Dana Armstrong Explains Why The Dirty Drummer Is Still Standing After 50 Years

Join us as Dana Armstrong, the owner of the iconic Dirty Drummer in Phoenix, shares the fascinating history of the restaurant, its cultural significance, and the challenges of running a beloved local business. Discover insights into restaurant entrepreneurship, community impact, and the vibrant music scene that makes the Dirty Drummer a Phoenix institution.

Key Topics

History of the Dirty Drummer
Challenges of running a restaurant in Phoenix
Community and cultural impact of the bar
Music and entertainment at the Dirty Drummer
Business insights and entrepreneurship in hospitality

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Oh my goodness, another one. What's your story? Welcome back to another episode. Mike Lindstrom, this guy here, Scott Lee is my co-host coming in from Austin, Texas. We are here in Scottsdale, Arizona. I'm super excited today. Dana Armstrong, the Dirty Drummer. I don't know if you've heard of the Dirty Drummer. If you have it, you will. This is going to be an amazing story. I have my own little two cents I'm going to blend into this interview to hear the story of how this place has been around 50 years, by the way. Think about any restaurant, bar, anywhere in America that's been around for 50 years, let alone Phoenix, because we're a pretty young city. It's an institution. It is an institution. You gotta we gotta go check it out together on the next recording. So, Dana, we always start off. Thank you for coming, by the way. Thank you. We start off every single uh interview with one simple question for just a few minutes. What's your story? So you can tell us from the beginning to the end, bring us to current, and then we start diving in to find out a story about you and the restaurant and dad and all the things that are. So what's your story?

SPEAKER_02 0:55

Okay, just very concisely, I was born here in Phoenix. I went to Hopi, Ingleside, Arcadia.

SPEAKER_00 1:02

Super local Arcadia, super local.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

Super local, but that I did move away from Arcadia kind of as soon as I could. Went to ASU, then moved out to New York for a little while, went to LA for a little while, came back to Phoenix, and then was in the you know Tempe scene for a long time, and then from there moved up to North Central Phoenix. Um along the way, um, I got a degree in art and humanities, which I think helps inform what I do today. And then also started collecting records as a kid, which kind of led into DJing and then led into live music events and combined with art, that kind of got me into the uh restaurant industry. And then now it's the dirty drummer. That's pretty short, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:48

And that's all you need to say, the dirty drummer. If you're local and you don't know the dirty drummer, you're not local. I mean, that's the way it works around here. Yeah, that's the way it works. So tell me about when you went back to like go back to childhood, music. Was that just from the day you remember you like you start rocking out at tune three? Was it dad, mom? Like, how did you get the the music bug as a young person?

SPEAKER_02 2:07

Yeah, my dad and mom were always listening to music. Um, I think especially what my dad listened to, which was Linda Ronstadt, Wayland Jennings, Willie Nelson, Fleetwood Mac, you know, back then. That's what I listen to today. And so, you know, it's it's kind of the music part has really influenced more than just music for me, like what I listen to. It's it's almost just a soundtrack to my life. It's really kind of like determined what I do and where where I go and what projects I work on. But I started collecting records, I think, in middle school, and that was really based on what my brother listened to. You'll appreciate this. So he was into rap back then, which no one really was in Arcadia. So he and I were, you know, he especially was kind of an anomaly there, but he was teaching me what samples were, and you know, like what did this uh two short sample come from? Yeah, that's too short. Or, you know, King T, uh Two Live Crew, whatever he was listening to. And so I learned about bands like uh Zap and um Blondie. Daz band. Sure, but like, you know, Midnight Star.

SPEAKER_00 3:18

I mean, so so many samples from the old school though, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:20

Oh yeah, that's what I'm so I would go look for those records at the thrift stores. So I was, you know, we would take the bus and my friends and I would go and I'd be looking through the records, which were 10 cents back then. So I would just collect whatever looked interesting, including, you know, disco records, classic rock records, country records. And so I started this huge collection. But it was first time huge.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

Yeah, what do we gotta know? What's like how huge?

SPEAKER_02 3:45

Like a whole room by now it is. It's now they're in my garage mostly and then in my living room still, but how many ballpark? Oh man, I don't I don't know. I don't I don't know. Hundreds, thousands, thousands, but not not I'm not like like John Dixon or you know something someone like that. It's not it's not like wall to wall packed in my garage. I mean, I do have like vintage clothes and furniture packed in there, but the records, I mean I kind of stopped collecting as many, you know, ten years ago maybe, but they're so expensive. They're expensive, and I quit I haven't been DJing as much, so you know I kind of switched gears.

SPEAKER_03 4:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

But yeah, so that's how the record collecting started. Then I had my first DJ night in Tempe. It was called Fort Barracuda at a bar called Cannery Road. Do you remember that?

SPEAKER_00 4:36

Uh that's before my time. But I do I've heard of it, yes.

SPEAKER_02 4:39

Okay, so that was mostly classic rock, a little bit of country and some disco. And then I was at uh Mickey's Hangover DJing there for a while, and that was in Old Town Scottsdale. And then finally, the the DJ night that I had that lasted the longest was Valley Fever, and that was at Yucca Tap Room. So some friends and I started that, and it was just playing old country records and then booking bands to kind of complement the records, and they I would actually have the bands play during our breaks from like we would play records and then the bands would play. But then eventually, eventually it was just you know live music night, and we would uh play records between sets.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

Yeah, so tell us the story. We gotta tell this, you know, let's switch a little bit from you because it's part of who you are, the Dirty Drummer. This the story, the story of Dirty Drummer. Bring us to current, and then how did you insert from what you were doing before? Okay, now it's time for me to put this thing down, and I'm gonna insert this into a vision that my family had with Dirty Drummer. Tell us that whole story.

