was New George’s. Hard rock,
reggae, and underground (the
Faultline) vs. blues and jazz-rock
(George’s). Burkhart’s target
demographic was the 21 to
27-year-old crowd. The clean-cut
Burkhart was often chided by
the property owners: “You don’t
look like your clientele.” “If I
did,”he retorted, “You wouldn’t
have rented to me.” An odd bit
of counterintuition, Burkhart
has gleaned in his years in the
business, is that the scruffier the
patron, the least likely they are
to cause a problem. The straight-
laced customers on the other
hand…
As for the musicians he was able
to hire? A joy and a challenge.
With what he could afford to
pay, he either caught them on
the way up or the way down.
The most challenging aspect
of nightclub ownership? You
are a litigious target. The one
example he gives is a “slip and
fall” that didn’t even happen on
his premises. The plaintiff, who
fell in the mall 100 yards away,
sued Burkhart for $150,000, later
reducing his claim to $2,500.
Fed up with the bogus nature of
the demand, Burkhart paid his
lawyers $15,000 to win the suit
rather than give one dime to the
meretricious claimant.
After five years in the nightclub
business and a firm resolution
never again to venture on the
ownership side, Burkhart went
back to college. He received a
degree in Journalism from SF
State. Graduating with honors,
he was recognized for his talent
in writing by being nominated
for a Hearst Journalism Award.
When Burkhart left the night
club business, he landed a plum
bartender position at the Lark
Creek Inn where he worked
from 1996 to 2000, learning the
difference between a restaurant
and a bar. The chief difference: in
the restaurant bar the customer
is always right. A totally different
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Marin Arts & Culture
dynamic than the nightclub
business. those seven percent that people
really want to hear about.”
It’s not surprising Burkhart is
a student of alcoholic spirits.
History in all manners is his
passion. As a result, he’s done
exhaustive research on politics
and liquor. Did you know the
early suffragette movement for
women’s right to vote sprang
out of women’s fight to bring
about Prohibition? They wanted
to control their own destiny
by controlling the abuse they
suffered at the hands of their
drunk husbands. Research shows
the sheer volume of alcoholic
beverages consumed in the
1700’s and 1800’s was staggering. Some fun observations Burkhart
has made about the business
deal with the psychology of the
patrons. There are the married
women who come in with their
recently divorced girlfriends.
Burkhart calls the married
woman the “wing-woman.”
She’s the one helping the
divorcee looking to get back into
circulation, forgetting from time
to time, that she is the helpmate
and not out to meet someone
herself.
The secret to writing his column
is the anonymity of his presence.
What are the gems Burkhart
picked up along the way?
Money doesn’t make people
happier. He gives the example of
a periodic patron who comes in
with two attractive women, buys
a $650 bottle of wine, drinks one
glass and gives the rest to the
staff. The miserable, sad fellow
takes little or no joy in what he
does. Money alone doesn’t make
people any happier.
Burkhart’s first stab at writing
was to pitch a book about
bartending to a publisher who
turned it down. The publisher
offered an alternative idea,
knowledge cards about wine
and spirits. The book idea
resurfaced again but morphed
into a column. “In the SF papers,
I read columns based on the bar
and cabbie business. Both were
ghostwritten, clearly by writers
who didn’t know what they were
talking about. That inspired me.
I pitched a column about really
being behind the bar, it took off,
and here I am 10 years later.”
“I always say I only write about
seven percent of my customers.
Ninety-three percent are well
behaved, have a good time, and
there’s never a problem. But it’s
Burkhart also notices the guys
who make the wrong move
or says the wrong thing and
wonders why nothing happens.
Or conversely, if the woman has
already pre-selected him, there’s
very little he can do or say - short
of the truly outrageous - which
will be a discouragement.
Burkhart also notes it is more
difficult to meet people when
women are out in packs.
Sometimes there will be 4 to 6
women together which might
make it more difficult to strike
up a conversation with one of
the group. He gives kudos to the
single woman who will come out
on her own.
But Burkhart cautions, “Men
aren’t always honest.” It could
be about their marital status, or
what they do for a living.
The final analysis from Burkhart?
People are people. The amount
of money you make, the
education that you have or
where you live, is not the thing
which determines whether
you’re a good person or not.
Jeff Burkhart’s observations are
keen, insightful and perceptive.
Most of all they’re told from a
perspective of wisdom, humor,
and understanding which makes
his weekly Barfly column a must
read.