By Collin Hall
Matthew Boyle has been a bartender at Urie’s Waterfront Restaurant for two years now. We chatted with Matthew on a warm early-summer day just before the happy hour crowd swarmed the outdoor bar.
“It was a big challenge at first,” he said. “But bartending is definitely an easier job for me than serving. I’m not running around as much.”
Of course, the more generous tips that come with huge bar tabs help to sweeten the deal. Matthew said that he might serve over 400 drinks on a busy night, and that juggling them all can be truly difficult.
Matthew hails from Cherry Hill, but he has visited Wildwood almost every year of his life. His grandparents own a house in Wildwood Crest; he comes down in the summers to earn some extra money before returning to Rowan, where he is a junior film student.
Matthew was shy to share about his filmmaking dreams at first, but some light jesting from his co-bartender helped to lighten the mood.
“I’m always writing,” he said. “I want to write or direct behind the camera one day. I’ve worked on a lot of student films but have only written and directed two.”
His first film, “Kentucky Jones,” channels the spirit of classic adventure movies. Many amateur filmmakers cut their teeth on swashbuckling films – they help aspiring filmmakers learn how to shoot difficult moving scenes, create convincing low-budget sets, and improvise explosive set pieces.
Matthew whipped up a “Urie’s Rum Runner” for us, a creamy, sweet drink with white rum, banana liquor, orange and pineapple juice, grenadine, and a dark rum floater. He said that this is “Urie’s take on a classic tiki cocktail.”
The drink made us wish we were on the crystal-clear beaches of Key West. But after a quick glance at Florida’s heat index for the next month, we think the vibes are better here in Wildwood
If you go to Urie’s Waterfront Restaurant, say “hello!” to Matthew. Urie’s can be found at 588 W Rio Grande Ave, just over the bridge in Wildwood.