Cari Polk
1) Name & position (have you held any other position while working at Legion?)
Cari Polk, Taproom Manager at South Park and Plaza Midwood. Currently at Plaza.
2) How long have you’ve been with Legion?
2 years. I was part of the opening bar staff when South Park first opened.
3) Where did you work before Legion?
I was with P.F. Changs for almost 12 years, as a Certified Trainer and Lead Bartender.
4) What is your favorite thing about working for Legion?
I love the culture and the people I work with.
5) What is your favorite Legion beer (current or old)?
Elara is hands down my favorite, but Hot Fuzz comes in a close second.
6) What is your favorite food item from Legion?
Currently I have been loving the Reuben, but with the Impossible burger instead because I am vegetarian.
7) What are your hobbies and interests in your spare time?
I love Disney! My husband (who also works at Legion) and I usually go to Disney World at least once a year. We also love to travel. It’s our goal to try and go somewhere new every year. We are also big Tiki and rum enthusiasts (we actually missed the opening week of SP, because we were in Barbados doing a rum tour around the island). I also love vintage fashion. When not at work you will usually see me donning brooches and skirts/dresses with petticoats.
8) Where is your hometown/where did you grow up?
I grew up in South Florida but moved to central Florida when I was 16. Orlando is definitely my favorite place I lived in Florida.
9) Tell me about your family! What do your parents do? Do you have a BFF? Any siblings?
I’ve been married to Bret for 5 years and we’ve been together for 10. My parents live in Greenville, SC, so not too far away from here. My dad has worked in gourmet/organic food sales my whole life. I have a younger sister who lives near Asheville with her boyfriend and their daughter.
10) Do you have any pets? What are their names?
I have two kitten sisters from the same litter. We adopted them last year shortly after we lost our 13 year old tuxedo cat, Ryan. They are tabico’s (tabby and calico mix) and their names are Mochi and Moxxi. Whenever we buy a house, we plan on getting two more!
11) What is your favorite thing about the QC?
I love the autumn weather here. Growing up in Florida I never got to see the season changes. One of my favorite things is walking on crunchy leaves. I also love its central location and how I can get to the mountains or the beach in a matter of hours.
12) If you could compare yourself to any dessert, what would you be?
Key Lime Pie because its zesty, sweet and Floridian.
13) Do you support any local organization/causes?
Since moving to Charlotte, I haven’t yet. When I lived in Greenville, I was very involved with Habitat for Humanity Women’s Build. My husband is a type 1 diabetic. He wants us to start getting more involved with the JDF.
14) If you won the lottery, what would be the first thing you’d buy? What is the craziest thing you’d buy?
First thing I would buy would be a house. Nothing crazy big, just a three bedroom. But it needs to have a pool, a pool house we can convert to a home tiki bar, and a finished basement for a game room to put our Simpsons pinball machine in. Craziest thing would be a private jet, so my family and I could travel wherever we want.
15) Say you’ve been given an elephant. You can’t give it away or sell it. What would you do with the elephant? I would give it a feather and hope it could fly.
16) What makes you smile?
Anyone who knows Bret, knows how hilarious he is. Ten years later and he still makes me laugh and smile. Also, my kitties and Disney.
17) What’s your favorite 90s jam?
This is honestly too hard. The 90s were mostly my middle school and high school years. The years that pretty much define your musical tastes. I loved The Smashing Pumpkins, Hole, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Hum, etc. Hands down favorite 90s music video is Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun”.
18) What’s the last gift you gave to someone?
I got Bret for his birthday a Nintendo switch.
19) Tell me a random fact
In 2007 I got chainsaw certified with the US Forest Service. I had joined the Americorps and was working for a non-profit in Colorado called Rocky Mountain Youth Corps. We built hiking and bike trails, did environmental restoration, and cut down trees that were killed by the invasive Japanese beetle.
20) If you could describe yourself as a color, what color would you be?
Orange
21) Use three words to describe yourself
Nerdy, Sassy, Committed
22) Who do you recommend as our next FOL highlight?
Bret Buckingham