Cheers to the winners: Downtown Belleville’s favorite bartenders chosen by readers
The people have spoken, and the votes for downtown Belleville’s favorite bartender are in.
When we launched the poll, folks made their nominations, giving us 42 contenders. Readers voted in Round One, and the top 10 bartenders advanced to Round Two, which received a high number of votes since launching last Wednesday.
Many thanks for the amazing participation in our poll.
In addition to our top three bartenders, the top 10 included:
- Emily, Venue on Main;
- Landon, SPACES;
- Rob, The Office Lounge;
- Kaitlyn, Rachel’s Sidebar;
- Grace, Tavern on Main;
- Symia, Rachel’s Sidebar;
- Kennedy, Corner Chill and Grill.
Here are readers’ top three picks for downtown’s favorite bartender.
Third Place – 183 Votes
Carmanecia Whitehead, bar manager at Chaos Sushi Bar & Grill, took third place in our poll.
Whitehead has been with Chaos since it opened in June 2024. Her bartending experience began during her time working as a server at The Edge. She thought it looked like fun and gave it a try.
Whitehead worked at The Edge for eight years and left bartending, working in legal for a time. She missed being around different people and being on the move.
Eventually, she got into bartending again after a friend asked her to be a guest bartender at Lexi’s Bar, Food & Fun. The owner, Brandon McGraw, offered her a job, which she accepted. She stayed on when the business was sold to current owner Mike Riede.
Favorite drink to make: The Chaos — Rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, cranberry juice, lemonade, strawberry purée, Sprite, shaken with ice and topped with Pop Rocks.
Whitehead said their Lemon Drop Martini is also popular with customers.
As for herself, Whitehead prefers the black raspberry Carbliss, a canned vodka cocktail. She also enjoys green tea shots (Spoiler: There’s no actual green tea in said shots.) and Licor 43 mini beer, a shot glass filled with chilled Licor 43 and topped with whipped cream, resembling a tiny beer with a foamy head.
Best part of her job: “Meeting new people. I love meeting new people,” she said. “And seeing old people I haven’t seen in a while.”
Whitehead also likes working downtown, which increases her opportunities to see even more people.
“Downtown is so family-friendly. There’s something going on every single weekend. That’s awesome.”
Chaos Sushi Bar & Grill is located at 126 E. Main St. The restaurant opens at 11 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
Second Place – 411 Votes
The second-place winner of our bartender poll is Natalie Turner of Sullivan’s, where she started working in September.
Her bartending days began when she waitressed while attending McKendree University. From there, she started bartending but took a break when she became a mom. She returned to bartending about six years ago.
Her more recent experience includes working at Centerfield, which became Schmitty’s soon after she started. She worked at the East A Street bar for about four or five years.
Favorite drink to make: Sullivan’s doesn’t offer much in the way of craft cocktails — it’s more of a beer-centric establishment. However, there’s a margarita machine, and Turner said they do offer a drink called the “Mom Bomb,” which was introduced by other bartenders who came from Big Daddy’s 618.
This concoction is made with Crown Royal Regal Apple, peach schnapps, a splash of cranberry juice and Red Bull.
The Mom Bomb is Turner’s go-to drink of choice as well.
Best part of her job: “My customers,” said Turner. “Definitely my regulars, but a little bit of both (regular and new customers).”
Turner said that a lot of Belleville bartenders tend to rotate from one bar to another, so many of them know each other. Many of the customers also go to the different bars, so they’re familiar too.
Sullivan’s is located at 907 N. Illinois St. and opens at 2 p.m. daily.
First Place – 839 Votes
The person voted downtown Belleville’s favorite bartender is Maeden Doan of Grafted Wine Bar & Lounge.
Doan has been at Grafted since it opened in July 2021. She started working there with no previous bartending experience. Prior to her time at Grafted, she worked “all sorts of jobs,” she said. “Nothing like this” before coming here.
Grafted didn’t offer cocktails at first, mainly wines and few other options. In time, Doan and other staff members were each tasked with creating a weekly cocktail that later evolved into a full cocktail menu.
Doan, who is now the bar manager, still enjoys creating the weekly drinks, many of them seasonal or themed and often made with ingredients created onsite.
Favorite drink to make: Alpine Delight, which is made with equal parts Drumshanbo gin, Génépy (Alpine herbal liqueur), lime juice, and a violet liqueur. The cocktail is garnished with a fresh violet and a sprig of rosemary.
One popular request at Grafted is the Walnut Old Fashioned, which includes a housemade walnut liqueur.
As for Doan, she prefers dry or sparkling white wines over cocktails but will order a gin-based cocktail when she goes out.
Best part of her job: “The most fulfilling part is talking to the people,” said Doan, who likes to ask those who come to Grafted how they learned about them.
“I like talking to people, learning about what’s going on in Belleville.”
Grafted Wine Bar & Lounge is located at 310 E. Washington St. Hours are 4-10 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight Friday, noon to midnight Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Be sure to visit all the bartenders throughout downtown Belleville and see them in action.
Don’t forget, this poll was just for fun with nothing scientific about it. Bragging rights for the bartenders and the establishments they represent are a bonus.
What other reader polls would you like to see? Send your ideas to jgreen@bnd.com.
This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
