Dano (“everybody just knows me as Dano”) tends bar twice a week at the Skylark in Pilsen.
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I met a bartender at Club Lucky named Rick. Quite honestly, I stole his style. He was a classic bartender: white shirt, great tie. I took that idea and went more the art deco route. I walked in here on opening night three years ago with a vest and a tie, and that’s where it all started. I also bartend at a lovely restaurant called Naha, very fine dining. I dress better here than I do there.
Most people say, “Wow, what are you so dressed up for?” I’m like, well, you’re spending your hard-earned money to get a beer, I should present it to you in more than a ripped-up Ramones T-shirt. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. When I first started, people didn’t know what to think of me–they weren’t sure if I was trying to work some sort of angle. But now if I come in and I’m not dressed in a tie and vest, it’s like, “What’s the problem? Why aren’t you dressed up?”
Do you think of yourself as a trendsetter?
