When the West Village speakeasy Staff Solely opened 20 years in the past on Hudson Road, a flood of stars poured in, wanting VIP remedy.
However that’s not the bar’s M.O.
Months after the splashy watering gap opened, Madonna’s handlers tried to filter out the place so the singer and her crew may imbibe in non-public.
“We were happy to welcome her, but they didn’t like the layout of our dining room because it was too open. There were no separate booths. Her team was concerned that she would be bothered,” co-founder Dushan Zaric instructed The Publish.
“She was turned away because she wanted the whole dining room to herself and we couldn’t accommodate. We felt awful, of course,” he stated.
It wasn’t something towards Madonna. Zaris additionally recalled the workforce turning away the Olsen twins’ get together of 12 as a result of they didn’t have a reservation. (Prince William and Kate Middleton, however, dined within the again backyard after nabbing a reservation, whereas Elon Musk stayed till final name at 4 a.m.)
This week, Staff Solely — which has been dubbed among the best cocktail bars on the earth by the Spirited Awards — is celebrating its twentieth anniversary by welcoming visitor bartenders from across the globe.
And normally tight-lipped staffers additionally instructed The Publish about treating celeb friends corresponding to Invoice Murray, Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Cuban like another New Yorker who managed to get within the door.
“We never wanted to make a big deal if a celebrity comes in. It’s just not our style,” Zaric instructed The Publish. “A lot of these people are used to being in places where everybody kisses their ass.”
Murray first confirmed up as a result of he wished to get his palm learn by the restaurant’s resident psychic.
“He came in to get his palm read by our psychic in the front. He peeked through the curtain and saw there was actually a bar inside, [then] asked, ‘Can you make me a dirty martini?’” Zaric remembered of the “Lost In Translation” star.
“I was speechless. I’ve never been starstruck, but he is my favorite actor. I said ‘Sir, I’ll make you the best dirty martini you’ve ever had.’ And I personally hate dirty martinis,” Zaric stated. “So I made him an extra dirty martini and he tried it, and said ‘You’re not lying, I’m coming back next week for another one.’ He picked up his drink and continued his session with the psychic.”
Different A-listers most well-liked to slip below the radar. When a supervisor approached Leonardo DiCaprio — who got here in late one Sunday, with a “much younger model,” to look at a burlesque present — he stated, “No pictures, please.”
However the girl instructed him: “No, I need you to move for the performance.”
Earlier than marrying “Saturday Night Live” star Colin Jost in 2020, Scarlet Johansson used to mix into the gang at Staff Solely.
“We put her in a corner table — no one bothered her for over a year. She didn’t come in all glammed up. She was really down to earth,” Zaric recalled.
However, he added, they noticed much less of her after a fan acknowledged the “Avengers” star and requested for a photograph.
One one who didn’t thoughts posing for followers is “Shark Tank” star Mark Cuban, who additionally left a $1,000 tip — and tried his hand at bartending.
“He got back there, he put the jacket on and he played around a little bit,” Zaric stated. “Got a kick out of it.”
However the most effective stuff occurred earlier than everybody began posting images on social media.
“People used to get up and dance on the bar. We didn’t have iPhones. We didn’t have social media. You could really go under the radar,” Zaric recalled.
Patrons would repeatedly get so unfastened — and frisky — that Staff Solely staffers dubbed a comfy nook between the bar and the entrance window the “nasty corner.” And the bar’s lost-and-found is stuffed with souvenirs from patrons’ wild nights: designer sneakers, jewellery, even a diamond engagement ring found lodged in one of many cubicles.
When Staff Solely opened in December, 2004, 5 mixologists — Zaric, Henry Lafargue, Igor Hadzismajlovic, Jason Kosmas and Invoice Gilroy — noticed potential for a craft cocktail bar that targeted on recent substances however didn’t take itself too severely. Its tackle the Manhattan, with the next proof rye, reversed proportions of vermouth and a contact of Grand Marnier, sparked each imitators and outposts in Singapore, Sydney and Los Angeles.
And 20 years later, every part outdated is new once more, Zaric stated.
Again in 2004, the espresso martini was a staple. “I poured rivers of that stuff. Then it died,” Zaric stated, calling it “dead and buried.”
Now, the drink continues to be not on the menu — however it’s EO’s most steadily ordered cocktail, producing 1,000,000 {dollars} of income a 12 months, a staffer instructed The Publish.
Stated Zaric: “It came out of the grave.”
