You have to be passionate about something to do it for 37 years, and for Jo-An Holleman, that something is bartending at Churchill Downs. She began working for the historic racetrack in 1988. It seems bartending was Jo-An’s destiny since her dad actually owned a bar. “I was working at another bar in Louisville, so he told me I had to come work for him when I turned 22,” she says. Even in high school, she knew that bartending was a good fit for her personality. “Everyone wanted to go to college; all I wanted to do was be a bartender,” she says. “I knew they made good money, and it was fun. You didn’t have to sit in an office chair all day.”
One of the things Jo-An most enjoys about working at Churchill Downs is meeting people. “It’s a party every day,” she says. Some of the people she serves today were her original customers back in ’88. And at this point, she has been at the iconic racetrack so long that not only does she have regulars, but she actually has customers whose parents were once her regulars. “These people in their 30s will come up to me and say, ‘Don’t you remember me? I used to come here with my dad,’” she says.
During live meets, Jo-An may interact or come in contact with something like 5,000 people a week, which is both exhilarating and tiring. Sometimes she can hardly talk when she gets back home because she spends so much of her day talking with customers, she says. Still, Jo-An loves the camaraderie of her workplace, even if she and her customers don’t actually discuss the races. “We don’t talk about horses, really. We just gossip,” she says with a laugh.
Jo-An can now be found most days at the Behave Yourself Bar in the Clubhouse area of the track, where she especially enjoys making delicious Old Fashioneds. She recommends that if a person wants to make an Old Fashioned really special, they should use Triple Sec instead of simple syrup. Add bourbon and cherries to that, and pop in a little bit of almond bitters. She purchases a special package of bitters that includes flavors like cherry, orange, and cocoa. She has a special affinity for the almond because of its delicious scent.
When Jo-An isn’t at work, she enjoys helping find lost dogs. She has a special place in her heart for Southern Indiana Rescue, an organization that helps find forever homes for dogs. Jo-An herself is a double-adopter. She also loves going out to eat at restaurants, especially when the meal is at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse in downtown Louisville.
After nearly four decades, Jo-An has seen a lot of changes at the track, whether it has been the major remodels she has witnessed or the styles of dress that people wear. What hasn’t changed after all this time is her love of her job and her desire to help people have a good time. “Happy people make my job so easy,” she says.
By Carrie Vittitoe | Photo by Shai-ann Vera
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