All the Busch’s regulars knew Jerry and Liam, the bartenders, and no one seemed to know their last names.
“Jerry Mangles and Liam Wood,” says Bill Lambrakis. “They could remember the drinks when people left for the season, and the first time they came back, that drink would be on the bar, and on the house.”
Jerry Mangles came to Busch’s from Taboo, the Palm Beach restaurant. Liam was a friend of Jerry’s.
When Busch’s closed in 1992, both men moved on to the Fifth Avenue Grill in Delray Beach, reports Lambrakis.
“Jerry married a nurse from the Boca Raton hospital. He’s had some health problems, but he’s alive and kicking.”
Liam Wood eventually settled in North Carolina, where he went into the mortgage business.
“I talked to him recently,” says Lambrakis. “He’s doing well. Got two kids and a nice wife, and I believe he still bar-tends on the side.”
— by Ron Hayes
Comments