(From left to right: Violet Reign, Batida, La Loba, Lip Service)
At the corner of Meeting and E streets, above the Moxy Hotel, Trace Conway is building something a little different. The rooftop bar she runs, Bar Moxy, isn’t just another polished lounge with cocktails and a view.
“There aren’t many rooftops in Charleston,” she said, sitting in the bar’s podcast studio. “We’re not Citrus Club. We’re more bohemian. We’ve got shuffleboard, pingpong and drag bingo. It’s laid-back.”
Conway’s path into bar management wasn’t planned, but it came naturally. She grew up in California, raised by a mom who had a restaurant and gave her early lessons in the hospitality world.
“My mom always told me, ‘Use your brain to make money, not your feet,’” she said, laughing.
She eventually moved to New York City and, with a degree in organizational psychology and a sommelier certificate, helped build wine lists and farm-to-table menus before realizing: Why not apply this to spirits? That became her philosophy.
“I started seeking out spirits that had a name and a human face—something attached to it beyond these big package brands,” she said.
Now at Moxy, Conway is trying to find the balance between corporate Marriott standards and local flavor.
“I try to bring in smaller brands when I can, especially women-owned and family-run distilleries,” she said. “We switch out the menu quarterly, which gives me a chance to keep it interesting.”
This summer’s menu includes four new cocktails, plus mocktails and Delta-9 options for people who want to skip alcohol altogether.
“There are a lot of people cutting back on drinking, especially younger folks,” Conway said. “They still want something that feels social.”
The La Loba, which means “she-wolf” in Spanish, mixes peach tea-infused mezcal with honey, lemon and chamomile syrup.
“It’s kind of a play on a bourbon tea,” she said. “Sweet and smoky.”
The Violet Reign uses butterfly pea flower Conniption gin, made by a female distiller in North Carolina, blended with blackberry purée, Chambord and sparkling lemonade.
Lip Service is a summer martini with watermelon, ginger and Aperol.
“It hits all the flavor profiles,” Conway said. “It’s sweet, spicy, salty and tart.”
Last on the list is a batida, a traditional Brazilian cocktail that mixes cachaça, coconut milk, passion fruit, lime and nutmeg. It’s bright, tropical and refreshing.
Bar Moxy draws a mixed crowd: hotel guests, downtown locals and tourists who wander in from the neighborhood. Events like drag bingo and rooftop yoga give the space a casual rhythm that fits with Conway’s style.
“It’s a hotel bar on the edge of town,” she said. “We try to keep it fun, fresh and interesting.”