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What’s your favorite thing about bartending?

Well, I was born in the restaurant business. I worked in the restaurant business with my father. I worked in Germany, in the restaurant business, and when I got here, I guess there was a move to continue in the restaurant business. You meet a lot of people, you deal with the people. I guess that was my life, being in the restaurant business.

You have a lot of regular customers?

All the time, yeah, regulars. When I started here, I was in my 20s, and my regulars were in their 40s, and now I’m losing lots of them. There are a lot of young crowd, but I’ve seen people come here. A guy at the bar’s been coming here since 1970, another guy has come since 1985. The ones that come here, they love it, they keep coming back. They like the bar, they like the drinks, they like the food, so 80% is regulars here.

Do you know a lot of other bartenders here in Los Angeles?

Not anymore, because now a lot of people in the restaurant business, waiters, bartenders, they want to be actors, so there’s no more professionals, very few guys like I used to know. I know a few of them, but not too many, because nobody keeps a steady job in this town. You cannot find a waiter or bartender in one place more than five or 10 years. They go some place else, or they get a part in a movie and never go back to their job. So there’s not too many professionals in this business, which is sad. People that know what they’re doing. They’re just dreaming.

Did you think about working anywhere else over the years?

Not really. Well, a few times I was thinking about – I got married, had wife and kids – think of changing. No, I don’t want to change. I just want to stay where I am. The owner likes me, the customers like me, so I say, “I have a great job.” I built this business, because there was no one here when I started working, so if I change, I have to build something else, so I stay here.

What do you like to drink when you’re not working?

I like to drink only wine. At home, with my wife, wine. And here, people come in and say, “Let’s have a drink.” I’ll have a shot or something, as long as it’s not sweet, but my favorite drink is wine. I grow up in a vineyard, used to make my own wine, with my mom. Most people, where I come from, they like wine. Most Europeans, like south Europe, they’re all in the wine business and drink mostly wine.

Have you been back to Croatia?

Yeah. I left ’64. The first time I went back was ’91. I used to go almost every year, but my mom died three years ago, so I go much less, but I used to go all the time, after the ’90s.

Who are some of your favorite customers?

It’s very hard to say. People ask me all the time. Last night, one customer asked me, who are the most interesting people, people you like? I like almost everybody. You cannot say you like one person more than another one. There are some people I don’t like because they’re troublemakers, and I don’t want them to be here, but basically, 80% of my customers, they’re nice people. They’re my friends. A lot of times, with my wife, Thanksgiving, Christmas, I’ll have them to my house. Single guys, no wife, no family, like this Christmas, I have four customers coming to my house. Thanksgiving, I had 10 of them to my house. We keep close, like a family. My customers are more to me like my family.

How often do you eat here?

I eat when I come to work and before I go home.

What do you like to eat?

I’m simple, I like fish, I like chicken. I’m not picky on food.

What would you like to be known for as a bartender?

As a person who liked his job, did his job well, and took care of his customers. That’s all.