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The
Questionnaire
We
asked some prominent area bar owners a handful of questions
about the business, and here’s what they had to say
1.
What’s the secret to a successful bar?
Listening to what the customers want and over delivering that
at a reasonable price and with exceptional quality.
—Kevin
Everleth, the Wine Bar and Bistro, Albany
Hard
work and caring and diversity of product and people.
—Tess
Collins, Tess’ Lark Tavern, Albany
Fate,
timing, location, history, customer loyalty, a good cocktail
and word of mouth.
—Daniel
Osman, the Dream Away Lodge, Becket, Mass.
Good
music, good lighting, and tequila.
—Matt
Baumgartner, Bombers Burrito Bar, Albany and Schenectady,
and Wolff’s Biergarten, Albany
Treat
it as though it were your living room.
—Nancy
Kupiec, Midtown Tap & Tea Room, Albany
Customers.
—Muddy,
Muddy’s Lounge, Watervliet
2.
How has the business been during the recession?
Our restaurants have had an increase in sales during the recession.
I attribute that to our prices being inexpensive.
—Matt
Baumgartner
People
are still coming in regularly, but less frequently. We’re
very grateful.
—Nancy
Kupiec
Great.
—Tess
Collins
No
change. When things are bad in a recession, there are three
things that are dominant: booze, broads and gambling. And
I have all three.
—Muddy
Excellent.
—Kevin
Everleth
Dream
Away Lodge has surprisingly enjoyed significant business increase
over the last two seasons, certainly due in part to the arrival
of my wonderful chef, Amy Loveless.
—Daniel
Osman
3.
What was your bar, originally?
A stable. I left all the utensils for the stable on the wall
upstairs, and there’s a hay door up there.
—Tess
Collins
Antica
Enoteca, another version of what it is now.
—Kevin
Everleth
A
farmhouse at the edge of the forest, built in the 1790s, then
rather famously a brothel and a speakeasy during the Great
Depression and the early part of last century. Been the Dream
Away Lodge since 1947.
—Daniel
Osman
It
was built circa 1880 as a garage, then in 1930 it was expanded
and rented to the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company
(A&P)
—Nancy
Kupiec
Bombers
on Lark was originally Carp’s Tavern, a seafood restaurant.
Wolff’s was a firehouse.
—Matt
Baumgartner
I
think it was built as a bar. . . . It oughtta be on historic
record—it’s been here forever.
—Muddy
4.
If your bar were a movie, which one would it be?
The
Deer Hunter
—Muddy
Bombers
would be Breakin’ (1984); Wolff’s would be Beerfest
(2006).
—Matt
Baumgartner
Mother Knows Best
—Nancy
Kupiec
Casablanca meets Breakfast Club
—Tess
Collins
Maybe
a bit of Baghdad Café, Brazil, and Everything
You Always Wanted to Know About Sex thrown in a Cuisinart
with vodka and the Technicolor scenes from The Wizard of
Oz. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain . .
.
—Daniel
Osman
5.
Who are your biggest tippers?
People
who work in other restaurants.
—Nancy
Kupiec
Service
industry (restaurant) individuals.
—Kevin
Everleth
People
who work in the restaurant industry (hands down).
—Matt
Baumgartner
95
percent of my customers are great tippers. But blue-collar
workers and hippies are the best.
—Tess
Collins
The
most generous patrons are the people who get what we’re doing.
When it’s your kind of place, people tend to be appreciative.
—Daniel
Osman
The
older men who come in here and look at my girls.
—Muddy
6.
What’s the most popular song on your jukebox?
“Bad
Romance” by Lady Gaga.
—Matt
Baumgartner
“Valerie,”
the Amy Winehouse version.
—Nancy
Kupiec
Journey,
“Don’t Stop Believin’.”
—Tess
Collins
7.
Have you ever served any celebrities?
OK Go, Everclear, Mohair, Vanessa Carlton, Grace Potter, Bam
Margera, Liev Schreiber. The previous owners say Grace Kelly
studied her lines in the backroom.
—Tess
Collins
Governor
Paterson, Senator Gillibrand, other politicians, and various
musicians.
—Kevin
Everleth
We
had the two guys from the hit TV show Reno 911!, and
Yolanda Vega is a regular.
—Matt
Baumgartner
Patti
Page, Alan King, Tommy Lasorda.
—Muddy
From
Bob Dylan and the Rolling Thunder Review (see Dylan’s epic
film Renaldo and Clara), to an Elvis legend, a Sinatra
legend and many Jacob’s Pillow and Tanglewood legends from
the old days, to a roster of the local glitterati from Berkshire
cultural and political life. Raquel Welch, Randy Harrison,
Carol Channing, Rex Reed, Mark Morris, Pete Seeger, Arlo,
Yo-Yo Ma, Marge Champion, Maureen Stapleton, and Brian Stokes
Mitchell—the list goes on and on . . .
—Daniel
Osman
All
of our customers are celebrities to us!
