Something Else (14)

Chapter FOURTEEN – Scoping Out the Biz

It was a tight fit for the five grown men in Big Denny’s 1970 Plymouth Barracuda. Denny was fine with his seat moved all the way back but the rear seat with Carmine, Vinnie and Dominic’s cousin Jerry was packed like a can of sardines. Dominic rode shotgun and with some prodding gave up a few inches to his cousin who was over six feet tall.

The ride to the north suburb wouldn’t be too long. Denny picked up Dominic and Jerry in Bridgeton at a strip club on ‘the Rock Road’ where they had shots of cheap tequila with beer chasers. Just a little something to whet the whistle before heading out.

Something Else opened at six with Happy Hour offering ‘two-fers’ until eight but the place didn’t start jamming until after nine o’clock. The guys planned on arriving just after nine and Denny had spoken to his buddy Louie about getting in without having to pay the cover charge. Louie even offered one of the five VIP reserved spots near the front door so Denny could show off his tricked out ‘Hemi-Cuda’ to the disco masses as they arrived. There were always at least three or four high-end sports cars or limos staged out front giving a place an air of class. “Just like Las Vegas,” Bud would say.

By nine there was already a line forming at the door with Louie and Mo checking ID’s and prioritizing entry. Women received special treatment, especially the hot ones that were decked out with puffy hair, painted faces and skimpy outfits.

The owner, Bud, had schooled Richie on business strategy.  He wanted to fill the place up and it was important that at least a third of the customers were women. He knew that the ratio of men to women was critical. If there were too many men, the crowd would thin early, and the bar would sell a lot of bottled beer. If there were too many chicks the bar revenues would suffer. Women on their own tended to buy only one drink and nurse it until they were chatted up by a man looking for love. With right mix the men would open up their wallets, buying the Tequila Sunrises, Harvey Wallbangers and Sloe Gin Fizzes that cost a little more and kept the conversation between the sexes flowing.

Denny eased his car off Lindbergh into the driveway and Louie recognized him, waving him into the reserved parking space. Smiling broadly, he moved to the driver’s side door. Denny got out and they high fived. Dominic got out leaving the other three men to push the bucket seats forward and squirt out of the back seat.

Louie escorted them to the entry and removed the red velvet rope that held back those waiting to gain entry. They all walked through and moved past Larry, who was handling the cash cover charge.

Music this early was light and airy. A little Donna Summer was spinning on the turntable. “I Love to Love You Baby,” had the ladies swaying and the men ogling between long pulls on their longneck beers.

The main room was about half full and there was room for the group at the far end of the bar where Jack was working.

Louie motioned for Jack to come over and he responded.

“Jack, this is Big Denny. He’s family. The first round is on me. Take good care of him and his crew.”

“Sure thing, Louie. What’ll it be boys?” Jack said, turning his attention to the group and looking up at Denny. It wasn’t hard to figure out why his name was ‘Big Denny.’ 

Jack estimated his height at about 6’ 6” and he must have weighed 320 lbs. He was wearing a natural golden leather jacket that appeared to be a bit too small for his sizable girth.

Denny moved forward without a smile and said “Tequila.”

“Montezuma or Cuervo Gold?”

“Cuervo…in a shot glass with salt and lime. Same thing for my friends. And give us all bottles of Bud.”

Jack took a quick look at the faces of his new VIPs. He didn’t recognize any of them but noticed that they were all smiling, he guessed, because the drinks were free.

The DJ took the opportunity to pump up the excitement for this evening’s entertainment. Tonight was Thursday so the Wet T-Shirt contest would start at eleven o’clock with the judging and winner announced at midnight. He mentioned that the first prize was $250.00, VIP card, and dinner for two at Steak & Ale a local steak house on Graham Road. He already had two young women signed up to compete, but he needed at least three more. For incentive any girl who signed up before 9:30 pm would drink for free all night long.

Louie moved closer to Denny to let him know that he had to get back to work at the door. Denny nodded and asked, “Who is your boss?”

“His name is Richie.”

“Is he here tonight?”

“Yeah. He’s in the office.”

“Maybe later you can introduce me.”

“Yeah. Sure. You settle in and I’ll make it happen before the contest starts.”

Jack lined up the shot glasses and deftly filled them with the golden liquor. He picked them all up at once and set them on the bar directly in front of Big Denny, who distributed them himself. Jack moved to the beer chiller and retrieved five bottles of Bud. After five quick twists each man had his chaser at the ready. Jack placed a small dish with lime wedges and a saltshaker on the bar.

Denny licked his fist and salted it. Two others followed. They waited until Denny gave the high sign and they all hoisted the shots, downing them together. Each one grabbed a lime wedge and sucked it easing the burn of the alcohol.

This was a recon mission. Denny needed to get a feel for the business. He liked what he saw so far. Business was good. The place was humming. It was cash only. No food at all. Just booze and the bar stayed busy. Perfect for a laundry…a money laundry, that is.

