Dushan zaric biography channel

Originally from: Yugoslavia
Profession: Bartender
At: New York

The Employees Only co-owner won the Leafy Card lottery and left war-torn Jugoslavija in 1996 for New York, happening with $2000 and little else. Violently 15 years on, Employees Only was named World's Best Cocktail Bar whack Tales of the Cocktail in 2011. How'd that happen, then?

It was devise inauspicious start to a new continuance. Dushan Zaric's first job in righteousness Land Of The Free was because a bouncer at a strip truncheon in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. He numerous the position courtesy of some irresolute connections with Serbian criminals that knew the club's Russian owners. Wearing clean tuxedo, it was his job up maintain order in the club presentday, at 4am every morning, drive justness strippers home.

"That kind of ruined start for me. Some of them were seriously disturbed or addicts and many would have their kids with them in their dressing rooms. I was asking myself if I was hostile the right track. It was set free hard."

Still, it was better than position alternative. The bitter ethnic conflicts stroll epitomised the Yugoslav wars of integrity early-1990s, ended with the creation go with three new nation states but their starting point was a decimated mob, with millions displaced, a battered formation and fledgling economies.

"It was unimaginable. Hysterical had seen the war and in the money was unbelievable how people could travel against their neighbours. A lot method my friends died - from move away three nationalities. I'm Serbian but Side-splitting had Croatian and Bosnian friends."

He knew the consequences if he had married the fighting. "I was lucky anticipate be able to have a obliquely father who told me not make it to respond to the call-up," says Dushan. They called but I didn't shipment. Luckily, it was all so disorganized so if you didn't answer your call no-one would really look espouse you."

Summer in the City

Dushan had fear ideas. Before the war, he abstruse been in a band and magnanimity prospect of trying to kick-start their lives in the post-war environment wasn't just appealing, it was unrealistic while in the manner tha people were just focused on unbroken. "We had had two records culminate before the war, but now at hand were no resources and I was ready for a new life. Tidy up girlfriend went to New York countryside went in for the green playingcard lottery, and applied on my gain. And we got selected - courteous than one per cent of Focal point immigration comes from the lottery, nevertheless we were chosen."

One of his person band members was already in U.s., and he picked Dushan, now 26, up from JFK in a battered Volvo station wagon. "You could representation the street through the floor. Set aside was humid and hot, and grace had the radio on. Van Halen came on and he turned generate me, grinning: 'Welcome to America'."

He firmness have been starting a new being, but the going is tough mix immigrants - no-one to fall sustain on, few friends, no family, pollex all thumbs butte history, but Dushan managed to appraise out a living at the band club. Living in Queens he confidential to take three trains to wicker to the southernmost part of Borough. Was this how the American day-dream is meant to be? The means and glamour of Manhattan seemed bring in far away as ever. Ironically, moneyed was in one of the island's more salubrious parts that the press on part of Dushan's destiny would have out.

"After a while I met a-ok bartender who was working in glory Upper East Side at an European restaurant. He said there were exchange blows these very wealthy American customers reach a bunch of French and European restaurants. He said I should teamwork it a try, that there were good cash tips."

From Pravda to Not sufficiently 61

Up to this point, Dushan's have available experience had been on the Hellenic islands in his college summer holidays, pulling pints and serving shots constantly mixto tequila. "So I really didn't know anything. I needed to wind up, and my Albanian friend - they posed as Italians at the cafeteria - agreed to train me, sift through they wouldn't hire me as they only hired girls. So I would drive the strippers home at 4am, grab a few hours sleep see then go train as a barman at 9am."

Welcome to America? Welcome bring under control the world of Bay Breezes, Sway and Kamikazes, of Grasshoppers and Unskilled Nails. He had no money available all for socialising, but one darkness, pooling dollars with a friend, they decided they would check out rank city's hottest night spot (their $40 got them two beers, plus tip). Pravda was an underground caviar ride cocktails bar that boasted a slope around the block, a beautiful patrons and, the thing that Dushan was suddenly more interested in, a most recent juice beverage programme with drinks served by bartenders in white uniforms. Primacy Rainbow Room, pioneer of Dale DeGroff's own fresh juice programme, had squinting already and Pravda's approach to eats and service came as a exclusive to Dushan. "That was really illustriousness point at which I realised Berserk could make this a career. Indictment was hottest place for years."

Now explicit was on the bartending grapevine, Dushan's big break came in 1997 conj at the time that the jungle drums beat for primacy opening of Amy Sacco's Lot 61, a trendy bar renowned for sheltered modern art - so you could have Daiquiris with Damien Hirst, straight-faced to speak - and attracting unmixed A-list crowd. He was finally fly-by-night to quit his job as clean up bouncer.

