Eli Privette, bar manager at Dogwood Southern Table, will be working his last shift at the restaurant he’s called home for five years on Jan. 20. Privette will leave Dogwood to become a bartender at Elizabeth restaurant and cocktail bar The Crunkleton. The change will allow Privette to pursue a new career path, freeing up time for him to go back to school for a degree in finance.

“Up until a year ago, I was very headstrong on the thought that bartending and working in the industry was what I wanted to do forever,” he says. “Now, I’ve started reevaluating that as I’ve seen a lot of my friends go out and do other things and potentially struggle to find a role in a different field … . It started me thinking like, ‘Alright, I really like doing this at 25. Do I want to be doing a complete reset when I’m 35, when I’m at a different stage of life?”

Like many in the hospitality industry, Privette began reconsidering his career path early in the pandemic as he saw many of his colleagues leave the restaurant business. At the same time, he took a liking to the new responsibilities becoming bar manager at Dogwood gave him — specifically, the numbers aspect of the job. When he decided to enroll at Central Piedmont Community College, however, those added responsibilities — which also include making visits to up to seven ABC Stores to fill his liquor orders — made it hard for him to make time for school work.

At The Crunkleton, where he starts on Jan. 21, he’ll join a team of talented mixologists under the lead of Ryan Hart. Privette plans to work there while progressing through school, before seeking a position that bridges finance, creativity, and customer service — and a lifestyle that enables him to be more present for his family and loved ones in the future.

“It’s kind of like a sacrifice you take every day to do the industry that we all love,” he says. “What I noticed is over the last couple of years, my mom would say, ‘Hey, we’re having your grandparents down for dinner on Friday.’ Well, I can’t make it. As I’ve gotten older and people in my family have gotten older, it starts to make me question: would I rather work the shift or spend the time with my family? I would like to get to that point where you can always choose your family.”

Though only 25, Privette has put together an impressive cocktail list at Dogwood following Brian Lorusso’s departure. He was a finalist in the U.S. Bartenders’ Guild’s World Class competition before the culminating event was canceled due to the pandemic. His menu at Dogwood focused on seasonality and Southern ingredients, including using spirits infused with corn or pecans in his cocktails. He started working at Dogwood as a server, and views leaving his position of bar manager akin to saying farewell to family.

“It’s been a really intensely emotional process,” Privette says. “When I started working for Jon [Dressler, owner of Dogwood], I was 20. I was pretty inexperienced in waiting tables, totally inexperienced at bartending, and I had a lot of growing up to do. I see this is like entering the next stage of my life; to me, it almost feels like leaving a family or leaving a group of people that you care deeply about.”

 

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