Story: Daniel Bradbury
Photos: Cory Weaver
It’s 7:00 on a Tuesday in early March, the part of the year when whether it’s winter or spring is more of a philosophical argument than a matter of fact. I’m reminded of this as I open the door of my car and an echo of February rides past my shoulder on a breeze. In retrospect, I probably should have worn a jacket. I’m at Crafted, a neighborhood bar in St. Louis’s Tower Grove East with the aim of talking to the owner, Dani Davis. She’s been at the helm of Crafted for nearly 20 years, weathering all the usual bumps and bruises of running a bar, plus a pandemic and an episode of “Bar Rescue.”
Crafted makes you feel at home quickly: imagine the intimacy of a well-loved local dive coupled with the polished aesthetics of a cocktail bar and you’ll have a good idea of the atmosphere. “Ventura Highway” is playing softly from a speaker somewhere above the bar as the regulars nurse their drinks and sunset paints the room a pleasant shade of orange. After a short wait, Davis emerges from her office and greets me. A friendly and extroverted woman, she wears her hair in an undercut. The long part is tucked into a baseball cap advertising the bar. We find a table outside and sit down to talk. I’m looking forward to finding out more about the story of Crafted, and how music helped write it.
BTT: Can you tell me a little bit of the story of how you came to own Crafted?
DAVIS: I worked for a law firm all through college because I thought that’s what I wanted to do. I figured out, thank god, that’s not what I wanted to do. When I graduated college I was interning down at the courthouse for victim services. I was actually offered a position when my internship was over, but I didn’t want to go directly into my “career.” I wanted to do something fun and I wanted to meet some people my age. I had some friends who worked in St. Louis as liquor reps, and they knew of this place that was looking for a server. I was originally going to work here as a cocktail server one night a week, that turned into three nights a week, and it was all downhill from there. One night I was bartending, and the owner, who I was kind of fed up with at the time, said “You should just buy this place. You run it anyway.” I said “no way,” but after thinking about it I realized I was 30; if I go back to use my degree, it had been so long I’d either have to go back to school or start at the bottom. I loved the hours, and I was used to the money so I thought to myself, “I may not want to be a 30-year-old bartender, but I could be a 30-year-old bar owner.”
BTT: It’s been about 10 years since you made the transition from Van Gogh’z to Crafted.
DAVIS: Nine years, yeah.
BTT: What do you feel has been the biggest change, either for you as an owner, or Crafted as a business?
DAVIS: Oh, that’s easy. So, Van Gogh’z was great. I loved Van Gogh’z. But back then, martinis were in. They were fancy. But like everything else, they ran their course. When I bought it, I was already planning on rebranding. I knew we needed to change. That’s why I changed the logo, the fonts, everything—as soon as we bought it, there was an overhaul. I wanted a modern logo, more clean lines, sleek and modern on the inside: not so colorful and chaotic. The previous owners, even though they’ll always be like family to me, tried to make it everything at once and we lost our identity. When I bought it [Crafted], I wanted it to have a clear identity. Not a cafe in the morning, diner in the afternoon and a sports bar slash karaoke bar at night.
BTT: Kind of the Raising Cane’s model, like Crafted is where you go when you want this specific experience?
DAVIS: Yes, exactly.
BTT: In a past Feast magazine article, you said, “One thing Bar Rescue did for me was it brought back that spark of creativity and got me off of my ass to get stuff done.” Can you tell me a little bit about that creativity? What are some ideas you’ve brought to Crafted since then that you feel especially proud of?
DAVIS: In nine years? Man, so much.
BTT: Well you know, maybe two or three things.
DAVIS: A lot of it is about going back to roots. You don’t always have to think of the next new thing that’s gonna blow everybody’s mind. Sometimes it’s about going back to classics and putting a spin on them. Changing a flavor profile. Any chef or mixologist or whatever, if they sit there and say “everything’s original,” they’re lying. I think using what I know about the kitchen and bringing that out front to the bar, that can be a source of inspiration too. This dirty martini, I had my smoker out, and I was like “how fucking cool would it be to smoke some olives? Let’s see what that’s gonna do.” And then when I ate one I was like “ooh, that’s good.” When I put the olives back in the brine, I shit you not man, the olives marinated the brine and boom. Smoked dirty martini.
BTT: When people talk about restaurants, the focus usually tends to be on the food and the drinks. I find that atmosphere tends to be the unsung third element of a restaurant experience. What role does music play in curating the experience here at Crafted? Do you put specific playlists together, or do you tend towards going with the flow?
DAVIS: So, everybody that works here has their own vibe, you know what I mean? Night to night is different because we’re all different. I have approved playlists. I don’t like anything with lots of cuss words or inappropriate stuff. You know we’ve been having a lot more families come in.
BTT: Important to consider the customer.
DAVIS: Totally. The vibe also depends on the night and the crowd. We usually do Spotify, so I’m a lover of Queen radio, Fleetwood Mac. Actually, Declan, one of my bartenders, puts on Outkast radio, and it fucks. We get complimented on that one all the time. Outkast radio and our toilet paper. Now if you’re in the kitchen? That’s gonna be a little different. That’s gonna be some ratchet, fucked up, hardcore shit. Oh, yeah, everybody loves ’90s alternative radio here too. Goo Goo Dolls, Collective Soul, they’re still probably one of my favorite bands. Personally, I think if you don’t have music on, then you don’t have a very good spot. You cannot have a bar or a restaurant without music.
BTT: We’re actually kind of getting into the next question with that. Who are some artists that inspire you? Maybe they help steel your resolve when you don’t feel like coming in, they help pick you up when you’re down? Anybody local?
DAVIS: Not anymore, I don’t listen to anybody local anymore. Back in the day I used to listen to Story of the Year a lot. I actually ended up playing soccer on the same team as one of the original band members of Story of the Year, Phil. Great guy. Oh, The Urge! I’ve always known them and listened to them. It’s really funny, years later working here and owning this place, and Steve’s Hot Dogs is just right there. I’ve never idolized famous people or whatever, it’s always just been kind of like “oh, those are just people.”
BTT: It’s always a bit of a shock to the system to discover that someone you’ve been listening to since you were a kid is just a normal person who pays taxes and drives a Fiat.
DAVIS: Songs that pick me up when I’m down though? Gosh there’s just so much. I even listen to some country artists now. Old school country. I’m kinda all over the place, too. One thing that I’ve really been enjoying, my staff makes fun of me for it. I just love music that I can sing along to or just vibe, it’s not bringing me anxiety. I have this playlist on my Spotify that’s called “Chill Covers” and it’s cover songs of all these awesome songs that range from ’70s to songs nowadays just sung in a different way or chill.
BTT: I think in a lot of ways running a restaurant is like being an artist. The excitement and the glamor of it are both very visible, but not a lot of people know about or even think about what makes it all possible. What is one part of running Crafted that isn’t visible to the average patron but is totally indispensable?
DAVIS: What goes on behind the scenes that people don’t know about? The way the world is and the technology, changing a menu, you can’t just do it. You’ve gotta make sure all the recipes are right. You gotta train your staff on them in the front and back of the house—there’s a whole different procedure for prep.
BTT: What is a song that means a lot to you right now?
DAVIS: “Another Day in Paradise,” Joyner’s cover of it.