Bartender of the Week: Leanne Martel, Landucci's Italia

Visitors to Landucci Italia's Livingroom Lounge will get more than a warm atmosphere and a variety of fine wines and martinis. If they're lucky, they'll also get a chance to chat with Leanne Martel, Landucci's bubbly and cheerful barmaid. But they'd be well advised not to cause any trouble. After her shift at the Livingroom, Leanne heads up to Boston, where she works as a corrections officer.

“You have to change your focus,” she says. The commute comes in handy there, allowing her to shift gears, from fun, joking bartender to no-nonsense prison guard.

With a routine like that, it's hard to argue with Leanne when she declares, “I'm Wonder Woman.”

Landucci's does see its share of punishable offenses, mostly in the form of underage would-be drinkers.

“There's a lot of kids that think they're going to get served,” Leanne says. “Wrong!”

Originally from Swansea, Leanne moved to Falmouth six years ago, and says she enjoys living on the Cape, at least for part of the year.

“I like the summer, when I meet new people,” she says. “Winter's boring.”

But the school system is enough to keep her here. Her older daughter attends Upper Cape Tech, her younger Mullen-Hall, and Leanne raves about both.

Leanne came to bartending only as a second job; her first love, since she was a child, was law enforcement, and she's currently taking classes toward a degree in criminal justice.

But she takes great pride in her work behind the bar, where she serves up plenty of wine, cosmos, and especially martinis. Her favorites are Landucci's signature espresso and cappuccino martinis, which she says are almost as much fun to mix as they are to drink. And if that's too fancy for you, “I pour a mean shot,” she says.