SPEAKER_02 5:40

Okay. So I'm gonna tell you the backstory to the name, first of all. Okay, all right. So my dad's name was Frank Armstrong, and he was born in Yuma, Arizona in 1936. And um they moved back up here to Phoenix in the 40s, and then he went on to go to North High and then down to U of A, where he became the um president of his fraternity. So he's a really social guy. His whole life was kind of based around having a good time and being active and fitness. So he came, he brought his fraternity up to ASU, and then he graduated from there and uh then went on to be a coach at Ingleside.

unknown 6:21

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 6:22

So I know that he had a big impact on all of his students' lives because a lot of them come into the drummer today and find me. And they're in their 70s, that's crazy, and they tell me, like, you know, what a positive impact he had on their lives. So that's that's really cool. That brings it like that that makes it very meaningful. And so, anyway, some of his students there were like Linda Carter, um, Steven Spielberg, and a guy named David Werner. Okay, so David Werner was a good athlete too, and he went on to play football at Arcadia. And during one of their really important games, which is down in Yuma, Dave made uh some crazy play, I don't know, like an unorthodox play that won them the game, and then it earned him the nickname Dirty Dave. Okay, so fast forward 10 years, 1975, my dad Frank is uh no longer uh in the education system, he's in the bar business, and his friends are calling him Drummer based on um they said he had they remind he reminded them of a a comic book, no, not com like a novel character named Bulldog Drummond. Okay. Have you heard of that guy?

SPEAKER_03 7:31

I haven't.

SPEAKER_02 7:32

I hadn't either. So I mean so he he's a partner in different bars around town. Like um they're called there's so many of them, I can't remember the names, but the cottage, um, Calhoun's, which is now Little Woody. Little Woody, yeah. Um Harvey's Weinberger. So he was a partner with Harvey. And Dirty Dave is now a Vietnam veteran, and he has a degree from ASU in industrial design and an interest in the bar business. So he approaches his old coach, Frank, at Harvey's, and they go have a beer and talk about starting a bar together. And so, of course, they my dad agrees because his philosophy is always just go for it. Yeah, I love it. And so he um they start the process of getting the liquor license, and the first thing they need is a name. So they look at each other and it's just like, well, you're dirty, I'm drummer, and that's how great.

SPEAKER_00 8:28

That's awesome. So good. Yeah, that's so good. That's really good.

SPEAKER_02 8:31

So that's the origin story of the name.

SPEAKER_00 8:33

What year was that that they got that whole thing going?

SPEAKER_02 8:35

Like 1975.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

1975, okay. Oh, gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 8:38

Yeah. And so at the time it was hard to get a liquor license, and there's a lottery system, and they actually drew five licenses. So right off the bat, they started. Which was amazing.

SPEAKER_00 8:48

Yeah. Were they gracing anybody?

SPEAKER_02 8:50

No, they had all their friends and family kind of like uh put their names in for the lottery page. My mom drew one.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

You got an edge of the system. Well, hey, five though, but you they took advantage of that though, right?

SPEAKER_02 9:01

Right. Oh yeah. Then, you know, with both of their backgrounds and like my dad's social circle, uh they enlisted their friends and family to help build them out, and they opened five in five years.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

Right how how have the how has the economics of the business evolved from those early days to now? Are you are you making money the same way? Are there different different revenue streams? Is it more profitable, less profitable now? Can you talk about that a little bit?

SPEAKER_02 9:32

That's interesting because I wasn't born when they were open just for the record. Yeah, yeah. Um we knew that.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

I think you've had that conversation before.

SPEAKER_02 9:42

I have, and I know that they did a lot of things under the table. I'll just say that. You know, Dave even talks about it. The other day I talked to him and he's like, Oh, we did a lot of stuff you can't do today, basically. You probably shouldn't have done it back then, but you know, there weren't it wasn't as restrictive. And um, I get it, you know, it's a bigger city now and makes sense. But um I think that they were selling beers. I know at that first the first location for 35 cents a piece.

SPEAKER_03 10:13

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 10:14

They'd have like um, you know, a bucket of beers for a dollar. Uh you know, obviously the costs were different, but it sounds cheap, but everything was cheaper than that. But that was definitely their main revenue source was just beers. And you know, Dave even said, like, well, we had tables and chairs and everyone knew what to do. That's it. You know, at that first location.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

That's great.

SPEAKER_02 10:38

Yeah, which was you're right, which is 34th Avenue in McDowell. That was the first location. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:43

So, but at that time were they serving liquor? Because they had a liquor license. They have everything.

SPEAKER_02 10:47

They had beer and wine at the first one. Okay. And then they started, they drew the number six licenses for the next four.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

Gotcha. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 10:55

Um, I think the next one was Old Town Scottsdale.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 10:59

Um, that's not, I mean, none of them are there anymore.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

So our location, the one we go to, or the one you're at, the one I go to, when what what year did that open up?

SPEAKER_02 11:08

That was 1980. That was the fifth location. Fifth location, okay.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Right after Tempe. Which is the standing alone. That's the only one that's left for people who don't know.

SPEAKER_02 11:16

It is because the um Mesa drummer just I just read that it it permanently closed last year.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

But that was completely separate. That was an independent.

SPEAKER_02 11:25

Well, that was that was owned by Zayn Anderson, who was uh a friend of my dad and Dave's. Um he he ran the Mesa Dirty Drummer for a long time and then he sold it a few years ago, and then the new owners recently closed it.

SPEAKER_03 11:40

Got it.

