A Novel
Barside Manner
Every bar has its regulars. Not every bar has Enzo, Spike, Edward, Bob, and Jan. Set in an Oakmont tavern just outside Pittsburgh, Barside Manner follows Freddy, a young bartender with an instinct for listening and a gift for reading people. Night after night, he watches a cast of unlikely characters pull up their stools—a second-generation Italian mason, a tough construction worker, a white-collar Fox Chapel businessman, and a sharp-tongued retired couple who coordinate their outfits and finish each other's sentences. They share almost nothing in common. Somehow, they've become family. But behind every round of drinks and every wise remark traded across the bar top, real life is unfolding. Illness. Sacrifice. Old grudges quietly buried. Love found in unexpected places. And for Freddy, a decision that will change everything. Barside Manner is a warm, wry, and quietly moving story about the unlikely bonds formed in a place where everyone eventually lets their guard down. Because sometimes the person who knows you best isn't your doctor, lawyer, or oldest friend. It's your bartender.