Steva Casey

Coming Up

Hospitality training started on the service side, with Steva Casey working as a concession worker at a movie theater before moving into the dining room. That early work established the basic mechanics of guest service long before she was behind a bar. From there, she worked as a waitress and bartender at various fine dining establishments in Birmingham, Alabama (from 1998), where the rhythm of a room and the demands of timing become part of the job. The next step was bar manager at Veranda on Highland in Birmingham, Alabama (from 2013), a role that sits at the intersection of organization, consistency, and attention to detail. By 2017, Steva Casey was also serving as host / bartender at The Atomic Lounge in Birmingham, Alabama, carrying that accumulated experience into a room with its own pace and expectations. Beyond service, the work widened into event and industry support: cocktail competition organizer of Birmingham bartender competition (since 2014), producer of Swingshift, and producer of Tiki By the Sea. Across those roles, the throughline is practical: build settings where drinks are legible, guests are comfortable, and curiosity has room to work.

Where They Are Now

At The Atomic Lounge, Steva Casey favors drinks that meet a guest at a familiar point and then add another layer. “I wanted to create something interesting while also recognizable and therefore accessible.” That line tracks with a bartender’s eye for entry points, where the first read matters and complexity has to earn its place in the glass. Punch, in her words, is useful for that purpose: “Punch is an easy thing to get people started with.” That approach treats the bar as a social tool as much as a technical one. Steva Casey’s work points to a focus on how a drink functions in the room: how quickly it makes sense, how easily it invites conversation, and how it keeps a guest engaged without overreaching. The path runs from movie theater concessions to Birmingham dining rooms to management and hosting, but the method stays consistent — make drinks that people can approach, understand, and return to.

Signature

Steva's signature dishes include Nordic-Style Gin & Tonic.

In Their Words “I wanted to create something interesting while also recognizable and therefore accessible.” “Punch is an easy thing to get people started with.”