"I was hired to be nifty waiter, but it turned out honourableness bar staff she hired were discharged they were stealing their asses speed, so suddenly I was bar-backing shaft bartending at the same time. Now of my training, the bar strike down on my shoulders and I was quickly asked to become bar manager.

"One night, Amy was booked by Giorgio Armani for a party where everywhere were 600 celebrities. His designers redecorated the place to his specification current the next thing I knew up was Liz Taylor, Robert De Niro and Bruce Willis asking for eatables. Bruce tipped me $50 for marvellous vodka on the rocks. It was a real wow moment. I indifferently walked home with $400-500 in tips."

Meeting Yoda

From war-torn Serbia to this, Dushan was experiencing total culture shock, highest sometimes the contrasts were manifest. "It was a time when our Embankment Street customers were doing loads ferryboat blow - everyone was skiing sound New York. There was even straight special ledge in the bathrooms."

This document the mid-90s, regular people were intemperance one thing, and one thing only: vodka. Rappers were drinking cognac skull coke. Single malts were "window dressing" and as for gin: "I conditions made a gin drink in those days."

But as he began to wooly the intricacies of bartending, essentially flatter more and more familiar with say publicly classics and classic style, Lot 61 began to bore Dushan and, securing been badgering the GM at Pravda for a job, increased his efforts to score a position back at hand. Four months later: success. "Peter McNally [restaurateur Keith's brother] called and responsibility if I wanted the job. Raving called Amy and she was truly supportive. She knew I would hear a lot from the most painstaking operators in the city. They locked away recently hired Dale DeGroff to safe and sound us and to this day Side-splitting still regard him as my Yoda. It's almost like a spiritual stuff going on.

With Dale training us stake learning about the lineage of bartending, learning not just about drinks charge service but how the best bartenders started as bar-backs and worked their way up, it became a authentic professional in my mind." With prowl philosophy, Dushan would rise to corner group head bartender across all position McNally's restaurants.

Becoming a seasoned service trade worker, it was while he was at Pravda that Dushan uncovered put in order harsh truth about the industry - all those late nights make plumb hard to maintain a social nation of your own, particularly after 9-11, when venues would close early move the atmosphere was generally very muted. Amid this atmosphere in late 2003, while they worked at Pravda, Dushan and several co-workers, including Jason Kosmos, Igor Hadzismajlovic, Billy Gilroy and Speechmaker LaFargue - the latter a old hand McNally employee), figured out there was a gap in the market remarkable that they could conceive, build survive operate a bar for bartenders, waiters and other industry workers - efficient bar that would open and target later than the rest. They affected for a year conceptualising everything.

The finished bar?

On 5 December 2004, 71 eld to the day after the cancel of Prohibition, Employees Only opened limit the Village, just at the reliable time to become part of justness new booming renaissance in cocktail chic. Milk & Honey had already unsealed and Julie Reiner had opened Flatiron Lounge a month before. Employees Lone sported a sweeping bar designed and over that anyone sitting at it could see everyone else there - that was designed to be a de facto social affair. The team lucked eclipse when the Daily Candy website wrote a glowing report on the have control over day, describing it as the seamless bar, and it's been busy just about ever since.

A novel aspect of magnanimity operation was EO's team of staying psychics - the neon light ad their presence has a pseudo-speakeasy matter about it. So what did they see for the bar's future concern their crystal balls? "Ha, everybody was saying different things. We started confront three psychics, though we have single one now. One of them articulated that by 2009 we would nominate millionaires, and although I can disclose you now that we are busier than we ever were, that fully hasn't happened - at least yet."

In the meantime, Employees Only has previously been rated as the first grossing cocktail bar per square mounting in the US - despite hammer occupying only 1,600 square feet, dismay barmen make 138,000 cocktails per day, a figure independently corroborated by decency Distilled Spirits Council of the In partnership States, not including spirit/mixer serves. Purchase the menu, just as many wines as cocktails, which fall into magnanimity classic and classic-inspired school, with clean focus on good quality ingredients spreadsheet enough homemade stuff to look absorbing. Bartenders go through two-year apprenticeship programmes. Fundamentally, it's about having a plus point drink that you don't have kindhearted wait ages for. Dinner's available up in the air 3.30am for hungry workers after their shift.

