Aces of Trades: Entrepreneur trades teaching for a tavern, mixing it up in downtown Marion

After teaching for years, she’s now taking a different path.

“I had no idea what I wanted to do growing up,” recalled Andrea Mullins. “Owning a business was never something I thought about because I never stayed long enough in one place. Between the ages of 19-30, I think I moved over 10 times. I loved traveling and discovering new places, and I would seek out jobs that allowed me to do that. Once I started teaching, I thought that’s what I would retire doing.”

Today, Mullins is co-owner/manager of Shovel City Drinkery with her husband, Derek.

“While I enjoy the mixology aspect of creating stellar drinks,” she said, “most of my day is background work like updating the website and the administrative side of the business. We co-plan a lot of events and work on advertising and marketing together.

“I love to plan events and parties, and to host others’ events,” Mullins added. “And I still really enjoy meeting all sorts of people when I’m behind the bar. Networking can take you so many places and introduce you to new friends. Marion has been great to us, and we really enjoy being part of the revitalization we’re seeing downtown.”

Waiting tables was her introduction to hospitality industry

Mullins grew up in Alliance, graduated from Marlington High School in 1999, then earned a double bachelor's of arts in French language and literature and international studies from Ohio State in 2003.

“I waited tables from high school through college because the schedule was perfect for a full-time student," she noted. "So I was in the hospitality industry for years. I started bartending at 21, which was a great part-time gig. You could be out and be social and make money instead of spending it. It was also an excellent opportunity to meet people, and I ended up with some pretty great connections that led me to living abroad for several years. There’s no better way to expand your palate than traveling, and I always enjoyed recreating delicious cocktails and food that I tried abroad.”

For 13 years before opening Shovel City Drinkery, Mullins was a foreign language and history teacher.

"I sort of fell into it, honestly," she said. "I never thought I would be an educator, but I wanted to travel and live abroad, and teaching afforded me that opportunity. I loved teaching foreign language, and when I returned to Ohio, I taught at Harding until 2020.”

Timing was right for a career change

She said both she and her husband were ready for a career change and the timing was right when they decided to open their own business.

“Both having backgrounds in the hospitality industry, and both loving to entertain, we kicked around opening up a place in Marion that encompassed a bit of all the things we and our friends enjoyed but that weren’t yet available to us in Marion," Mullins said. "We often left town for a night out, and we thought, ‘Why can’t we have this in Marion?’ My husband had taken up with craft cocktail making for several years, and our friends loved to come over for drinks we’d created. Why not open up something of our own? So we found a great space downtown, and about 3 months before we were ready to open, COVID happened."

Mullins says the pandemic delay actually gave them extra time for finishing touches and to "really nail down" what they wanted to offer to Marion. Shovel City Drinkery finally opened Sept. 21, 2020.

'Eclectic, fun atmosphere' downtown Marion

Jon Thomas is a patron and a self-described “man about town.”

“Andrea brings the kind smile and the great laugh,” Thomas said. “She’s definitely the brains of the outfit.”

“You never know what the future holds,” Mullins responded. “But we’re very fortunate to have ended up here with our own business and providing an eclectic, fun atmosphere to enjoy downtown. It definitely comes with its challenges, especially when you’re married to your business partner, but we love what we do, and I think our patrons feel that whenever they’re at Shovel City Drinkery.”

Shovel City Drinkery is located at 181 N. Main St. in Marion.

Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs — whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at news@marionstar.com.

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Andrea Mullins mixes it up in Marion at Shovel City Drinkery