Martibel Payano has played just about every role on the card.
When she’s not acting, doing improv, training in the gym or on tour as a professional wrestler, you can catch her making cocktails at Cincinnati karaoke bar and night club Tokyo Kitty, located at 575 Race St. in the Central Business District.
“I have a lot of hands in a lot of different things,” Payano said.
She’s been wrestling since 2009 and has toured the world working for various organizations under ring name Marti Belle, including Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, All Elite Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment and more. With more than 141,000 Instagram followers and around 26,000 followers on her professional Facebook page, it’s safe to say she’s a big deal.
About three years ago, a friend encouraged her to step behind the bar for the very first time.
“My entire adult life, everyone’s always been like, ‘You’d be such a great bartender,’” she said.
The New York City native has worked a lot of service industry jobs throughout her life, but never bartending. She went into her first interview with zero experience but was able to land a job at Covington Yard, an open-air food court, beer garden and social entertainment space in Northern Kentucky.
St. Patrick’s Day and Cincinnati Reds Opening Day were among her first shifts.
“It was literally sink or swim,” she said.
About a year later, she landed a job at Tokyo Kitty.
“I genuinely enjoy coming to work,” Payano said.
She loves the people. And when you’re a bartender, you get a glimpse into the lives of strangers every single shift.
“You get to see people sometimes at their worst … but you also get to see people celebrating,” she said.
From birthday parties to weddings to even divorce parties, she’s seen it all.
Bartending allows Payano to be creative in a different way. To her, cocktailing is a lot like baking.
“You can take someone’s recipe and make it your own,” she said. “Very rarely are you ever gonna invent something for the first time ever.”
Tokyo Kitty’s cocktail menu is created by the staff, and Payano’s Yokai cocktail recently landed a spot.
On the surface, it’s a tequila cocktail with a little blue curaçao for a bit of fun. But to Payano, the drink’s meaning cuts deep.
It’s a tribute to her late friend Adam Ramey, the lead singer of the American nu metal band Dropout Kings. He passed away in May 2025 shortly before his 32nd birthday.
The cocktail’s colors, style and name are all inspired by the band’s 2025 album with the same name.
“I get to honor my friend in a really cool way,” she said. “When the menu was approved, I took a picture of it and I sent it to the other singer in the band and he was just so stoked because it’s like our friend’s memory is going to always live on.”
Although she’s only been in the industry for a few years, the social drinking culture has become a significant part of her lifestyle.
“I’m Dominican, I grew up in New York and I grew up surrounded by family and nobody loves to party more than Dominicans,” she said. “Any occasion to get together with family, to get together with friends is welcome. And there will always be food and there will always be a lot of drinks.”
Bartending and mixology in general help her feel connected to her family, even when she’s away. Making a Caribbean rum cocktail can bring back childhood memories of family traditions. It can be a way to honor her cultural heritage, Payano said.
Although she’s got a lot of responsibilities and is a bit of a career chameleon, Payano is confident that bartending is going to be a mainstay in her life for many years to come.
“Down the line, something that would be really cool for me is I would love to either own a small bar that does like a small club type thing,” Payano said.
Yokai
- 1.5 oz Lunazul Reposado tequila
- 1 oz Hana Lychee sake
- 0.5 oz melon schnapps
- 0.5 oz lime juice
- 0.5 oz simple syrup
- Shake and strain into a rocks glass
- Float with blue curaçao
- Garnish with lychee fruit
This story is part of CityBeat’s latest cover package celebrating the people behind Cincinnati’s cocktail scene. Meet more of the city’s standout bartenders and read the full story here.