0710 August 2010.pdf - Pacific San Diego Magazine

{groove} bartender showtime spin cycle
A Date
with
Destiny
Meet a country
firecracker who can
determine the fate of
your next cocktail
BY SETH COMBS
PHOTOS BY JAMES NORTON
When it comes to her name,
Destiny Newton’s heard all
the lines.
“The one that I hear
most often is, ‘Oh, did you know you’re my
destiny,’” she says. “All I can say is, ‘Oh, no,
I’ve never heard that one before.’”
She may resemble your typical beachgoing
babe, but The FleetWood bartender is
a hard-drinking, fly-fishing nature girl from
Northern California who’d rather be riding
horses outside than a mechanical bull in a
nightclub. And starting in August, she’ll be
serving it up at The FleetWoods’s beachside
sequel, The BeachWood, in Pacific Beach.
Just before heading out on a camping trip,
the fiery country gal hips us to everything from
the best college major for bartenders to the
drink that she claims real women imbibe (and
no, it’s not a glass of Chardonnay).
Destiny Newton raises the bar at The BeachWood
PacificSD: Nice cowboy boots. Where’d you say
you were from?
Destiny Newton: I’m from a small town outside of
Chico. I moved here three years ago.
So, would you consider yourself a cowgirl at heart?
Newton: Yeah, for sure. I would definitely take going
out camping over going to a club any day. But, I also
enjoy going out on the town. When my girlfriends come
down to visit me, it’s on. We go out, and we go big.
What do you consider the best things about both
the Woods?
Newton: I love sports, and when I work at FleetWood
during the Padres games, it gets that sports-bar vibe
going. There’ll be that same atmosphere at the beach,
but it’s more of a vacation vibe. In Downtown there’s
more business-people, and the beach is going to be
more of a party.
What do you do outside of the bar?
Newton: I’m going to college for communications.
Well, that’ll come in handy if you keep bartending.
Newton: [Laughs] Yeah, the job helps with the speech
classes a lot.
What’s your drink of choice?
Newton: Jack Daniels.
And…?
Newton: And nothing. Sometimes I need a Coke
back, but it’s always been my favorite.
So, you get some bad pick-up lines, but what could
a customer do to get your attention, if anything?
Newton: Just ask me how my day is going. I love to
get to know people, and I’ll make sure they’re taken
care of. I love making people happy by getting them
buzzed.
So, uh, how’s your day going?
Newton: [Laughs] I’m going camping, but when I
come back you’re doing a shot of Jack with me.
Specialty drink: A Washington Apple
(Crown Royal, Sour Apple schnapps,
cranberry juice and splash of 7 Up).
“Basically, anything with whiskey.
They’re simple, but everyone gets really
happy after they drink mine—probably
because I’m a little heavy with the
Crown.”
Biggest tip: $700 “It was a friend. I
think he was really hammered and
didn’t realize what he was doing, but I
didn’t tell him.”
Notable celebrity customer: Jennifer
Love Hewitt. “I got all giddy, because
where I’m from, that never happens.”
Embarrassing story: “When I was
doing bottle service, the floor was wet
and I fell flat on my ass. Of course, I
had a tray of drinks in my hand.”
48 pacificsandiego.com | AUGUST 2010