It wasn’t long, though, before he was recruited to open the Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley. He worked as a bartender through college at the award-winning Montrio in Monterey, CA. John went from dish washer, to busser, to waiter before finding his stride at the bar. Bitten by the hospitality bug in high school and continuing through college, he used his skills to move ahead when others may have thrown in the towel – literally. John Pomeroy is the epitome of balance – in life and in his cocktails. Garnish with either olives or a twist, whatever your preference. The James Bond way – stirred, not shaken. And by 'Martini,' I mean gin – not vodka.” Eddie’s recipe is straightforward: Gordon’s gin mixed with ½ ounce of Martini & Rossi Extra Dry vermouth. “My favorite cocktail is a classic Martini. This can go on for 2 or 3 sips before I can carry the glass to a table. Given that Eddie is generous with his pours, he continues to refill each time I take a sip. I’ve dubbed this little bit of choreography "The Labrador Retriever". We have a ritual: Eddie pours the cocktail up to the very rim of the glass, necessitating me to bend down and sip before I can move the glass without spilling. He also makes the best Perfect Manhattan in town, for my money.
It seems that what happens in Players stays in Players.
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But no dice – Eddie won’t break the bartender’s code of silence. Eddie has been working in the club for 23 years, and I’m guessing he has at least one juicy tale he can share without the walls caving in on us.
One of the other reasons The Players is my favorite place to imbibe is Eddie Castillo, the head bartender. And that’s another story – it was donated by a condemned man who had seen Booth ‘s father perform, and, well…let’s just say he lost his head over the Booth family talent. Booth only retained a small, one-room apartment for himself and his daughter, and it has been preserved exactly as it was when he lived there. White redesigned the interior of the building, transforming it from a residence to an elegant private club. In 1888, he purchased the townhouse and, along with Stanford White, Mark Twain and William Tecumseh Sherman, among other bold face names of the time, established The Players. Booth wanted to create a space where they and other theater artists could mingle with respected individuals from other professions, and be given the same level of respect and regard. Despite his success and prominence, actors were not a widely respected lot back in the day, seen as disreputable and untrustworthy. The club was the vision of Booth, the preeminent American actor of his time, renowned for his interpretations of Hamlet and Richard III, among others. In the Mad Men era, Sinatra would depart The Friars uptown and have his final drinks of the night at The Players. Theres a skull in the Booth Apartment that he used when playing Hamlet. The office next to the Library is where Actors Equity was first formed. There are multiple portraits of cultural icons from Booth and Twain right up to Jimmy Fallon and Martha Plimpton.
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The crack in the communal table in the Grill, happened when Cagney rapped his fist onto it when engaging in a particularly heated debate. When you step inside, you’re stepping not only into the 19th Century, when the club was first established, but into the entire history of the club since. If this club is haunted, the ghosts include Edwin Booth, Stanford White, Sarah Bernhardt, Mark Twain, James Cagney and Helen Hayes, among many others.
It helps that this is a very storied place. Perhaps I’m a bit biased as I’ve been a member for the last five years. Of all the remaining private clubs in New York – and they are an endangered species, to be sure – this is the most welcoming, approachable and outgoing. Standing in front of The Players on Gramercy Park South, the grandeur of the brownstone townhouse’s façade, with its Renaissance style wrought iron working gas lanterns, is impressive yet not intimidating. All photos courtesy Michael Finkelstein/Archigrafika.
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