Do not think for one second that a LES hot spot with a departing celebrity owner will be anything less than a dirty rumor cesspool. If last week was all about Tim Robbins' side of the Back Room story, then this week is about managing owner Johnny B.'s version of the tale. Another high-level informant delivers us details on several topics.
On Robbins "pulling out":
Tim Robbins is a investor in the Backroom, he as well as other publicly known figures are 5 year investors, there really is no "pulling out". Their contracts are for 5 years, whether they decide to be present at the bar or not isn't mandatory or required.On the circumstances surrounding Robbins departure:
The reason Tim is not going to be a presence at the Backroom is because his friend (whom he wanted to help with a job) was not someone who could be counted on to manage the bar, there were nights of drunken stupor while on shift, giving away too many drinks, not maintaining proper bar etiquette (because he was always drunk), racial comments that were not acceptable...these are only the things that I'm aware of. Tim's friend was given an apartment in LES, put up in a hotel when he arrived in NYC...all paid for by Johnny. There was a ton of patience allowed for this guy to straighten up and he didn't. So he was terminated, now Tim took this personally without the foresight to see that his friend is not a person of any type of character. So there was never a conversation about drugs in the Backroom, that's all BS from someone who just wants to be heard.
Ahead, more on crowd control and Johnny B.'s heart of gold.
On the issue of crowd control at Back Room:
As far as the bar goes, there is no word of "not" being interested in the B&T crowd. As stated on earlier threads, Johnny owns a few bars and restaurants in NYC so his experience goes a long way and what he has decided to do is maintain a good crowd in the Backroom by setting a age requirement of 25 or older only because as you know, LES is a haven for young kids out for a night on the town, sometimes maintaining a "egoless" crowd makes a better environment for people to drink and enjoy.On Johnny B.'s heart of gold:
Do you realize that Johnny actually houses some of his staff that doesn't have places to live? He has a barmaid that lost her home to a fire and he gave her a place to live..how many people do you know in NYC that would do that? He has helped people on the block with various issues, contributed both physically and financially to disaster victims...I mean there's a lot that isn't spoken on and I guess probably doesn't need to.So whether or not this is a thickening of the plot or, finally, a statement of facts, now at least you have all sides of the story. By the by, anyone know the password for tonight?
· Back Room Shakeup, Part II: Tim Robbins hopefully unharmed [~E~]
· Breaking: Tim Robbins out at Back Room? [~E~]
