Building a business, one cocktail at a time

Take two parts mixologist, one part mentor, and a dash of an open market, and you've got Two Gals, one great new local business

By Christy Nadalin
Posted 3/29/17

What to do when you have a day job, and a night job, and you discover that something you have a talent for also happens to fill a much-needed niche market? If you are Bristol residents Sandra Dugan …

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Building a business, one cocktail at a time

Take two parts mixologist, one part mentor, and a dash of an open market, and you've got Two Gals, one great new local business

Posted

What to do when you have a day job, and a night job, and you discover that something you have a talent for also happens to fill a much-needed niche market? If you are Bristol residents Sandra Dugan and Michele Martins, two of the hardest-working gals in town, you start your own business.

Two Gals Cocktails has only officially been in business for less than a year, but Dugan and Martins are not new to the industry. When she's not working in Bristol Town Hall as an assistant to the clerk, Martins is waiting on customers right around the corner at Roberto's. And when Dugan is not serving as the property manager at Sandywoods in Tiverton, she can be found tending bar on Friday nights at the S.S. Dion.

Both women have children ranging in age from middle school through high school and have long been involved volunteering in the schools and within the district. So a handful of years ago, when the opportunity to organize the bar service for the Bristol Warren Education Foundation's Bodacious Bee presented itself, it was an obvious fit.

It was there that Dugan and Martins caught the eye of Lynne Turnbull of 195 Franklin, a well-established caterer and restauranteur.

"It was Lynne who really encouraged us," said Dugan. She told us that we could do something with this."

Dugan and Martins worked for Turnbull last summer and into the fall. Confirming Turnbull's initial instincts, Dugan and Martins impressed. "I really like working with them," Turnbull said. "They are great team players. And I am all about supporting women starting a new business."

The bar-only catering service is particularly valuable for clients who aren't looking for a full-service caterer and are only looking for a little extra help, and a little more time to enjoy their guests. Dugan and Martins will consult with a client and get a sense of what they should serve, and they will typically develop one or two signature drinks for the event, which they create in dramatic, visually striking 3 gallon glass containers. Clients pay for the service of each bartender, and the at-cost price of opened bottles.

True to their roots, Dugan and Martins continue to donate their services to local charity fundraisers from the Bodacious Bee to the upcoming Community Strings Project benefit. They are looking forward to doing more weddings in the upcoming season, and they are scheduled to cater the bar for one of Bristol's biggest parties: the annual 4th of July Ball. Big events require reinforcements, and fortunately, they are able to staff up without any trouble at all, thanks to their long tenures at local establishments. "When you work in a place for 15 or 20 years, you know who you can count on," said Martins. "We work with amazing people."

In Dugan and Martins' hands, the drinks themselves could be the guest of honor — Dugan ("Sandra's the mixologist," claims Martins, modestly) favors fresh fruit and aromatics like basil, rosemary, figs, ginger, and cucumber. "We'll use whatever is in season," said Dugan, who maintains a garden at Sandywoods. Access to their greenhouse has already allowed her to start a few seeds in preparation for a busy summer season. One favorite is a blood orange margarita, and Dugan has been experimenting with the heat in a jalapeño margarita. But their favorite — and a customer favorite as well — has to be their Cucumber Ginger Martini. (See recipe, below.)

You can visit these Two Gals on Facebook at facebook.com/twogalscocktails or email them at twogalscocktails@gmail.com.


Two Gals Cucumber Ginger Martini

2 ounces cucumber vodka
1 ounce lemon-lime mix
1 teaspoon Bootblack Brand Ginger Cardamom Lime syrup
Shake over ice, pour into a martini glass, and garnish with a cucumber round

Two Gals Cocktails

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Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.