SPEAKER_02 11:40

But Zayn would Zane, I hadn't seen him in so long, but he came in last week and brought me his uh vintage dirty drummer belt buckle, like sterling silver and inlaid turquoise.

SPEAKER_00 11:53

He gave it to you? Yeah. Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 11:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Do you put it on the wall or do you gotta keep it?

SPEAKER_02 11:57

No, I'll wear it.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

You'll wear it?

SPEAKER_02 11:59

Yeah, my dad used to have the same one. I lost it.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

I love it.

SPEAKER_02 12:01

So I feel really bad. I I wear my dad's now that just says drummer.

SPEAKER_00 12:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

But this one is the one that the same one my dad had. I I guess some someone was making them for like a lot of bar owners back then because the uh Zip and Kathy from the Teepee also had the same same one for the teepee.

SPEAKER_00 12:21

So what are the some of the restaurants? Look at I have so many questions I won't ask, but and we'll get into like entrepreneurship and stuff for sure. But some of the other restaurants that you remember when you were a kid, because you were a kid. I mean, you're here, you are, your dad's building this place, and you're like frequenting them, not in the way they are. What were some of the places that are still around that you remember? You're like, oh yeah, like teepee is a good example, Mexican food. Yeah. What are some of the other ones that are still around that you kind of remember as a as a young person?

SPEAKER_02 12:46

Man, almost all of them are gone now, you know. But the thing I love about the teepee is that it's still there, the layout is the same, it's so similar to the drummer. And um we're still friends with that, you know. It it's like a really meaningful connection. Um because the way I see the drummer is it's it's more a part of Phoenix and Phoenix history than it is a part of me or my family. It's more, you know, it's part of the timeline of Phoenix. And Teepee has been there longer than most places, longer than the drummer. And they had a lot of joint projects together, like golf tournaments, they had a catering truck together, so you know, they're kind of like sister businesses.

SPEAKER_03 13:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:34

Um I don't know what else is around still. I mean, everything seems to be closing, and that's that's the reason we wanted to keep it going.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

Yeah, you might have another one closing, zips. Scott, we were talking about this. He's he he knows about the restaurant, of course. He being the ASU, he has ties here to Arizona. Uh, we've we've my son likes certain foods there. We go there, watch sports. Even we even the one over in Scottsdale, we used to live in McCormick Ranch. We used to go there when the kids were Rett and Colt were babies because it's loud and you can get away with yelling and screaming, and that's kind of what we would go to, those kind of places. So whatever the reasons are, you to your dad's point or your partner, the things that you got away with back then you can't get away with now, whether it's under the table or things like that. But the survivability of restaurants in the Phoenix market, I don't know if it's just the Phoenix thing, but I think it's everywhere, isn't it? Yeah, I think post-COVID, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:22

I study entrepreneurship a lot, and and everyone will tell you that the restaurant business is like the worst business that you could go into. It's the highest probability of failure. What's your what's your thing on that?

SPEAKER_02 14:32

I've learned a lot. I'll say that. Um it is a it is hard. It is a struggle a lot. I think to your point about you know, how have things changed um economically and revenue-wise, uh for one thing, we have social media now, and that is what you know that's what sets us apart from when we took over the drummer, when we bought out Dave and my mom, but they they didn't have much of a presence online. I think having that as a tool is essential for progress, at least for us. Um that's what's really helped us uh grow and get the word out and uh kind of reach different markets and demographics outside of locally.

SPEAKER_00 15:20

Do you do that all yourself? Like I see you with the camera and I can tell when you're posting stuff, but do you have somebody internally that also helps you?

SPEAKER_02 15:27

I do now, finally.

SPEAKER_00 15:28

Yeah, oh good. Yeah. That's great. Because you're right. You look at so like uh to be honest. I mean, I don't follow the TP, I don't look at their social media, I don't even know if they have it, I don't know if they care, but you do, and you have the and when you have bands, bands have following. So the bands are going to promote to their following. Yeah, right. You have people travelers coming in, we're north of the airport, so you have people coming in, golfers or whatever, and it's right on the way, 44th Street coming right up into Arcadia or Scottsdale. So you're in terms of location. I mean, maybe if you're a Phoenician, you might say, Oh, that's not a super great area, but when you think about the bigger picture, it's a perfect spot, right?

SPEAKER_02 16:02

That's a good point because I I was in the beginning, we kind of thought like, oh God, 44th Street, that's an oak. Yeah, that's that's rough, but uh you're right, it's very centrally located. Yeah. So especially if you have like a a show, like a special event, then you know you're right in the middle of Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa. Everything kind of converges there. So yeah, you're right. It's worked out.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Yeah, so I I have a funny story. I gotta jump in. You don't know that you may not know this. So I was near the neighborhood, so we're over like Wilshire, that little pocket right over on the other side of, and so there's Costco right next to you. Right. So I legit had to go to Costco. So Monica's, and I say legit for a reason. So I had to drop off the car, I think it was getting tires or something like that. I was getting to know the area. This is in 2019, so I'm like, oh, that's kind of cool. I wonder what that is. So I walked over, I went in the main door because I didn't know about the back door at the time. I walk in, I sit up to the bar. I had probably an hour and a half, and uh uh Tristan, if you remember Tristan, who was the bartender there, he's kind of a known guy in town. I just he's moved on, but uh Tristan goes, Hey, how are you doing? My name's Mike Tristan, super nice guy, super like super bartender guy, very, very sociable. He goes, first time in the drummer? I go, first time in the drummer. And I said, he said, What are you doing? I said, Well, I had my car um dropped over at Costco, and he goes, Right. Right. And no, I said, no, legit. Like I'm my I've had my car. He said, Right. He goes, he leans in and he goes, bro, look down that bar right now. He goes, You know how many guys tell their wives that excuse like the thing at the drummer. Like they go to Costco for a Costco run, but they come and they duck into the drummer. That's just the thing. That's just the thing. So, like, okay, I guess it's I guess that's gonna be my thing. So, even to this day, so the day, so the funniest part about this was their 50th anniversary, which I want you to talk about in a minute, was on the day I had to go to the Costco again. Legit. Like the boys' car had needed new tires, and I was gonna come over there. I went in the back door, and usually like 11 or 12-ish year opened up, and you guys were getting ready for the 50th. So it wasn't normal. I'm like, what's going on? Like, oh, we got the 50th thing tonight. I'm like, okay, so I I couldn't post up. So I went back to Costco. I had pizza at Costco, which I've never had in my life, waited for the tires, and I came back that night and I for an hour to see because I wanted to honor you, thank you, a friend, and your and all the things that you've done. But you had your mom and you had everybody come up and talk about that. So tell us a little bit about that, like the 50th, what like the lead up to it. I don't know how many places can say they had a 50th anniversary party anywhere. So tell us about the lead up to that and what you guys did, because I was only able to stick around for an hour. So congratulations on 50. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_02 18:38

