Aces of Trades: Scott Baldwin is happy to 'lend an ear' while mixing drinks

Drew Bracken
·2 min read

The way he sees it, he’s a host.

“As a kid I was always on the go,” Scott Baldwin said. “We didn't have the internet and Netflix. We had to entertain ourselves. I never really gave too much thought to the future. I’m more of a here and now type of person. Enjoy right now. Worry about tomorrow, well, tomorrow. So I never thought I'd be doing what I do.”

Today, Baldwin is a bartender at Shovel City Drinkery.

“I make your drinks, of course, but there’s more,” he said. “I’m your host. I want you to enjoy your time. I’m your friend. Come on in and tell me about your day. I want to know. I’ll share your joy, sadness or frustration with you. I’m always happy to lend an ear or just be a friendly face.”

Baldwin, 46, grew up in Marion and graduated from Marion Harding in 1995. He was a telephone and data technician for 20 years for a company in Marion.

Scott Baldwin has been a bartender at Shovel City Drinkery since it opened in 2020. He says he considers himself more of a host to the bar's patrons.
Scott Baldwin has been a bartender at Shovel City Drinkery since it opened in 2020. He says he considers himself more of a host to the bar's patrons.

Then in 2020, Derek and Andrea Mullins opened Shovel City Drinkery.

Friendly, dry sense of humor, and mixes a good drink

“I’ve been at the Shovel City Drinkery since day one,” Baldwin said. “I met Derek and Andrea when I worked at his family-owned pizza shop. We became friends and on a rare February kayaking trip in 2017, Derek told me about his idea for opening a bar and asked if I would work at his bar when he opened it. Here we are today.”

Jon Thomas is a friend and patron at Shovel City Drinkery.

“Scott is a great bartender,” Thomas said. "He makes drinks nice, talks to people, and he has a dry sense of humor.”

“To be honest,” Baldwin said, “I didn’t know I enjoyed it until I did it. What really prompted my interest was just trying something new.

“I enjoy what I do and all the people I do it for,” he said. “I do it for our customers. I’ve met so many amazing people since we opened. The ones I know and the ones I have yet to meet. That’s why I do it. It’s got to be from the heart or why do it?”

Shovel City Drinkery is located at 181 N. Main St. in Marion. For more information, visit Facebook.

Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs – whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at news@marionstar.com.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Scott Baldwin is a friendly face at Shovel City Drinkery in Marion