Ryan McKinnon
Google
There is a bartender here named Jesse. Jesse...the Man, the Myth, the Legend. Some say he emerged from the flickering glow of the projector, armed with a shaker in one hand and a film encyclopedia in the other. Jesse, the bartender at the theater bar that’s more dive than destination, is the sole guardian of cinematic order. He is the lifeblood of this movie house/bar, a place where popcorn (when the machines are actually working and the popcorn has been appropriately purchased) mixes with craft beers, cocktails, and cinematic dreams collide with reality…often in messy, chaotic ways. As a bartender and informal steward of the establishment, he has been for years the only consistent force holding this place together. While management flounders and half-alive patrons drift in and out, Jesse remains steadfast, caring deeply about the theater’s survival and the quality of the experience.
A paragon of movie knowledge, Jesse can quote obscure lines, recommend the perfect pairing of film and drink, and offer deep, insightful commentary on cinematic history...sometimes to an audience of one. His tireless dedication to his craft, both behind the bar and in curating the film experience (particularly as host and curator of the many special events this place puts on) , is seemingly often unrewarded, yet he perseveres with quiet heroism.
In the eyes of those who notice him and know him—especially to this writer who chronicles these dives and has been at times a quiet and not-so-quiet observer of the workings of this particularly unique bar/movie house—Jesse is more than a bartender. He is the King of Brewvies, a legendary figure whose reputation and efforts here border on myth. He is to Brewvies what Hunter Thompson was to the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theatre in San Francisco. He embodies the devotion, love, and unshakable loyalty that the theater itself can rarely claim any longer. In a world of decline and apathy, and surrounded by a physical building and management cut from that same crusty cloth, Jesse is the heartbeat that refuses to quit. He is a gem, and this place, quite frankly, doesn't deserve him...they are lucky to have him around.