Thank you. Yeah, we had been planning that. I was trying to get that done earlier in the year because the anniversary was technically January, but you know, there's so much going on, and um, I just wanted to do something to commemorate that because it uh I think it's meaningful too for a lot of the people who used to work there, and and not for us, but for my dad and Dave, like in the 70s and the 80s, and um it's a really good way to bring people together generationally and just uh geographically, just like there were 14 locations at one point, so the 50-year anniversary was for all of those locations, not just for ours. And so I wanted to make it special, but just a good time, you know. That's what that's what it's all about. That's the point, you know. And even though the business is so hard, the point is to have fun. So I always try to keep that in mind, and so so with that in mind, the party was a bunch of bands. We had eight bands, and then in the other room we had DJs, and we had I asked my mom if she wanted to speak. My dad passed away in 2012. So um I asked Dave, he said no. Um, and you know, some of the longtime managers like Jeff White and Jimmy Hopper, um, they didn't speak, but um Barb did, and she she had worked there for 25 years as the cook, and so she got up and spoke. Did you see that?

SPEAKER_00 20:09

Yeah, I did. I was there with all the speeches.

SPEAKER_02 20:10

Even my brother got up, I saw which is cool.

SPEAKER_00 20:12

I saw all the speeches. That was my favorite.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

Yeah, oh you okay, good. And then Tom. So I have two partners at the bar, Tom Bernard and Andrew Smith. And um Andrew just had a baby. Tom actually just had a baby too, but they're both new dads, but yeah, Tom spoke. And anyway, I think that the the party was just it was a fun um way to just remember our past and like our place in Phoenix history.

SPEAKER_00 20:39

Yeah, what's your favorite part about the the job? Favorite part.

SPEAKER_02 20:43

I like the the I like that there are so many possibilities of what we can do with it. So because I have a background more in like art, I like sometimes I see it as like a big art installation. So like what you guys are doing now, I would love to continue to do things like talk shows and um more social media, videos, and I love making the merch.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

Yeah, the trucker hats, bro. We maybe we'll have to go by there on the way to the airport for real. That sounds like a good idea. We should do that today. Yeah, that'd be kind of fun. Yeah, he's flying to Boston. We can go back by.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

Yeah, easily done. They have killer trucker hats. Nice. Nice. What can you talk a little bit about what makes the business so hard? You've referenced it's not easy, and I'm over here saying that all the research that I that I've done this is a difficult business. Like what are some of the things that make it uh such a high failure rate?

SPEAKER_02 21:40

The uh operating costs. You know, um we have reached a point now where we have some really good momentum. But for a long time there we were facing challenges from um uh uh staff shortages but labor costs, food costs, which of course, as you know, are food costs. Up and down, but I mean crazy high. Um and then um people not understanding that the profit margins are so small. Yeah. And I I admit I didn't understand it till I got into it. You know, working with restaurants, I worked uh I worked for Genuine Concepts before this and was their creative director. Yeah, so helped open uh the Womac and uh a bunch of their places and did the branding and stuff. But I I think looking back, I would kind of um have expectations of those places and and you know assume that oh well it's busy, so they must be raking it in not the case.

SPEAKER_01 22:42

What is like the average profit margin or a good one?

SPEAKER_02 22:47

So depending on where we're at, what the costs are at that particular week, it could be anywhere from ten percent to negative two percent.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

Wow. W industry wide, I mean if you look at Phoenix as a whole, I mean not that you know everyone's books, but you know generally when you're talking to colleagues where they all kind of have a gold standard, when they say, Oh, it's gonna be a great year if we can do this number in a good year. Right. What would they say?

SPEAKER_02 23:17

Ten percent? Yeah, I would I would assume.

SPEAKER_01 23:20

I mean that's so crazy for me. That would be good to think about. Like you make a dollar, you keep it. That's stressful. That's stressful for a business owner. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:28

Well, I could be totally wrong. There's probably there are probably a bunch that are looking right now and being like, well, she's doing something wrong. But also, you know, we're selling wings. Those are very expensive. If you have a pizza place, your costs, your your food costs are lower.

SPEAKER_01 23:41

The type of restaurant would be different. Type of restaurant location.

SPEAKER_02 23:44

Yeah, we can't, you know, I told you like um I guess you know, we are considered a dive bar, right? But we call it fine diving. Like I like that.

SPEAKER_03 23:53

It's true.

