Mixed feelings, but overall happy.
First off, Joe was very easy to work with and allowed me to customize everything to ensure my 1920s party was a hit (including 1920s themed specialty cocktails and I know muddling mint is a pain so thank you very much for the mint juleps). The price for everything was very good in comparison to other liquor catering companies I had spoken to, and they did the champagne tower perfectly and everyone loved it. They were also able to rework the drink count and do an additional liquor run because my ticket takers had accidentally given two drink tickets to every guest instead of just the purchasers (which was supposed to be the plan), and I really appreciated and didn't mind paying the extra amount that came with that for a mistake on my end. This was my first time doing an event this big so their help was crucial. Most of the bartenders, including Joe, were very friendly and I enjoyed working with them. However, as an event coordinator, I'm responsible for all vendors and entertainment and they did end up putting me in two awkward situations I had to smoothe over.
My event was for New Year's Eve, and it didn't really bother me that the bartenders had a few drinks here and there (and in California it is legal) because they had to work on a holiday, but at the end of the night it was apparent that Joe and another one of the bartenders were very very drunk. One of my performers, a magician, had also gotten pretty drunk himself and left his bag of magic props on the bar, and I'm not sure if the bartenders thought it would just be a funny prank, or if they didn't like the magician (he did have a bit of an LA personality), ended up hiding his magic bag behind the bar. After a bit of searching and the magician asking if they had accidentally thrown it away or put it somewhere (to which they responded pretty rudely to) my mom ended up finding the bag behind their bottles. They didn't really have a response. After that was solved, the shuttle driver (who worked for the owner of the venue) asked if they needed help, and I'm not entirely sure of what happened after that, but the shuttle driver informed me he was told to "fuck off" by one of the drunk bartenders. Now, I don't think Libby's is entirely at fault because the shuttle driver was also being aggressive (another review entirely) and definitely not helping to deescalate the situation. My team and I were able to quickly help the bar team pack up because both Joe and the driver, were getting into an argument and threats to call the police, and threats to fight were being made by the driver and Joe and so on and so forth. I think that these situations could have been avoided though if the bartenders and Joe had remained sober, or at least not super drunk.
And again, I don't hold any ill will against Libby's Beverage Catering and think that overall they did a good job and really helped my event be successful, but I just want to provide an honest review from my point of view for people considering them. But all in all, everything worked out. It isn't a good party without a little behind-the-scenes-drama after all! read more