Humble Mayoral Beginnings

I recently received from Fleming’s Corporate offices a request for interview for their newsletter. One of the questions they are asking me is where the nickname “Da Mayor” came from. As I thought back on the time I’ve spent at Fleming’s, my time as your Mayor seems both fleeting and forever. Wowed by the “100 wines by the glass”, I changed my allegiances for 4 night a week barfly from a local Italian haunt to Fleming’s when they opened almost three years ago. Immediately hitting it off with the bartenders and management (it’s amazing how friendly people get when you reach a certain amount in annual consumption in one place), I started holding forth at the bar, as a sort of upscale Cliff Clavin, doing blind tastings and generally enjoying myself and learning all I could about wine. The ambiance of the bar is such that it attracted an upscale crowd who were interested in learning about wine, so I seemed to naturally move among them asking what they liked, recommending new things, and becoming a mainstay. Folks began to call me the Godfather, because every time I walked in, all the staff and patrons would feign reverence to me. I was thrilled when finally a friend blurted out “You must be the Mayor of this place!” and the nickname was born. Fortunately, I didn’t seem to chase the patrons away, so our Operating Partner, John van Peppin, encouraged me to continue. We started the now famous Monday Night tastings, and that was followed by the Newsletter and the Wine Blog. I am fortunate to have become Da Mayor of Fleming’s. It has made me many new friends, taught me about wines from a “people down” view, and rekindled my writing bug from years past. You have all been a key part to my ride. Thanks for coming along, and I hope to see you soon tasting great food and wines.