SPEAKER_02 23:54

Hey, don't think of a I think we're more of a neighborhood bar, a Phoenix bar. But at the same time, you know, based on our location and our offerings, we can't we can't have the prices that a lot of places in Scottsdale or even downtown now can have.

SPEAKER_01 24:10

We just we just can't check twelve dollars for a pint.

SPEAKER_02 24:13

No, yeah, we can't do eighteen dollar cocktails or twenty-two dollar burgers.

SPEAKER_01 24:18

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:18

Even though my partners would like to try that. I'm I'm the one who has to like convince people to come in through the door and actually purchase it. Maybe we can, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 24:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:28

Would would you buy a$22, would you buy an$18 drummer burger?

SPEAKER_01 24:32

Depends how good it is. Yeah, the see the is good and and yeah, it's fair and everything's good.

SPEAKER_00 24:37

I would the the chill. The challenges though with, I think with any place in America, she's got I'm not a good answer because Rhett loves that burger, and if you charged$18, I'm still gonna buy it. I love the wings. And if you bumped it up to$19, I'd still buy it. But you're gonna find those guys that are I'm 53, the average 65 plusser that's maybe looking down retirement, it's got a fixed cost. And I know those guys that come in there. They're I know they're workers, contractors, they have a budget and they're in there every day.

SPEAKER_02 25:08

The lunch crowd, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:09

Or every other day, or they have their Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I mean, everyone's got their own. We might not be the right people to ask. You know what I mean? Yeah. But it's tough though, man, because with people that old menu that you have, the paper menu, I it's been the way it's it's been like that for a long time. So if somebody looks down at that number, whatever it is, a drop beer, and they're like, oh man, well, I guess I'm only gonna have not three beers tonight, I'm only having two. People that are that in that margin are thinking about that a little differently. You know what I mean? So it's tough.

SPEAKER_02 25:36

And we do have the full spectrum of people, like you know, full full spectrum of demographics, economically, culturally. That's one of my favorite parts of this bar. So it's not um, you know, I think you guys are great examples of who I should be asking. Every everybody is, so we have we try to keep a range uh price-wise and of options. But uh, we also do a lot of market research. So I mean, I think we're pretty in line with where we should be. We've raised prices, of course, you know, since we bought it out, but um you know, we're nowhere near the prices of places north of Thomas.

SPEAKER_01 26:17

Yeah. Have you spent any time um mentoring or coaching like other uh restauranteers? Like other people who are uh who are looking to start harvest restaurants?

SPEAKER_02 26:30

I don't think that we're quite there yet. We're still learning.

SPEAKER_03 26:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:34

We're still a a learning uh situation for us. But we've come so far and I would be willing to offer any any advice and and tell people what I have learned.

SPEAKER_01 26:46

The reason I ask is because I have a friend who owns a bar in in Austin and it's it's been there for not 50 years, but probably 20 something years. And he he once told me that he makes more money coaching other restauranteurs than he does through the bar. Because the profit margins are nothing through the bar. He's like more money. He's like he makes more money coaching other people on how to, you know, yeah run the bar. Yeah, yeah. It's basically co coaching and consulting than I do through the bar.

SPEAKER_02 27:19

That's interesting. Yeah. I mean, I have done I have consulting. Yeah, right. I'm gonna start charging now every time any friend wants to.

SPEAKER_00 27:26

A timer turn the eight timer on, send them a bill. Yeah, ten minutes of time. You owe me money.

SPEAKER_02 27:32

Yeah, I mean that's it it is valuable to have someone to ask.

SPEAKER_01 27:36

Yeah. Um I mean, if we were gonna go start a bar or a restaurant, I would call her. Like I wouldn't start from the house. I need some ideas of what tell me what not to be. Yeah, and we would pay for that. Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 27:47

We have had friends that offered consultation and advice free of charge. So now I feel very lucky. I mean, even more lucky.

SPEAKER_00 27:57

Next time I see you, I'll ask you, hey, have you monetized that consulting yet? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:00

But you know, a lot of a lot of what we do at the drummer, it's a very unique situation. It's been there, it had its background um established. And so that was kind of built-in marketing for us. Uh, we even considered changing the name when we first uh bought them out because I I knew that people would remember it. I just didn't know how many people would remember it. But it's really worked out because um when we first opened, even though the younger people hadn't heard of it, it's it started conversations with the older generations or their parents or their grandparents or just random strangers. You know, every time you wear a dirty drummer shirt here in Phoenix, usually someone will say something.

SPEAKER_03 28:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:41

Um, it used to be all of the like older generation, and now it's it's definitely spread out, so it's it's everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 28:48

It's uh it's more changed the name. You can't. No, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_02 28:52

It's a no-go now. I know that that we considered it for you know, briefly.

SPEAKER_00 28:56

For one second, hopefully.

SPEAKER_02 28:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:58

So tell us we have we we're all about stories. What's your story? So tell us some good stories. Like, what's a crazy story? A patron came in. Uh I mean, I just can't imagine owning a bar. It's kind of every night, every weekend. It's gotta be one every night. Whether it's a fight or some crazy person came in or a famous person, like something that stands out. Yeah, yeah. Something something amazing, like some crazy story that stands out.

SPEAKER_02 29:21

I mean, now I'm like racking my brain. Um, we did have Tom Chambers come in. We had the zombies come in.

SPEAKER_03 29:29

The zombies came in.

