Eli Privette will spend his last day behind the bar at Fin & Fino this week. He’ll be taking over as the bartender at Dogwood Southern Table in SouthPark, replacing outgoing mixologist Brian Lorusso, who has been the restaurant’s bar manager since it opened in 2014. 

Both restaurants are part of the Rare Roots Hospitality group, which also includes Dressler’s and The Porter’s House. The latter restaurant is where Privette got his start, working as a server at the Waverly steakhouse. He began working behind the bar there on weekends before joining the bartending staff under Brittany Kellum at Fin & Fino when it opened in 2018.

The 24-year-old has taken quickly to the craft, earning recognition earlier this year as one of the top 10 bartenders in the region by the U.S. Bartenders’ Guild before the competition’s finals were postponed until 2021. His complex, layered cocktails have also gained him a loyal following of regulars.

At Dogwood, he hopes the slower pace will enable him to spend more time on each drink and intensify the style of cocktails he makes. He plans to change the cocktail menu quarterly, with weekly specials that focus on local ingredients available that week. Replacing Lorusso means Privette steps into the place of someone who has cultivated a tight-knit bar community.

“Brian created a culture at Dogwood that every single guest, you take your time and you get to know them,” Privette says. “And that’s something that I want to maintain and carry through.”

Lorusso’s last day at Dogwood is Saturday, Aug. 1; Privette’s last day at Fin & Fino is Wednesday, July 29. —Kristen Wile

Unpretentious People Say...

Other Articles You Might Enjoy