—Nancy
Kupiec
8.
What’s the worst thing a drunk patron has ever done in your
bar?
Got himself thrown out.
—Muddy
Throw
up . . . of course!
—Nancy
Kupiec
Cause
a fight, stole wine
—Kevin
Everleth
Passed
out in the broom closet, and then woke up after we had already
locked up, setting off all the alarms.
—Matt
Baumgartner
Started
a fight—that’s my No. 1 pet peeve.
—Tess
Collins
People’s
behavior in public is regularly unbelievable. They don’t even
have to be drunk. From leaving dirty diapers in the parking
lot to stealing an entire set of glasses. You wouldn’t believe
the things I’ve seen . . .
—Daniel
Osman
9.
What’s the best pickup line you’ve ever heard?
I had a fellow who used to come in here and use the fact that
he was a wannabe gynecologist.
—Muddy
I’m
never here late at night to hear the GOOD ones.
—Nancy
Kupiec
The
burlesque sketch class/party turned into something much wilder
than anyone expected—you might say that the event itself was
one big pick-up line. Gotta throw that party again sometime
. . . A good pick-up is accident, timing and luck. And playing
your cards right. The old methods only work on people you
don’t wanna have breakfast with in the morning.
—Daniel
Osman
“You
own Wolff’s? Show me your sausage.”
—Matt
Baumgartner
“I
know Tess.”
—Tess
Collins
10.
What’s the weirdest or most surreal thing that happened at
your bar?
The staff won’t tell me!
—Nancy Kupiec
People
who hang out together here would never be friends anywhere
else.
—Tess
Collins
I
had a commercial shot in here one time, by the AIDS Council,
and watching them set up the lighting and the cameras and
the sound, it was a little different. I never was exposed
to anything like that. It was two guys over a pool table talking
about their sex life.
—Muddy
Maybe
the time my drunk neighbor stumbled down the porch stairs
with his pants around his ankles because he forgot to pull
them up when he left the bathroom earlier in the evening.
Or was it the night the drunk nutjob threw the shot glass
at my head as I stood behind the bar, and took out an entire
shelf of glasses . . . ?
—Daniel
Osman
It
was pretty surreal when I saw my mom do a shot with the mayor.
—Matt
Baumgartner
11.
What was the biggest bar tab anybody ever walked out on?
Four or five hundred dollars—but they came back and paid it.
—Tess
Collins
$45
—Nancy
Kupiec
People
who end up in the middle of the forest for dinner and fun
usually end up here because they are drawn to it—it calls
to them. Our people generally have some integrity and pay
their bills. Walkouts and ugliness have been thankfully rare.
—Daniel
Osman
Nothing
too bad, probably around $80 or so.
—Matt
Baumgartner
$10
by a couple of NYS Assemblymen.
—Kevin
Everleth
12.
What’s the craziest thing you ever saw on the bathroom wall?
Any kind of writing—I don’t understand how people get their
frustrations out.
—Muddy
A
booger . . . again, of course!
—Nancy Kupiec
We
have a gallery in the handicapped bathroom we call the Loo
Gallery—we’ve had some pretty wacky art on the walls in there.
If anybody came in and scrawled on my walls, things would
get ugly . . .
—Daniel
Osman
Let’s
just say it involved my full name and some interesting language
involving a farm animal.
—Matt
Baumgartner
13.
Do you have any bar ghosts?
Does Tom Moore count?
—Matt
Baumgartner
The
kitchen staff thinks there’s one in the basement—creepy!
—Nancy Kupiec
We
have been known to have several, and the paranormal people
call from all over to do research here.
—Tess
Collins
A
local psychic has commented that there was great energy around
the Dream Away. I asked if it was good energy or bad and she
replied “Great energy, honey. This was a whorehouse—people
were having a really good time!”
—Daniel
Osman
No.
—Muddy
14.
Of all the Capital Region bars through the years, what was
your favorite?
Historically speaking, in the Berkshires, the Mundy’s era
was unforgettable. Nowadays, I love the scene in Hudson.
—Daniel
Osman
State
Street Pub. Can I put two? QE2.
—Tess
Collins
The
Devil’s Inn on Green Street (now a vacant lot).
—Nancy Kupiec
I
miss Power Company Wednesdays in the 90s.
—Matt
Baumgartner
I
have never been a drinker.
—Muddy
15.
Do you give free drinks to Metroland employees, like the place
across the street does?
Nice Try!
—Nancy
Kupiec
If
we ever saw a Metroland employee up here in the hills
and recognized him (or her), we’d sure as hell give ‘em a
drink!
—Daniel
Osman
Nope,
I don’t think I get any Metroland employees in here.
—Muddy
I
babysit them.
—Tess
Collins
I
don’t know many Metroland employees, Steve, but next
time you’re in I’ll see to it you get a glass or 2 on me!!
—Kevin
Everleth
If
you weren’t all such booze hounds, we totally would.
—Matt
Baumgartner
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