SPEAKER_02 29:30

Yeah, they came in. I mean, we've had, you know, rant Charlie Crockett, we've had random uh guests come in, but I will say when we first opened, we didn't have a permit to have live music every night. We were only permitted to do Friday and Saturday nights. So um we were um still brand new and uh you know, just still trying to promote the the bar and trying to get people through the door. And this band came in in the daytime on a Thursday. They were staying at a hotel across the street. It was a Jeff Crosby band. Oh wow, like, oh hey guys, and like they said, you know, well, we can we play here sometime, you know, just kind of like as a novelty thing because they're a pretty established band. I'm like sure. How about tonight, even though it's Thursday night, so it's very risky, you know, they shouldn't be playing. Anyway, they get up there on stage, and of course this fight breaks out. So this gal comes in through the back door, goes, walks all the way through the bar, punches another gal in the face on the patio, and then takes off and walks out the back door. And I'm standing by the back door, I don't know anything like that at anything had happened. And she just leaves, and I'm like, Well, bye. And uh then I look and I turn around and the whole bar is like brawling like a movie. Are you gonna be kidding me? The band's like still playing. And I'm like, oh my god, this is like seriously, like a scene from a movie, and we're gonna get shut down because we're not supposed to have this music, and you know, and there's a fight, and people are like hitting their heads on the tables, and my friends are rolling around in it. And anyway, it got pulled, they pulled everyone apart, and it was okay.

SPEAKER_01 31:14

I always wondered what the band thinks when that happens. Yeah, we're like this place.

SPEAKER_00 31:17

They kept playing, they just kept playing. This is my kind of jam. I don't have it on video. Do you have it on video? Yeah, but I wasn't because you have the security cameras.

SPEAKER_02 31:28

No, because we were, you know, because I'm you all you see.

SPEAKER_00 31:31

Yeah, you think you have that's right.

SPEAKER_02 31:33

I wasn't like filming the fight like that's a weird fight.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

What year was this?

SPEAKER_02 31:37

This was 2019, like the first year we opened. That's like our first experience. That was our first fight. And and we were super paranoid about having that live music, even though we probably didn't need to be that, you know, like worried about it.

SPEAKER_00 31:51

But so I gotta ask you this, because this drives me nuts when I go to restaurants. There's certain pet peeves when I watch people, how they order, or how they treat people, whatever. And you and you're hands-on. That's one thing about her. She's amazing. Like, if if my beer's like here, she's like, You do can I get you? I mean, she's all about it. Clean peak picking up stuff, making everyone sure happy, like the ultimate host. Pet peeves. Like when your patrons are in there, how people are, when you're at that, you know, that juncture of being service. Pet peeves, what uh what are they?

SPEAKER_02 32:22

Oh, geez, let me think. No, I mean that's that's a good question because I think uh more of my pet peeves are kind of like or in general.

SPEAKER_00 32:31

I mean, you can say in general as a business owner for a restaurant.

SPEAKER_02 32:34

Well, it is hard trying to explain to people about the profit margins. I mean, it's it's funny to bring it back to that, but you know, people assuming um and a lot of times it can be uh performers, uh people who assume by the look of a crowd that that equates to some sort of uh profit that they're seeing. That's just not the case. Yeah. That's been really tough, and I I don't know why I keep harping on that, but it's because you brought it up and it's kind of like, yeah, that's that is the toughest part. Uh but pet peeves.

SPEAKER_01 33:08

Well, at the end of the day, it's a business. It is business operates to earn money.

SPEAKER_02 33:13

And it's a constant balance. Oh, I don't like it when people put their cigarette butts in the plant pots.

SPEAKER_01 33:19

Oh, yeah. Plant pot. That's not cool.

SPEAKER_02 33:21

No.

SPEAKER_01 33:21

Yeah. I can't.

SPEAKER_02 33:23

It's weird.

SPEAKER_00 33:23

Like, why there are ashtrays, so it's weird that they're I don't even like when people put a cigarette out in the or they throw it out in the street or out of their car. That drives me absolutely busy.

SPEAKER_02 33:32

Okay. So that's that's that's that's a good one.

SPEAKER_00 33:35

My big one is especially when it's a local restaurant, because they're you when you're local, you know who's who. Like that guy comes in here, or I know the waiters or waiters, whatever, when they mistreat people. I hate that. When somebody is talking down at a person in the like the bartender or whatever, I'm like, and and we've had some situations. I've only had like two or three at your restaurant where I had to kind of step in and go, hey bro, do you even know her? You can't talk to her like that. Thank you. Oh, and there's a lot of people like me in that restaurant. You know that. There's a lot of me's in there that'll keep you checked in if you start mistreating the staff. Because the staff is cool, they're fun, they're they're that's our people, right? They take care of us. So when there's people that come in there and start throwing their weight around, or you know, it's usually people that are from out of town that don't know different, you know, they don't know who's who, or they're coming in with their golf buddies trying to, hey, I got this round, I got this round, and then then I know because the gals will tell me, oh, this this guy acted like he's a big hitter and just gave me two bucks on a$50, you know what I'm saying? It's like, come on, bro. You want to go up and like grab that guy by the neck and go, you only gave her two bucks? Come on. That stuff just drives me nuts.

SPEAKER_02 34:36

Absolutely. And I think that that is one of the reasons we considered changing the name because I was thinking if people don't know what this place is, they might get the wrong impression and then come in and and kind of like have that attitude when they come in. Yeah, and it did happen in the beginning. People who had never heard it, they came in kind of expecting it to almost be like a a a strip club at atmosphere.

SPEAKER_03 34:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:59

Um, we have done a lot of work to turn that around. And um not to say it was horrible when before we took it over, but it it, you know, it's come a long way. It had declined by by then. And so now we've really tried hard to like cultivate a very respectful, mutually respectful atmosphere there between the staff and the customers. And uh so that's a really good point. Of course, that's a huge pet peeve. If they're if they're disrespectful to the staff, they're yeah, they're if it you know, we have eight 86 people over that for sure. There's you know, we don't have any space for any sexism, um racist, any of that stuff. That's not okay then. Yeah, it's an inclusive bar.