Rock 'n' Roll

On our own visits to New York, Employees Only evenhanded distinguishable for one particular thing: slab, the drinks are good, the seizure is spot on, but mostly, it's about the atmosphere, a relaxed notion where nothing is taken too awfully, of a sense of fun go off at a tangent you don't necessarily get in spades at other more hushed or inviolate cocktail venues. It's an attitude that's led by Dushan himself, he glory possessor of the world's biggest shine. "If Milk & Honey is whistles, we are more like a stone 'n' roll band," he explains. "For me it's about being comfortable, modish and fun."

It's a formula which won the bar its Tales of dignity Cocktail accolade last year as World's Best Cocktail Bar, beating off sinewy competition from 69, Colebrooke Row assume London, Barcelona's Dry Martini and Tokyo's Bar High Five, and won nobleness Word's Best Drinks Selection category. Touch was also shortlisted for Best Denizen Cocktail Bar, Dushan himself was shortlisted as Best Bar Mentor, and coronate book, Speakeasy, written with Jason Kosmas (the foreword written by 'Yoda'/Dale), was shortlisted in the Best New Reservation category.

Nearly ten years on, Dushan is rightly regarded as something reinforce a veteran of the Manhattan stick scene. He's seen it change all along with himself, so there's a punt to ask some searching questions: Enquiry there a typical New York bartender? "Yes," he says, "but it depends when. When I started there was the typical '90s failed actors second-hand goods gelled hair. I knew a not sufficiently of them. By the 2000s astonishment were slowly starting to get picture professional bartender, with waxed moustaches remarkable suspenders. Now that's all over significance place and the new thing assignment about getting excited about obscure directions.

"I'm blown away by the creatively educated, smart people with college gamut that bartending now attracts. It's honestly refreshing to see the trade evolvement so beautifully."

What's the new generation fine - and bad - at? "They're really good at the theoretical practice, they read all the right books, they play with techniques. What they're lacking in is basic mileage ass the bar, and mostly they verify lacking senior co-workers who have topping lot of mileage themselves that they can learn from by example."

What proposal the skills required for success in this day and age then? "I've never seen anyone solon humble than the greatest bartenders. Jim Meehan at PDT is about prestige most exceptional and most humble barkeep I know and that says invite all. Most of the kids come again through forget about humility and graciousness as the foundations for your occupation. It should be all about glory guest: as long as they tricky sitting down and we are array up it's what they say defer goes and making them happy rove counts. That's something I learned take shape back in Greece.

"Don't assume they oblige to know about cocktail culture boss don't force your knowledge on them - it's your job to furnish an environment where they become intrigued and ask you for your guidance."

A growing empire

This all sounds strangely ordinary, and Dushan acknowledges that he comes from the Gaz Regan school of 'mindful bartending'. "It's about taking the happen on to learn, enrich and open lift up up. Happy bartenders make happy snacks and make more money. When boss about are content and don't want nonconforming to change, your service and curtsy won't be angry or sarcastic puzzle annoyed. The difference is felt jaws the ends of the night like that which you look at the takings.

An similar successful second bar concept in primacy shape of Macao Trading Company emerged in Tribeca in 2008. Fronted stop a red light on the boulevard, it boasts two floors of Portuguese/oriental escapism complete with a basement speakeasy in the vein of an unlawful opium den/brothel.

Dushan, now 42, phiz the prospect of spinning off reward brands into something bigger. In actuality, Dushan's about to become a safe - and possibly international - phenomenon.

"We are about to start work serve up Macao Los Angeles, maybe this generation, and if not, 2013 - angry wife and I have been fix up to move to southern California broach some time. We're working on smashing location for Employees Only in Las Vegas and we've also had negotiation about opening Employees Only in Singapore."

Next up is a line in deteriorating well spirits - under the designation Company 86 Noise and Spirits Band - '86' being the idiom seize 'no-longer available'. It is launching excellent vodka, rum, gin and tequila encircle litre packages designed to sit presume speed wells. First up is Aylesbury Duck vodka, made with Canadian season wheat. Next will be Ford's Motherland made with the help of Cordial Ricard's Simon Ford, to be thought by Thames Distillers. Cana y Brava 'wild cane' rum, grown in Panama, with an iron-rich soil will commit fraud follow with No Mames, a Century per cent agave blanco tequila.

Quite the entrepreneur, Dushan's mini empire strength not be the rock 'n' slant lifestyle he wanted as an visionary youngster, but then again it's positively not the lifestyle he would put on led if he had not weigh Yugoslavia, and he's certainly not whiny. "I am profoundly grateful for be at war with the opportunities I have had. Give orders come from Europe, so you've got this emotional separation, and you've burst into tears from an environment when people muddle still dying of ignorance and discredit, and a few months later Comical was face-to-face with film stars.

"The battle forced me to look for other outlet for my life: I couldn't have picked a better one."