By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews
YACHATS – With no more fanfare than a Facebook post, the Yachats Underground Pub & Grub re-opened Wednesday after closing suddenly and supposedly permanently just two weeks ago.
The unannounced closure of the bar favored by many locals and musicians occurred after a cash register malfunction led to a kerfuffle between a bartender and owner David Lothrop. The bartender quit, walked out and Lothrop closed his bar for the night.
Lothrop later decided to close the establishment permanently because, he said, none of the employees wanted to step up to manage and he was tired of trying to do it. Several employees – the pub had a staff of eight — disagreed publicly with that characterization and with no paychecks forthcoming they questioned on social media how they were supposed to make ends meet during the holidays.
Lothrop did not respond to repeated attempts by YachatsNews to contact him after the Dec. 6 closure. After the reopening announcement by way of a customer’s Facebook post, Lothrop was found Wednesday sitting at a corner barstool.
“I have a manager now so that takes the pressure off of me,” Lothrop said pointing to a new employee working behind the bar.
When asked why he decided to re-open after saying he was closing it permanently, he replied simply that “two weeks” had passed.
“Had I sold the building, it would have gone, but I didn’t sell it,” he said. “And now that I have a manager it pulls me out of the pit, so to speak. These things aren’t fun to run.”
He acknowledged former employees may be upset but said he believes they will probably come back “and there’s always new people coming in.” He characterized Wednesday as a “soft opening” to get the new manager up to speed and because he doesn’t have a “fully cooked staff yet.”
“It’s amazing to me that I’m the only one with skin in the game and I’ve got all these critics out there telling me what to do and I’m the one with the money invested,” he said.
He acknowledged the cause of the closure was the argument with the bartender.
“That put me over the hump and saying ‘Well I don’t need this,’ ” he said. “So I don’t know, there might be some truth to that because she did walk out. I don’t think I berate employees, except for that one incident which caused the closure.”
Lothrop said things should be much better now that he has a manager and he can stick to overseeing finances. A former cook was already back on the job Wednesday and another was expected back Thursday.
As he sat at the bar with a stack of employee paychecks it wasn’t long before several wandered in and agreed to come back, including the bartender who quit. Others confirmed their return to the new manager over the phone.
- Garret Jaros is YachatsNews’ full-time reporter and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com
1. Dave makes it a daily occurrence to berate and insult employees. Blaming it on one employee is laughable.
2. Never has everything been on his shoulders. Employees and even customers have done the shopping and ordering to keep the place running.
3. The Pub is a Yachats home away from home, not because of Dave.
Sounds like maybe the owner gets taken for granted. You you don’t feel appreciated it can definitely have an effect on your personality. Hopefully there will be more of a sense of respect and appreciation coming from both sides of this incident. Good Luck, Happy Holidays and much love to all involved.❤️
I don’t know. Seems like he must not be that bad if employees are coming back and locals really wanted it.
People will put up with a lot to pay the bill this time of year
Lot’s of unawareness from both sides based on posts.
communication as difficult as it may be is always a necessity
“It’s amazing to me that I’m the only one with skin in the game and I’ve got all these critics out there telling me what to do and I’m the one with the money invested,” says it all right here.
Face it, Yachats is a giant gerontology clinic. Sure, working guys come in but basically Yachats is a giant gerontology clinic and The Underground is the waiting room, which is OK since I enjoy it. The owner has invested in the community with music and the addition and various hassles and should be applauded. Seems more like a family feud luckily solved for the minute. The joint makes Yachats what it is …”Keep Yachats Weird” … from the other places.
Yachats in is not “weird” as stated on these comments. If Dave wants to sell, how about a consortium buys it and runs it properly? Are you in?
Im happy to hear that a GM was hired to get this kerfuffle settled with Dave and his employees. But being the owner comes the responsibility of being a good boss with civility and proper decorum to maintain a healthy environment for all. You need to respect your help as they would like to be treated in kind. Lets hope this works out for all parties.
Actually that is not the responsibility of a boss. Why do people constantly think that a business owes someone anything? Lord, this sense of entitlement in this society nowadays. What a shame. I grew up with the teaching that the only thing an employer is required to do is pay me. Sure, good working conditions, benefits and the like are important because a business owner not doing those things ends up losing employees, etc. but all they are responsible for is paying for the work done. No one owes you anything. Well, doctors owe good care. And as far as people need to pay bills so that’s why they went back? I see job openings posted all the time up and down the coast. Don’t tell me they couldn’t find another job. It’s harder to find a place to live on the coast then it is to find a job.