Jimmy Cirrito
Owner, Jimmy's Old Town Tavern,
Herndon, VA.
Claiming to have been born on a pool table, Jimmy Cirrito began his career in the restaurant industry at the age of 15 washing dishes and bussing tables at his cousin's inn south of Buffalo, NY. At 18 he relocated to L.A. and began bartending at a famous Italian restaurant named Miceli's in Universal City, CA. At age 21 he moved again to the DC area and began bartending for the original Pargo's restaurant, a chain that began in Manassas, VA. A year later he was hired as General Manager of a popular nightspot called KC's where Jimmy learned that bartending, promoting, and fundraising went hand-in-hand. With that he went on to achieve numerous certificates, awards, and trophies for his on-going participation in area charitable contests and events.
In 1990, he was featured in Ripley's Believe it or Not® for bartending 24 hours a day for 12 straight days in an effort to raise $12,000 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. In 1994, Jimmy was crowned Washington DC's Fastest Bartender in a contest in which over 80 bartenders competed to see who could make drinks the fastest and most accurately.
After 5 years at KC's, Jimmy moved on to a handful of other bars and nightclubs, bartending, spinning records, and running countless promotions and contests. At the age of 30, Jimmy opened his own restaurant, Jimmy's Old Town Tavern in Herndon, VA, where he still works today…10 years later! Since the beginning of his venture in this industry, Jimmy has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for various charities, and has been hired to give seminars around the U.S. and Canada to share his secrets of success. His favorite fundraiser of all time is the Bartender's Jump for charity, in which bartenders raise pledges and jump out of perfectly good airplanes; Jimmy has hosted this promotion twice with over 30 jumpers and over $17,000 in pledges to various charities.
Jimmy Cirrito has spent a lifetime tending bar and raising money for charities. Among the charities benefiting from Jimmy's efforts are: Special Olympics, Multiple Sclerosis, H.E.R.O.S. (helps families of fire and police officers hurt in the line of duty), American Cancer Society, The Council for the Arts of Herndon, Save the Children, St. Jude Children's Hospital, the Manassas and Virginia Jaycees, Herndon House (supports families of children with leukodystrophies), Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, coat drives for charity, and the Make A Wish Foundation.
He has shaved his head, jumped out of planes, was featured in Ripley's Believe it or Not® for bartending and serving drinks for 12 straight days. He has been bartending for 22 years and is the proud owner of Jimmy's Old Town Tavern since 1997. Jimmy is a great addition to the Bartender Hall of Fame™.
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