Set ‘em up, Joe: Meet Renton’s favorite bartenders

Published 9:00 am Thursday, May 21, 2026

For this year’s Best of Renton awards, a new category has been added: Best Bartender. Not just a person who sets up drinks — the best bartenders make people feel at home in a restaurant bar or local pub. This year’s inaugural nominees include bartenders in downtown Renton, like Cerefino at Whistle Stop, Mellissa at Melrose Grill, David at Marianna Ristorante, Jaime at 5 Hermanos up on Benson Hill and Ashley at The Spot in the Valley.

Ceferino Quintero Fernandez – Whistle Stop

The voters have chosen and Cerefino Quintero Fernandez of Whistle Stop is this year’s Best Bartender of Renton.

Age: 45

Years as a bartender: 18 years

Favorite drink to recommend: “An Old Fashioned is always a good one, but it depends on what you like.”

How it feels to be nominated: “It feels good. I wasn’t expecting it, but it feels good to be recognized. It’s good to be associated with the other bartenders. I know them, I know them well and to be nominated with them is so awesome.”

Best thing about bartending in Renton: “I’ve worked in different spots like Seattle, Burien, Tukwila, and this particular spot I’ve developed more regulars. It’s a community so it’s easier to build. It’s a better spot to get to know people.”

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Mellissa Holliday – The Melrose Grill

Age: 47

Years as a bartender: 21 years

Favorite drink to recommend: “Not really. I think here we do a lot of bourbon drinks, lots of Old Fashioneds, lots of Manhattans. We do a lot of wine and and a lot of bourbon drinks with the steaks.”

How it feels to be nominated: “It felt good, it felt nice. I like Renton. I like the community of Renton, so it’s nice.”

Best thing about bartending in Renton: “The sense of community runs here, a really close-knit place, everybody seems to know each other. I’ll have a regular that sits down with another regular and they know each other. Renton’s fun.”

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David Haygen – Marianna Ristorante

Age: 35

Years as a bartender: 5 years

Favorite drink to recommend: “The Marianna – it’s sweet, it’s fruity, it’s a very tasty drink. But usually I scope them out and see what they might like to try. Honestly, taking care of customers and making them happy, I enjoy making drinks people respond to. I’m just a natural caregiver.”

How it feels to be nominated: “It was an honor. There are a lot of good bartenders out there in the city of Renton and I feel like I haven’t bartended long enough, but it’s an honor.”

Best thing about bartending in Renton: “It comes back down to the guests. I make a lot of connections with people and people keep coming back.”

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Jose Jaime Puga Dominquez – 5 Hermanos

Age: 42

Years as a bartender: 9 years

Favorite drink to make: “Margarita, because I’m working in a Mexican restaurant and I think it’s one of the main drinks for our category and I like really strong, good drinks.”

How it feels to be nominated: “It surprised me for a minute because when I heard someone nominated me, I felt first, blessed, because that means that someone likes what I do and they enjoy what I do.”

Best thing about bartending in Renton: “I really like this city because I’ve been living here for over 20 years and I feel like I can contribute to something. You know, maybe it’s not a lot, but I feel like it’s a contribution to the city.”

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Ashley Bone – The Spot

Age: 36

Years as a bartender: 14 years

Favorite drink to recommend: “I love making margaritas. I’m a tequila drinker myself, so I love recommending them to people and making them for them.”

How it feels to be nominated: “It felt really good, I feel really humbled. I had worked at a bar for almost 12 years and it shut down and I felt upset about it, but then I started working at The Spot and I felt really loved and really appreciated.”

Best thing about bartending in Renton: “I think it’s the connections I’ve made just from working in this industry for so long. The guests becoming regulars, regulars becoming friends, and the camaraderie and all the bartenders together.”