Adrienne Jones
Special to Metromix
August 22, 2011

St. Louis has plenty of bars and even more bartenders. But, whatever your bar personality, when a new place opens the call of the unknown always beckons. The allure of Clayton’s newsest spot, Bocci Bar, is no different. We had bartender Karl Schmitz tell us why you should give him and Bocci a go.

How’d you get into the bartending game?

I started off as a bar back when I was 19. Every time I came home from college I would work at my dad’s restaurant, Figaro [Schmitz’s father is restaurateur Frank Schmitz].When that closed I started working at Barcelona, and when I turned 21 I started making some drinks, even though I was still a bar back. Someone left, so I took their position. I started bartending full time last year.