Top of the Morning, June 13, 2025 | Business

Bellying up with …

On Fridays, we’ll spotlight the men and women serving up cold ones and conversation in our neck of the woods. Let us know about your favorite bartender by emailing ltaylor@news-gazette.com.

An old bank building might not still have cash in the vault, but there is money in gambling.

At least, that’s how Realtor Tony Bammert convinced Jeff Noffsinger to go into business with him on what would become Winston’s Old Bank in Sidney.

“The original motivation was gambling, but really, it’s the bar side of the business … It’s more important,” Noffsinger said. “One side begets the other.”

Noffsinger worked at Fat City in Champaign back in the day and has other restaurant experience, so he and Bammert made a good team to help Winston’s succeed. They renovated the old bank before opening five years ago, focusing on the unique space.

“We tried to provide a comfortable social environment here, not too different than any other bar but a little bit more concentration on environment,” Noffsinger said. “We’ve targeted the demographic we intended to target, so we get great people.”

Noffsinger said that without a large population nearby, they wanted a place where people would become regulars.

They started selling liquor around two years ago, but the focus is still a broad craft beer selection with a decent list of wines to boot. Noffsinger said they always search for local beers and wines to fit various niches before looking regionally or nationally.

“My favorite question when somebody walks in is, ‘What do you have?’” he said, especially since the answer changes seasonally.

He loves tending the bar and getting to sit and talk with customers and is very proud of how much he and his partner have learned and grown through the experience.

Something else Noffsinger and Bammert have in common is a love of playing guitar, which also encourages them to bring in live music as much as possible.

If you happen by the bar after closing, you may catch Noffsinger strumming a few chords to wind down after a high-energy shift.

“In the vault, there’s probably six or seven guitars here,” he said. “At like midnight, I’ll grab a guitar, play for half an hour, sometimes just a couple songs, and it helps take the temperature down and get me into a place where I can think about maybe going to sleep.”