SPEAKER_00 35:44

100%. That's great. I'd like to.

SPEAKER_02 35:45

But thank you for standing up for that's that means a lot.

SPEAKER_00 35:48

I was I remember that night. I I just had just got back in. Uh Monica was out of town with the boys. I had flown in. No, I legit had flown home. And the guy, the the cab guide couldn't speak English, honestly. And he's like, hey, why just take me to like where the dirty drummer is, I'll walk the rest of the way. So I walk in, I see a bunch of people there, and I had my luggage. It was like eight o'clock on a Friday, I had the weekend to myself. And I walk in, and Eddie was there, and a bunch of the guys were there, and it was kind of there was a band playing, and I was over on the side where I come in over by the private door, and this guy was mouthing off to the staff, and I and I and I had my luggage with me. I look like a little traveler guy, you know, a little bit dressed up, not didn't fit the crowd mode. And he kind of stepped to me. He goes, Who the hell do you think you are? And I go, Well, this isn't gonna go well, bro. I know who's who, and I don't know who you are because I know you don't come here. It just got a little combative, and Eddie comes over because Eddie's he this guy has got the long hair, but you you don't mess with this guy. Like he knows how to handle stuff. And but they did. I kicked him out, and he he wasn't from there. He's just an out-of-town guy just trying to be disrespectful. So you regulate, you know, you regulate.

SPEAKER_02 36:55

It does it does. We try really hard to make it feel safe. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:58

Oh, I always feel safe there.

SPEAKER_02 36:59

I don't well and and for you know single females who come in there by themselves. I I I encourage that, you know, get out, get out of the house, go uh come in and hang out, socialize or not. Just do you know, just be there and feel safe.

SPEAKER_00 37:14

Love it. I got we have to we always end with rapid fire questions, and then we end with you get to promote. Tell us some stuff you want to work on. So we'll do rapid fire. So this is gonna be a little different rapid fire question. So favorite thing on the menu that you like?

SPEAKER_02 37:28

I like the new Caesar salad.

SPEAKER_00 37:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 37:31

With chicken.

SPEAKER_01 37:32

Caesar salad, huh? What about favorite band or band coming through that you're most excited about next?

SPEAKER_02 37:39

Next. Um, we've got Norm Hamlet, who was Merle Haggard's pedal steel player for 49 years. Um, they they come in once a year. He comes in with a guy named Mario Carboni, who's an amazing piano player, and they do a duo set, and it's it's really cool and and um and it means a lot to have like a legend.

SPEAKER_00 38:00

When is that show? Okay, okay. Who's your favorite? Like I know you know a lot of bands, so you'll know names of people that don't that maybe are not famous or no, because you know a lot about music that most people don't. She's got a garage. She does. She's got albums of this stuff in her house. But if you think like a notable favorite music, musician or band, who would you say?

SPEAKER_02 38:19

Uh that has played there or just in the like of all time. Uh Wayland Jennings.

SPEAKER_00 38:26

Wayland Jennings. That would have to be my so dad had some influence there.

SPEAKER_02 38:29

For sure.

SPEAKER_00 38:30

Yeah. What about rap band?

SPEAKER_02 38:32

Uh too short.

SPEAKER_00 38:34

Too short? Bay Area, huh? Yeah. I didn't know you were a too short person. It's her brother's influence. Short dog. I love too short. I love too short.

SPEAKER_01 38:41

Her family has influence for music with twice as a great. True, true, true.

SPEAKER_00 38:46

What about um it's interesting, so we ran into each other the other day randomly by my office at the billboard. Yeah. Which I'm like, and that day the guys were like, the boys, my sons are like, where do you want to go? Because Monica was working. Well, let's go to the drummer. I'm like, guys, let's go somewhere different. I have to go to the office anyway. It's right across the street at the Esplanade.

SPEAKER_02 39:03

Away from me.

SPEAKER_00 39:04

I know, I know. I said, let's go to Blanco because we hadn't been there in a while. I walk up, she's sitting there with her friend at the patio, and she's like, Oh my gosh, I was just talking about you. And I'm like, I was just thinking about you. So this is right before. So outside of our little bubble, what's what are some of the restaurants that you like to go to in town?

SPEAKER_02 39:21

Okay, rookery.

SPEAKER_00 39:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 39:23

Because it's close to the house, but it's also just awesome. Have you been there?

SPEAKER_00 39:27

No, I have not. I have. You've been there.

SPEAKER_02 39:28

Where you walk downstairs, coffee copper top bar and the fireplace and on everything. Um, I love uh Hillstone. I love going to Hill Hillstone and um uh Valentine, um Sushi Friend. Those are yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:45

That's remain still do you go there quite a bit? Like is that like in your rotation?

SPEAKER_02 39:48

Yeah. Okay, yeah, especially Rokery.

SPEAKER_00 39:51

How'd Blanco happen? Because I was randomly going there. How'd that happen?

SPEAKER_02 39:54

Kind of random too. We were at a different Mexican food place, I won't say where.

SPEAKER_00 39:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:59

And it, you know, it was such a beautiful day outside. I just wanted to be outside.

SPEAKER_00 40:03

It was great. It's a great day.

SPEAKER_02 40:04

And so we went to the first place and their patio was closed for the day.

SPEAKER_00 40:08

Gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 40:09

Which is crazy. Um, and then so I don't know. We just thought, well, let's go to Blanc.

SPEAKER_00 40:15

It was it was fortuitous. It was fortuitous.

SPEAKER_02 40:16

Yeah, just on the way back home.

