By CHARLES FERRUZZA
On the same day that my review of local bar dining hit the streets, I received a couple of phone calls from regulars at the City Tavern complaining that the new changes at this six-year-old Crossroads restaurant included one they were not happy about. Melissa Stevens of the Patricia Stevens Modeling Agency made the first call.
"Shawn Moriarty was the best bartender in Kansas City. He knew everyone's favorite cocktail before they even sat down. He was professional, engaging, very elegant," she said.
My friend Truman, another Moriarty fan, was practically traumatized by the news: "He was one of the few five-star bartenders in the city. Totally amazing."
So what happened?
Moriarty said he knew there was a "stink in the air" when the restaurant's new chef, Jason Czaja (recently hired away from Yia Yia's) started "interviewing bartenders right in front of the ones already working at the restaurant." This week, Moriarty was given the air.
City Tavern owner Dan Clothier said it was one of the hardest things he's ever had to do. In fact, he told me was sick just thinking about telling Moriarty he was fired. "John is a superior bartender," he said. "But it was time for City Tavern to re-invent itself and the bar was like a separate business. It was always at odds with what we were trying to do in the dining room. It was like two rooms with completely different personalities. I had an opportunity to change that."
Moriarty had been with City Tavern since it opened in 2002. He seemed nonplussed by his dismissal, but he's been a professional bartender for 17 years, so he knows how the industry works. A couple of local venues are already vying for his services.
"Right now, I'm just going to take my motorcycle for a spin," he told me. "It's a a beautiful day."
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I follow your posts for a long time and should tell that your articles always prove to be of a high value and quality
for readers.
Lucifer,
jj spelled restaurateur adding an "n"; you spelled it omitting an "a" - I'd say that was a wash...except you had the gall to criticize, trivially and incompetently. It betrays an arrogance that does not contribute to selling your defense.
We paid for our food and drinks at your bar, and your underhanded swipe at the "wonderful guys" and your previously loyal patrons does not help your case either.
I'm following Shawn and Mike.
Hey, it's me, Lucifer (a/k/a Dan Clothier)with the other side of the story.
First, let me agree, Shawn and Mike are wonderful guys. They are also very talented bartenders. I gave each of them very generous severence payments. Shawn and Mike will be fine.
I knew that letting them go would hurt our bar business for a while and that certainly happened. But our bar business is coming back nicely. By integrating the new menu into our happy hour, the quality of the food makes the experience much better for the kind of customers who also enjoy our dining room and appreciate Chef Czaja's wonderful cooking. If replacing chicken wings with duck confit and sweet potato gnocchi at happy hour is a cardinal sin, mia culpa, mia maxima culpa.
As for the disparaging comments regarding our new chef, Jason Czaja, you could not be more wrong. It is grossly unfair to blame him for what happened to Shawn and Mike. I made the decision on my own. Jason is a brilliant chef and, by the way, like Shawn and Mike, a wonderful guy.
I have always been very candid in admitting to my many mistakes with City Tavern. Time will tell whether or not I am a very good resturateur (check your spelling jj), but I have never been more confident that City Tavern is on the right track. The quality of our overall product has never been better. The value and quality of our beautifully diverse menu is unsurpassed in Kansas City.
Most of our best old customers, the ones who don't expect free food and don't mind paying for their drinks, have returned and enjoy the new approach. Just as you do not have to worry about Shawn and Mike, don't worry about City Tavern. We will be fine.
All the best,
Dan Clothier
aka Lucifer
I think you are thinking like sukrat, but I think you should cover the other side of the topic in the post too...
Dear Shawn & Mike (we hope you guys are following this blog),
The holidays ran over us and we were not there when your jobs got erased. We would just like to say that we only frequented CT because of you two. We have known CT from the very beginning. And the quality of the food started out very, very good, but we watched it fade over the years. It was our feeling that the owner had just quit spending money on the kitchen. Nevertheless, your joie de vivre made it a wonderful place to be so we made it our place to go: a little baked brie, some shrimp, some oysters. We have introduced many family members and out-of-town friends to CT because of you. With your firing, we conclude: Dan Clothier is a fool (we wanted to say ass, but that's too rude; we decided you can't say that sort of thing in print) and Yia Yia suburban chef Jason Czaja is the sort of person we were running away from when we came downtown to City Tavern. So...we will not go back to CT and we really, really would like to know where the two of you plan on working next, because WE WILL BE THERE. NAME THE VENUE. City Tavern? We're with "Rhondi" [see above] "Mr. Clothier's bar is now free to fail ... just as his kitchen and dining room have been doing all along." We will watch this site in hopes you [Shawn & Mike] will check in and let us know where to find you. Very sincerely, Joan & Jerry.
City Tavern may reinvent itself into a completely different type of place, but all the happy hour food in the world won't make up for the fact that the replacement bartender is unapologetically ignorant. If you want a nice quiet place on what should be a busy hub of activity on a Saturday night, then stop by and heckle him. I miss Mike's margaritas. This new guy has no clue.
I've been in the restaurant business for close to 20 years now, and I have a hard time Dan Clothier's claim that the bar was always at odds with what they were trying to do in the dining room, and that it was a valid reason to let the bartenders go. The bar was the only aspect of that restaurant that was successful, so I guess in that, Mr. Clothier has a point. His bar is now free to fail again and again, just as his kitchen and dining room have been doing all along.
I think it should also be mentioned that Mike, the other bartender, is a new father who lost his job just before the holidays. I hope there is a special place in hell for idiots like Dan Clothier.
No Sean Moriarity? What a Sh*tty deal and a unprofessional way of conducting business. We have been loyal customers of City Tavern since they opened in '02 or '03. That has come to an end and we will take our business to where ever Sean lands. LOVE YOU SHAWN and we will see you soon!
The only reason we would go to City Tavern was to sit at the bar, relax and enjoy Moriarty's sense of humor and his awesome bartending skills. Upon hearing of Shawn's dismissal, I advised my employees that we will not be going to the City Tavern this year for Christmas as we have for the past 4 years. This year, we will go to Shawn's new business. GOOD BYE and good luck to you City Tavern (you will need it).
I've been in foodservice 35 years. I've never heard a chef bringing his entourage to a new eatery and firing a perfectly good staff. This Jason sounds like a strutting little Nazi. Dan is a dolt for firing a completely first tier employee like Sean. I would have a martini at the bar and Sean could multitask like nobodies business--a real virtuoso. To build up a clientele at that location which is legendary for making mistakes on every level and more often than not was so quiet with empty tables and barstools that Sean's achievement was akin to building one of the great pyramids unassisted. Dan Clothier is no restauranteur and Jason whats his name is a primamry example of a major social disease in this country,"failing upwards"! NO STARS for City Tavern.
That's a real damn shame. Mr. Moriarty was the only reason I ever went to City Tavern.
City Tavern was one of the few places in this town where you could count on a properly made cocktail. Now, it's gonna be wherever Shawn Moriarty lands.
I've never been to the City Tavern, so I don't know Moriarty. It sucks to lose your job too, so I'm sorry for that. But...
He sounds like any other bartender at any other bar that if you go to long enough you're a regular and they know what you want to drink.
I'm sure I'll get flamed for that, but I don't think this is really a big deal.
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