Meet PCG Member – Kel Minton – Unicorn Mixologist Crafting Magical Cocktails
If you’re looking for a real-life unicorn to make your next drink, head on over to Soul Gastrolounge and ask for Kel Minton.
Well, maybe not a “real-life” unicorn. But that is the term commonly used for Charlotte, NC natives, and that’s exactly what Minton is.
Minton was born and raised right here in the Queen City, and although he’s ventured out a bit, he can’t seem to stay away.
“I can’t leave,” he says with a smile. “I’ve tried a couple times, and I come back.”
Kel began working in the restaurant industry before he even became a Myers Park high school student. At the age of 12, he started completing various tasks at his father’s restaurant – a little place called Providence Road Sundries (Minton’s father has owned the restaurant several times over the course of many years).
Fast forward a few years, and Minton went off to college to study education at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. While there, he waited tables and continued to find his place in the restaurant world.
Post-graduation, Minton put his knowledge educating to use and became a teacher. But something just wasn’t sitting right with him, and six months later, he moved back to Charlotte and, alas, back to his true passion.
He spent some time with his family back at Providence Road Sundries before taking a job at littleSpoon as a manager. In 2015, he left littleSpoon to be a fulltime bartender at Heirloom. And a year after that, he took over the cocktail program at Soul Gastrolounge.
Throughout the course of his restaurant experiences, he worked the line, cleaned dishes, waited tables, hosted, managed, and, of course, bartended.
“I loved it [all], but I felt like I wasn’t doing anything, you know? I felt like I wasn’t having fun or getting to be creative,” Minton says.
And that’s how he came to realize that bartending was his thing.
“Bartending kinda stuck more than anything. It was a way to be personable.”
In his two short years at Soul, Kel has made quite an impression – with guests as well as his team.
“Kel came to Soul very young, with more eagerness than experience. But he had a consuming passion for cocktail culture, mostly importantly a respect for the classics with a burning desire to innovate,” says Lesa Kastanas, owner of Soul Gastrolounge.
She continues, “He has earned the respect of the other titans behind Charlotte’s best bars through his focus and hard work as well as a respect for their knowledge and craft. More importantly, Kel has the respect of our customers who anticipate his seasonal cocktail lists with enthusiasm. At his core, he’s just a feisty Irish kid with Scotch in his veins, with a huge heart who embodies the offbeat culture that makes Soul unique.”
As Kastanas mentioned, Minton has the fun yet challenging task of switching up the cocktail offerings at Soul Gastrolounge four times a year. So it’s extremely important that he has access to fresh, local ingredients to make his drinks stand out. The Piedmont Culinary Guild allows him to accomplish this job.
Clark Barlowe of Heirloom introduced him to the Piedmont Culinary Guild back in 2015 and even paid for his first year’s membership. Through his membership in the PCG, Minton is able to stay connected with local farmers as well as the culinary community in North Carolina.
Since joining the Guild, Kel has enjoyed the continuous education in his field as well as the relationships he’s established with other members. He finds the PCG Member Group especially helpful, as he’s often able to find ingredients this way. Fellow members provide recommendations for all types of things, from appliance repairs to where to find a very specific product.
“PCG definitely keeps me abreast of what’s going on, especially with the farms we’re working with.”
These online interactions with other members often inspire his cocktail recipes and allow him to “get in chefs’ heads.”
He’s also involved in Carolina Farm Trust’s Carolina Jubilee, a music and food weekend festival held every fall at Van Hoy Farms in Harmony, NC. He’s raised about $5,000 for the farm trust by working the tap cocktail bar for the past two years.
“I’m really, really proud of that,” he says.
To make his relationships with farmers even easier, Minton has recently embraced the new company Freshlist, owned by fellow PCG Member Jesse Leadbetter, which connects him to farmers in North Carolina by putting them all in one convenient hub. He receives a text each week with a list of what’s available from the farms, making it easier for him to work on recipes. It also saves him time when he’s in a crunch and can’t visit multiple farms to find everything he needs.
Minton is in good company when it comes to local mixologists who use farm-fresh ingredients in their craft cocktails. His list of local inspiration includes Bob Peters, Stefan Huebner of Dot Dot Dot, Brian Lorusso of Dogwood, and Colleen Hughes of Haberdish/Crepe Cellar.
“They’re all unique in their styles but all very, very good,” he says.
When he’s not making his own concoctions, you’ll find him enjoying drinks and PCG Member David Quintana’s small plates at Dot Dot Dot with his wife or out sipping on his drink of choice: tequila on the rocks.
The talented bartender is currently working on a “very unique” concept with Soul Gastrolounge that just so happens to be opening up right below the restaurant. The details are sparse, but the new spot will consist of two separate bars, and Minton is working on the cocktail programs for both.
When asked about his passion for cocktails, Minton smiles and says, “I like to think it’s pretty apparent.” The next time you need to unwind, grab a seat at Soul’s bar, ask for Kel, and find out for yourself.
Profile written by Allie Papajohn
Photos by Justin Smith