Evan Stroeve

The early bars in Evan Stroeve’s career map a bartending education shaped by different room rhythms: Shady Pines Saloon, The Baxter Inn, Bulletin Place, and RE each asked for a distinct kind of attention behind the stick. Taken together, those posts point to the same discipline—reading a room, holding pace, and keeping service steady when the pressure lifts. At Shady Pines Saloon, Evan Stroeve worked in a setting that demanded presence; at The Baxter Inn, control; at Bulletin Place, close attention to detail; and as an opening team member at RE, the practical focus needed to help establish a venue from the ground up.

These are stages in the same trade, each one sharpening the habits that matter most in bartending: composure, speed, and purpose. That shift moves from pure execution toward shaping the identity of a project, while keeping the bartending baseline intact. Rhubi Mistelle places him on the product side of the trade; The Waratah keeps the work tied to service, room feel, and nightly hospitality.

He is a former co-owner of The Waratah in Darlinghurst. The venue remains a clear part of the record, tied to a specific chapter in his working life and to the practical business of running a bar in a defined place. His work remains rooted in bartending. Roles and partnerships may change, but the craft stays the same: making drinks with care, managing the room, and staying alert to what the evening needs.