At close to ten Louie parted the mass if people, making his way from the foyer area to the bar where his VIP group had taken up residence. Trailing just behind him was a well-dressed young man in his early thirties who Denny didn’t know.

“This is Richie Connor,” Louie said by way of introduction to Denny. “Richie, this is my good friend Denny DiMartino. We grew up together. He’s like a brother to me.”

Richie was average height, so Denny towered over him, but he wasn’t cowed by the man’s stature. He stepped in and they shook hands with what Richie thought was a viselike grip.

“Good to meet you Denny,” Richie said staring him straight in the eyes. “Is this your first visit to the club?”

“No. Me and a buddy came by right after you opened. Louie was off that night. You had two big rotating spotlights in front lighting up the sky. Everybody is talkin’ about this place. We had to see what all of the excitement was about.”

“Yeah, we are hot right now. Lines at the door six nights a week. Even on Monday. So, what do you think?”

“I think you got a gold mine here.”

“We got it goin’ on. We have momentum right now. We are the only disco in the entire St. Louis metropolitan area right now, but I got a feeling that others will follow. Disco is the biggest, hottest thing happening in music. It’s taken over the nightlife in all the big cities. It’s only a matter of time for it to hit all over the St. Louis area.”

“A little bit of Las Vega here in the Midwest,” Denny said.

“Have you been to Vegas?” Richie asked.

“No, not yet. But my dad has friends there. I’ve seen pictures and I watched that new TV show last week called VEGA$. It’s got that cool guy named Dan Tanna who is a PI. Have you seen it?”

“Naw. I work nights. No time for TV. But I did get a trip to Vegas last year with the owner. He does business in St. Louis but is based out of Las Vegas. He wanted for me to get a feel for the high-end clubs so we can get the same vibe here.”

“Oh, yeah? What’s the owner’s name?”

“It’s Bud. Bud Winner.”

“Winner, huh…that’s a name…”

“Yeah, he’s a very successful advertising executive. He put a lot of his own money into this place so we gotta make it work.”

There was a lull in the conversation and Richie asked, “So what business are you in?”

“I work for my father. He owns a restaurant on The Hill.”

“Oh, yeah! What’s the name of the place?”

“DiMartino’s. I know you must have heard of it.”

“Of course. It’s one of the best Italian restaurants in St. Louis.”

Denny had a serious look on his face and said “No…it is THE best Italian restaurant in St. Louis.”

“Sorry. I meant to say THE best,” Richie said with a big grin.

Denny decided that he had what he needed…for now. His dad would want to find out more about Bud Winner, the advertising executive with offices in St. Louis and Las Vegas.

“Nice to meet you,” Denny said to Richie putting his hand out to shake.

Richie smiled and said “You too. Stick around for the Wet T-Shirt contest. Tonight, we have seven beauties ready to let the puppies breathe. Hey! We still need one judge. We got two other customers who volunteered. You wanna be the third? Free drinks for the rest of the night.”

“Can I get free drinks for all of us?” Denny pressed.

“Sure. Why not,” Richie agreed, and he motioned to Jack to come over.

“Drinks are on the house for these guys tonight. Take good care of them,” he said to Jack who nodded and leaned toward Denny. “Another round?”

Denny signaled to Jack with a thumbs up then turned and stared at the dance floor that was jammed with a gyrating mass of dancers.

Teri was the bartender at the far end of the bar tonight. She was running out of ice and needed her bottled beer replenished. Teri avoided Eddie like the plague when she needed something because he was always making lewd cracks and staring at her breasts.

The second round of drinks was on the bar in front of Big Denny as she came up behind Jack and put her hands over his eyes playfully.

Jack said loudly, “Eddie, I told you not to do that.”

Eddie overheard his name and looked over from his station. Jack turned around quickly and faced Teri, saying “You’re not Eddie.”

“No, I’m not. I’m Teri and I need beer and ice and that damn bar back is never around when I need him.”

“It’s hard to get good help these days, ain’t it!” Jack said. “What do you need?”

“A case of Bud. A case of Heiniken and a case of Miller. Oh, and a tub of ice. Please.”

Big Denny watched the interaction intently and as Teri walked back to her station, his eyes followed her swaying behind.

Jack ducked under the bar and went to the storeroom. He found the bar back sitting on a stool cleaning his nails with a pocketknife.

“Are you working tonight?” Jack said.

“I don’t feel good.”

“Neither do I but I’m on the clock. And so are you so get your ass out there with a tub of ice for Teri. I’ll bring two cases of beer and after you get the ice come back for a case of Miller. Make it quick.”

Jack returned to the bar and started refilling the cooler with the beer. He turned back to the bar and saw Big Denny staring at Teri’s end of the bar seemingly mesmerized by her movement.

“Her name is Teri.” Jack said as the music receded.