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One of downtown’s hottest patio bars has a splashy new hire.

After stints at Witness, Corvus & Co. and managing The Sexton, bartender Bridget Maloney has recently become bar manager at Frolik Kitchen + Cocktails. Already with a premier fourth-floor patio, the addition of her bartending talents makes the Motif Hotel bar a contender for finest spot to sip under the sun.

But it almost didn’t happen. An out-of-town friend, who works for Two Roads Hospitality, the hotel’s parent company, was visiting Seattle and brought up the open position while they were catching up. As Maloney says, “I had missed managing and this seemed like a wonderful opportunity, not only to manage, but to learn and be challenged.”

What was her liquid vision when beginning? “I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do and I immediately threw it out the window,” she says. “I realized how the program I wanted to build wouldn’t have been successful. You have to know your guests and I didn’t know them going into this job. I’ve had to learn how to adapt and change for this new environment while still bringing my standards and knowledge. Frolik has a good thing going on, it just needed some attention and care. I’m not looking to change it, I’m here to elevate it while still holding true to what Frolik is.”

As Maloney, who’s also a St-Germain brand ambassador, puts it “Frolik is about fun.” Expect that “fun” to spill over into her drinks.

“I wanted to play into the fun that Frolik is through my cocktail menu, giving the clientele drinks they would be familiar with, while elevating them and maybe introducing the guest to something new they haven’t tried before.”

She’s really fond of the cleverly-named With Fronds Like These. The Sex on the Beach riff is made with Ketel One vodka, hibiscus syrup, pineapple shrub, peach liqueur and lemon juice, garnished with pineapple fronds. “I’m a dork with cocktail names,” she admits. (We love it.)

Elsewhere on her menu, the Hawaiian-esque Lava Flow—with delicious Plantation pineapple rum, Bacardi banana, coconut, strawberry and lime—is already a hit. The BG&T with Aviation gin and house-made kaffir lime cordial is “perfect for anyone who wants a traditional gin and tonic or is looking for something refreshing to enjoy on the terrace,” she says.

With no sign of the sun slipping away in our future, it feels like Frolik is now the summertime place to be downtown.