When the West Village speakeasy Employees Only opened two decades ago on Hudson Street, a flood of stars poured in, wanting VIP treatment.
But that’s not the bar’s M.O.
Months after the splashy watering hole opened, Madonna’s handlers tried to clear out the place so the singer and her crew could imbibe in private.
“We were happy to welcome her, but they didn’t like the layout of our dining room because it was too open. There were no separate booths. Her team was concerned that she would be bothered,” co-founder Dushan Zaric told The Post.
“She was turned away because she wanted the whole dining room to herself and we couldn’t accommodate. We felt awful, of course,” he said.
It wasn’t anything against Madonna. Zaris also recalled the team turning away the Olsen twins’ party of 12 because they didn’t have a reservation. (Prince William and Kate Middleton, on the other hand, dined in the back garden after nabbing a reservation, while Elon Musk stayed until last call at 4 a.m.)
This week, Employees Only — which has been dubbed one of the best cocktail bars in the world by the Spirited Awards — is celebrating its 20th anniversary by welcoming guest bartenders from around the globe.
And usually tight-lipped staffers also told The Post about treating celebrity guests such as Bill Murray, Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Cuban like any other New Yorker who managed to get in the door.
“We never wanted to make a big deal if a celebrity comes in. It’s just not our style,” Zaric told The Post. “A lot of these people are used to being in places where everybody kisses their ass.”
Murray first showed up because he wanted to get his palm read by the restaurant’s resident psychic.
“He came in to get his palm read by our psychic in the front. He peeked through the curtain and saw there was actually a bar inside, [then] asked, ‘Can you make me a dirty martini?’” Zaric remembered of the “Lost In Translation” star.
“I was speechless. I’ve never been starstruck, but he is my favorite actor. I said ‘Sir, I’ll make you the best dirty martini you’ve ever had.’ And I personally hate dirty martinis,” Zaric said. “So I made him an extra dirty martini and he tried it, and said ‘You’re not lying, I’m coming back next week for another one.’ He picked up his drink and continued his session with the psychic.”
Other A-listers preferred to slide under the radar. When a manager approached Leonardo DiCaprio — who came in late one Sunday, with a “much younger model,” to watch a burlesque show — he said, “No pictures, please.”
But the woman told him: “No, I need you to move for the performance.”
Before marrying “Saturday Night Live” star Colin Jost in 2020, Scarlet Johansson used to blend into the crowd at Employees Only.
“We put her in a corner table — no one bothered her for over a year. She didn’t come in all glammed up. She was really down to earth,” Zaric recalled.
But, he added, they saw less of her after a fan recognized the “Avengers” star and asked for a photo.
One person who didn’t mind posing for fans is “Shark Tank” star Mark Cuban, who also left a $1,000 tip — and tried his hand at bartending.
“He got back there, he put the jacket on and he played around a little bit,” Zaric said. “Got a kick out of it.”
But the best stuff happened before everyone started posting photos on social media.
“People used to get up and dance on the bar. We didn’t have iPhones. We didn’t have social media. You could really go under the radar,” Zaric recalled.
Patrons would regularly get so loose — and frisky — that Employees Only staffers dubbed a cozy nook between the bar and the front window the “nasty corner.” And the bar’s lost-and-found is full of souvenirs from patrons’ wild nights: designer shoes, jewelry, even a diamond engagement ring discovered lodged in one of the booths.
When Employees Only opened in December, 2004, five mixologists — Zaric, Henry Lafargue, Igor Hadzismajlovic, Jason Kosmas and Bill Gilroy — saw potential for a craft cocktail bar that focused on fresh ingredients but didn’t take itself too seriously. Its take on the Manhattan, with a higher proof rye, reversed proportions of vermouth and a touch of Grand Marnier, sparked both imitators and outposts in Singapore, Sydney and Los Angeles.
And two decades later, everything old is new again, Zaric said.
Back in 2004, the espresso martini was a staple. “I poured rivers of that stuff. Then it died,” Zaric said, calling it “dead and buried.”
Now, the drink is still not on the menu — but it’s EO’s most frequently ordered cocktail, generating a million dollars of revenue a year, a staffer told The Post.
Said Zaric: “It came out of the grave.”
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