with a smile.
Lynch was born in Fort Myers, Florida. Her father moved here from Ohio. He met her mother in Florida, and she said he moved to Florida because he liked to have fun.
Bartending is in the Lynch family. Her father was a bartender, she is a bartender and her two younger siblings, Lacy and Logan, are also bartenders.
Her parents divorced and her mother primarily raised her. Lynch said that as a child she behaved well and excelled in school.
“I was nominated to be a student ambassador and for Miss Preteen of Florida,” she said.
Although bartending is in her blood, Lynch studied massage therapy. She earned her certificate and worked in the field for a year. Lynch said that she decided to pursue bartending because the income is higher.
Like her mother, Lynch is a single mother. Her 5-year-old son, Maveric, changed her life.
“It’s hard. It’s hard working a full-time job and having to take care of a person. He’s not cooking for me and he still wants me to carry him,” she said. Lynch said that gives her joy and happiness.
The sentiment is also shared by Maveric.
“My mom makes me feel happy and I love her with all my heart,” Maveric said. He said that she’s beautiful and that Lynch is awesome because she makes him food and tucks him in at night.
She Sets the Bar
By 11 a.m. the bar has gone from two to nine people. It’s busy season, and now she’s on the move. Spring Break is in full swing.
The tables are being filled and the menus change from breakfast to a three-fold lunch menu. The clientele she says is different this month. She says they’re younger and wilder.
The customers drinking mimosas ask for the tab. Their stools are taken by three shirtless men. She glares at them and then says, “shirts are required at all times boys.”
The men exit the bar and Lych said she had a similar experience in Illinois.
Being a bartender has led Lynch to multiple opportunities. She has lived in Chicago and Tampa.
However, Florida has always been home for Lynch. Here she spends time with her family.
“She’s the definition of a lioness. She’s a provider, protective, loyal and loving. She’s a everything you want in a strong woman. She’s a big cat,” her sister Lacey Lynch said.
As a bartender she has had countless interactions with security and drunk people. Her favorite part of the job is kicking people out.
She said a few years ago, she worked at a college bar and a guy never tipped her. She told him that if he wanted to drink he had to. He refused and security escorted him out of the bar.
This Spring Break season, Lynch said that she hasn’t kicked anyone out, but she has stopped serving drinks because she wasn’t going clean up puke.
According to Lynch, the people that tip the best are older and drunk. They tend to leave tips that are more than $20.
“I think it’s because they’re not broke or they don’t think about what they’re doing,” Lynch said.
Her coworker said that there are two sides to Lynch.
“She’s a passionate, hard worker. Anyone who knows her is lucky to know her, unless you’re in her bad side. In that case watch out,” Luke Hernandez said.
Lynch was reluctant in describing herself, but after thinking briefly she responded with laughter: beautiful, smart, funny and humble.
Her role models are all females: Wonder Woman, Marilyn Monroe, Cardi B and her mother. Lynch said that these women make being a woman something to be proud of.
On her left hip dangles a black bottle opener. She keeps it on her so that she can open bottles quickly and “Bust a cap.”
Next Chapter
The sports highlights and recap are on the screens in the bar.
Entertainment is the most rewarding thing about her job, Lynch said. It’s her way of being social and working at the same time.
“As a mom, I don’t have a lot of time to socialize with friends. The customers and my coworkers have become, in a way, my friends,” she said.
Through the rollercoaster of her life, she wishes to set a good example to her son.
As a 17-year-old, Lynch was sexually assaulted. She said that this impacted her relationship with her mother. Recently, Lynch told her parents of her sexual assault story when her sister experienced the same thing.
Lynch was arrested when she fought the man who her sister said sexually assaulted her. According to the arrest report, Lynch was booked for battery.
“The world doesn’t end when bad things happen. You just have to keep going,” she said.
Lynch said that she realizes that being a bartender isn’t her long-term goal. The job is hard on her body and says that she can’t do it forever.
Instead, she is focusing on saving money and increasing her credit score to get a small business loan. She plans to open a marijuana dispensary when it becomes legal in Florida.
The customers around her laugh when she starts a conversation.
“You’re sure that you don’t want a virgin drink?” she asked.
When asked where she saw herself in 10 years she replied:
“I see myself with a nice pair of double Ds.”