SPEAKER_00 40:18

What about uh reading? Any books, anything that had influence on your life, favorite books?

SPEAKER_02 40:22

Um let's see. Uh yeah, there's been a lot of I'm trying to think like the most recent book that I read that that is sticking out right now was written by Lindsay Buckingham's um girlfriend after Stevie Nicks. Oh wow and her insight on the Fallout. I know it sounds stupid, but it was really interesting. She talks about Jackson Brown and just a lot of behind-the-scene things and not the best um reflection of Lindsay.

SPEAKER_00 40:54

Yeah. That was a good book, though. Good read. It's insightful, it's insightful.

SPEAKER_02 40:59

Yeah, it's just fun.

SPEAKER_00 41:00

All right. So lastly, before you plug, is quote you live by. So slogan quote, something that you live by.

SPEAKER_02 41:06

Well, this is it also influenced from my dad, but I would say and he said this direct quote. He said, you know, you go for it, try your hardest, but have fun. That's the most important thing in life. Have a good time.

SPEAKER_03 41:20

You're having fun, aren't you?

SPEAKER_02 41:21

I am I am now having fun mostly. Are you guys having fun?

SPEAKER_01 41:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:29

What percentage of the what percentage of your time is fun?

SPEAKER_00 41:32

Yeah. It's a great question, actually. Yeah, that's a great question. I would say 90%. 90%? I'm not sure. Having fun. I'm having fun ninety percent. But I but I love what I do. You love what you do. There's the times there's the 10% that you don't love, like the thing, the the little things, having to do uh invoicing and billing and chasing down money and stuff like that. I I hate people ghosting, hate, don't like flying, hate it.

SPEAKER_01 41:55

I mean that sounds like more than 10%.

SPEAKER_00 41:57

No, but that's but dude, I haven't full. I haven't flown in three months, for example. Okay, I'm gonna jump on a plane on Sunday to go to Nashville.

SPEAKER_01 42:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

I haven't flown in three months. I used to travel all the time, as you well know, and there would have been 50%. Yeah. Because I hated it. I was on the road all the time. Maybe that's why my percent is higher. I think traveling too much. I bet it does. I mean, if you're home a lot, which I've made a concerted effort to do the last two years, it's my happiness has gone up. So by staying home. By staying home, not having to be on the road all the time.

SPEAKER_02 42:25

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:27

It sounds fun and sexy and interesting to go to different places. And it is at first, I think. Yeah, I agree. And then you hit this phase where you're like, oh. Yeah, gotta be on a airplane. Where's my bed? Where's my couch?

SPEAKER_00 42:37

Taxtain. Dude, Sunday, I gotta be at the airport on Sunday, Sunday at eight o'clock to get to get on a 920 flight. I don't I'm not pumped about that. I'm pumped about the people and the clients and everyone I'm gonna meet and be in front of. But the the the thought of I had to go to bed early the night before, I'm gonna get a few.

SPEAKER_01 42:51

I'm gonna get on a plane in a few hours. All I want to do is go to the dirty drummer and have a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00 42:54

That's what I want to do. That's what I'm talking about. That's fun.

SPEAKER_01 42:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:57

That's what I want to do.

SPEAKER_02 42:58

You can do both.

SPEAKER_00 42:59

I love it. That's great. All right, so what are we gonna plug? Tell us where we can find you on the dirty drummer.com or something.

SPEAKER_02 43:04

Uh thedirty drummer.com.

SPEAKER_00 43:06

Okay, but other things coming up.

SPEAKER_02 43:07

Instagram, Maggie, the our our uh marketing events gal, who we talked about, is now doing TikTok for us. I just great love her carte blanche pipe. Go ahead, go for it. Um okay, and then we have so much, so many other things. Uh Pyjama Piyama, have you seen them? They're playing soon with uh vinyl vagos DJing, and there's a lot coming up.

SPEAKER_00 43:29

And we have March Madness coming up. Oh right. March Madness is a great place to go for anybody out there, March Madness.

SPEAKER_02 43:35

Good point. Thank you. It is a sports bar. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:39

They have T you have you have the you have a big screen. You have a massive big screen behind the stage. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:44

Uh people can sit there. Indoor, outdoor bar.

SPEAKER_00 43:46

Love it.

SPEAKER_02 43:47

Wait, have you ever been there at all?

SPEAKER_00 43:48

No. I'm gonna take him. I'm gonna take him. I promise you, it's gonna be the thing we're gonna do on the way back to the airport. So I'm gonna go on the record here, but this is public. Best wings in town, period.

SPEAKER_02 44:00

Thanks, Mike.

SPEAKER_00 44:01

I know my boys over at TJ's, they're gonna like beat me up. JT, sorry, JTs are gonna beat me up, and there's about a couple other places that are gonna beat me up on this, but I'm going on the record, and I mean this, not because Dana's here. They are the best. You can get them grilled, double grilled, double JIT. I'm gonna try it. I'm from Buffalo. It's an amazing period. Thanks, so I wanted to say thank you so much, Dana, for coming on. This has been awesome. Showcasing local businesses in Phoenix. And we know we have a uh national, international reach. So anybody that's out that's coming in, 44th Street No, no brainer, the dirty drummer.

SPEAKER_01 44:31

Yeah, anybody traveling into Phoenix.

SPEAKER_00 44:32

No doubt about it. Thank you so much. Dana, thanks so much. That's another episode, Mike Lynstrom, Scott Lee's, my man. Welcome to uh the Dirty Drummer here. Gonna go step and check it out. Thanks, Dana. Thanks, Mike.

SPEAKER_03 44:42

Thanks.

SPEAKER_00 44:43

See you next time. See y'all.