Photo Post Who’s that behind the bar at Kokoro Sushi Bar and Japanese Bistro? #tikitender #guestbartender #europeanvillage

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Top 5 Summertime Drinks: Tom Collins

Tom Collins, properly presented in a Collins’ glass

Top 5 Summertime Drinks: Tom Collins

In my book, there isn’t much that says “summertime” like a nice Collins drink.   A Collins is a family of sweetened “fizzes”.   The Tom Collins is the grandaddy of them all.   You will need gin, sugar, fresh lemons, and soda water for this cocktail.   While your shopping, grab some oranges and cocktail cherries.   If you don’t have a Collins glass, try to use another tall glass such as a cooler glass or even a beer pint.   Squeeze a half lemon into the glass and add a teaspoon of sugar.  Stir this mixture a bit with a bar spoon.   Fill with ice and pour in 2 oz gin.   Shake with vigor to dissolve the sugar.   Top with club soda and stir.   Garnish with a cherry and orange slice.   Alternate method (a little more labor intensive) is to muddle lemon wedges with the sugar then continue the rest of the process.  This is how I make it when I want it to be extra special. 

 

Photo Post 4Ms Night #monpetitchou #tikitender

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Photo Post Ice Ice Baby #tikitender

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Photo Post All geared up and ready for fun #tikitender

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Busy Week for TikiTender (Schedule Update)

Hi there

When you’re a bartender in a beach town, Memorial Day Weekend is always a busy one.  This week is no exception.  Today I am enjoying a glorious day off!  Tuesday evening I will be at Mon Petit Chou Spa & Salon  in St. Augustine Beach for their monthly 4Ms Night (Martinis, Massages, Makeovers and Manicures)  Wednesday & Thursday nights will find me at the Golden Lion Cafe Tiki Bar from 5-close.  Friday & Saturday I will be back behind the Tiki Bar for day shifts.  Tiki Bar opens at noon and I will likely be out of there by 5 or 6.  Sunday will be a marathon.  Shutters up at noon, and I will be there for the long haul.  In between, I will be running the show at Fun Coast Bartending.

Accepting offers now for buying me drinks, bringing me snacks, and shoulder rubs.

TikiTender Voted Favorite Bartender

TikiTender Voted Favorite Bartender

Mark Woods aka TikiTender has been voted Favorite Bartender for the sixth time by the readers of Backstage Pass Magazine.  Backstage Pass Magazine is an entertainment magazine based in Daytona Beach.  The magazine covers Volusia County (Daytona Beach), Flagler County, and St. John’s County (St. Augustine).   Votes are compiled via snail-mail, email, and through posts on the magazine’s Facebook page.  “Tiki” has received this award for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, & 2012.

Photo Post Office with a view #tikitender #a1a #ocean #beach #florida

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My Foursquare Obsession (And How Businesses Should Exploit It)

This was intended to be posted on the Chamber Website today, but didn’t make it there in time so I am posting it through my channels.

Why Every Business Should Use Foursquare

I love my Android phone. I mean the kind of love that makes me seem weird. You know all of those people who seem to be attached via hand to their iPhones? They learned that years ago watching me glued to my Blackberry. I was mobile tweeting via text message back in the dark ages of Twitter (you know, 2008 or so). I love trying new apps and will often download them, use them for a couple of days, then forget about them. This rampant downloading tends to take a toll on my two year old
smartphone. The seemingly endless storage and robust processor that I couldn’t stop talking about back in 2011 do not impress the new apps coming out every day. So I occasionally start fresh with a factory reset. I wipe my phone clean of customizations, tweaks, and apps and only add them back as I need them. You should try it sometime. (Don’t worry, your important stuff is backed up via your google
account and your photos are stored on your SD card.)

So there I sat this morning with for all purposes a new phone. A phone with a broken crystal and many
other cosmetic issues, but inside it was brand new. It sat very quietly emitting barely a peep, syncing
with my Google contacts. It was quiet because none of the apps, except for gmail and google calendar,
were active. No Facebook notifications, no Twitter notifications, no 15 different email addresses being
synced. My phone was calm. I left it there for a bit and went on with my morning work. I looked
over a couple of hours later and was surprised to see a nearly full battery. A positive side effect of the
lack of apps is no strain on my battery. Eventually, I prepared to get out into the world. I was having a
business conversation via Facebook so I started the reinstall of Facebook Messenger . I would continue
the conversation in the car (via voice technology of course). With that I headed out.

Now, here is the question. Imagine for a moment you have no applications whatsoever on your smart
phone. What are the first few apps you would install? Angry Birds? Facebook? Instagram? Suntrust
Mobile Banking? Pinterest? Zombie Frontier? Pandora? Besides the aforementioned Facebook
Messenger, my first app was Foursquare.

Why? Because I am obsessed with Foursquare. I didn’t make it 5 minutes away from home before
I “needed” it. As I started to cross the Hammock Dunes Toll Bridge, I instinctively reached up to
my phone to check-in to “The Toll Booth at Hammock Dunes Toll Bridge”. Why? Because I have a
mayorship to hold down, for Pete’s sake! Going into a restaurant with me? Wait just a minute, I need
to check in. Do you have a charger I can borrow? Good, my battery is dying and I need to check in.
It is almost comical, I know, but those in the Foursquare community know exactly what I mean. It’s
almost a disorder.

How is this relevant to your business? If you are a virtual business, it really isn’t. If you are brick
and mortar and do not utilize Foursquare you have missed the boat and the boat is filled with thousands
of people like me who are obsessed with telling people where they are. Without advertising, your
business dies. True or true? Advertising can be expensive. Yes or yes? Every time I check in to your
business, be it a real estate office or a restaurant or a chiropractor’s office, my friends & followers get
the opportunity to learn about your business. Foursquare users like me are happily promoting your
business for you. Why not take 5 minutes (okay maybe it will take longer for some people) to learn
about Foursquare and how it can help you?

Mark Woods, aka TikiTender, lives and dies by social media. He has twice been featured on Chamber
Chat discussing Social Media for Small Businesses (including one episode about Foursquare) and
has helped put Flagler County on the map as an early adopter and still obsessive user of Foursquare.
When not behind the bar at The Golden Lion Cafe, he also handles their social media campaigns. The
Golden Lion was the first business in Flagler County to offer check-in specials via Foursquare. Look
for him discussing Geo-Location Applications as part of our Social Media Breakfast on Wednesday
May 8th. Also on the panel: Cindy Dalecki (Marketing2Go), Ky Ekinci (Office Divvy), and Connie
Rice (Creative Consulting).

10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About ‘Bull Durham’

10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About ‘Bull Durham’

The 11th thing you probably don’t know about Bull Durham is that is in my Movies Top Five.   The Rest Of The List:  Star Wars (A New Hope), Field Of Dreams, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

My favorite?

6.  [Ron] Shelton had to fight the studio to cast Tim Robbins, because, as Shelton himself points out “Tim Robbins had one credit to his name when I hired him: ‘Howard the Duck’” and because the studio brass thought audiences would balk at the notion of someone as classy as Sarandon having anything to do with a guy like Robbins.

Hilariously, Sarandon and Robbins became a real couple during this movie, and would later name Shelton the godfather of their first child as thanks for giving Robbins a career and a lovely lady.

Read the rest of the list here: www.mandatory.com/2013/05/07/10-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-bull-durham