John David Montgomery

HEAD BARTENDER, UNDER THE HILL SALOON

“I was the lead leprechaun in the third largest St. Patty’s Day parade in Mississippi.”

Silver Street drops from the bluff all the way down to the river. Down here, you are officially Under the Hill, and the best thing to do is order a drink at the Under the Hill Saloon. At the moment when the night is perfectly seasoned, John David stands on a chair to belt his bring-the-bar-down version of “House of the Rising Sun.” He’s a natural entertainer, the icon of the town’s iconic watering hole. He’s 4-foot-and-change, yet his respected stature lifts him taller than anyone else slugging longnecks. He’ll stroke his billy goat scruff of a beard while pouring rounds for the voracious and varied congregation of blue collars, button-downs, and medical scrubs.

Ask about: Why people call him Mr. Miyagi. Or the history of the bar. (The building opened in the 1830s and Mark Twain slept there.)

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