Aaron Jones calls last call at Nell Thorn for last time

Your bartender can be your best friend. La Conner “guys,” locals who have gathered at Nell Thorn’s Tuesdays for happy hours for years, going back to the restaurant’s days up the hill next to the Country Inn, are losing theirs.

Aaron Jones, the rock of Nell Thorn’s bar tending staff, shook his final martini, poured his last Manhattan, and polished his final bar counter in La Conner Saturday night. Jones is the first staff departure since Nell Thorn’s sale to Ted Furst, owner of Kirkland restaurant Le Grand Bistro Americain, set to be completed this week. He is moving, literally, to Lake Chelan, “not a new chapter in life. It’s a whole new book. It’s that different,” he said last Friday before the dinner hour rush.

Jones has been working his magic at the iconic La Conner restaurant – both the technical wizardry of mixing drinks and the social chemistry of making friends – for ten years. That is what he says about his customers and about owners Casey and Susan Schanen, whom he says are “like family.” He he has been a bartender for 24 years. “I love what I do. It’s a career, not a job.”

He is also proud of his participation as Nell Thorn “has grown into something else” – many say the best restaurant in Skagit County. Natalie McCuskey has been on the working side of the bar with him that whole time. They’re “bartending buddies” and she will miss him a lot, knowing that they “are a well oiled machine.” It is “the end of an era,” she says.

Becca Burton, a staffing mainstay, termed Saturday night “the Aaron and Rebecca show for years. We have a natural pace. We play well off of each other. It’s almost like a brother and sister.”

Fellow barkeep Denise Willup noted his essential quality: “He is passionate and caring whether you are the president of the United States or like a bum on the street. He will treat you the same. He’s just a good man.”

La Conner regulars sang his praises. Kelly Harper said “He is truly the bones to Nell Thorn’s. He is a crazy hard worker

Charlotte Underwood captured his work and personal nature: “He is sincere and heartfelt. He is really knowledgeable. He listens to what people like and then creates a well-crafted drink.”

Nancy Crowell’s assessment: ‘The most knowledgeable bartender in the Valley.”

Allan Olson called him “the host to a large segment of the community that gathered around Aaron’s bar to talk about all things: sports, sex, politics and the future of La Conner.”

Rick Shorten simply said “Well miss him. He has become an institution.” And Stuart Hutt: “I wish him well. God bless him.”

Jones’ future is in Mason, east of Lake Chelan. He has a buyer for his house and a house to move into. He hopes to manage a soon-to-open winery. “It’s an opportunity that came up that we are super excited about.”

The essential Aaron Jones will gather a crowd wherever he puts an apron and what ever counter he stands behind.

He leaves a big hole, and has a big hole in his heart for the people and the business and the food.

He is also going to miss the shucked oysters.