Lemon is the kind of bar where live music and performance accompany a long bar packed with small-batch spirits, rare classic cocktails (like the best Absinthe Suissesse you’ve ever had!), beers and shots, and creative house drinks. It’s both a craft cocktail bar and an unpretentious neighborhood haunt thanks to the strong vision of Lemon’s winning owners, including director of operations Seth Blumenthal and creative director Mason McIntire.
Here, I interview the other two owners, co-beverage directors Jeremy Barrett and Zak McMahon. McMahon grew up in St. Louis, earned a BFA in dance, and moved to Chicago in 2014 to pursue a professional dance career, supported by cocktail bartending. He eventually left that dance career as he fell more in love with the bar world, helping to open notable Chicago bars like Billy Sunday and Sparrow.
Barrett likewise hails from St. Louis; he studied acting and directing. He moved to Chicago to pursue sketch comedy and improv at legendary places like Second City. Barrett got into craft cocktails working at Annex at GreenRiver, eventually shifting fully to the bar industry while staging at the famed Dead Rabbit and Blacktail in NYC. He was Billy Sunday’s beverage director and began developing the concept for Lemon after the pandemic, fusing a love of cocktails and performance art.
In their own words, Barrett and McMahon explain the philosophy and approach behind their one-of-a-kind bar.
What led each of you into the cocktail and the bar world?
McMahon: Both my grandmothers were in the hospitality industry. My Grandma Geraldine McMahon owned her own restaurant and café. My Grandma Marjorie Fish was a bartender, raised five kids, and got her master’s while doing it. I guess you could say it is in my blood. Also, when I was younger and in the Boy Scouts, I would usually be the camp cook. There’s something about feeding people and being of service to others that always made me feel uniquely special.
I went to college for dance, and I’ve always been a creative individual. When I moved to Chicago, I knew I also wanted to be a cocktail bartender because it was another craft I could learn to support my dance career. Eventually, it evolved into my primary passion, and I never looked back!
Barrett: My intro to the bar world is a relatively common story. I’ve been in the service industry about 17 years now. I started young in St. Louis from the ground up. Dishwasher, busser, line cook. Over the years, I worked my way through high school and college serving in various corporate restaurants to pay for school and living expenses. I moved to Chicago around 12 years ago to pursue my career in acting and sketch comedy, all the while paying the bills as most artists do by working in hospitality.
I started to get serious in the bartending/cocktail community when I began working at GreenRiver and the upscale cocktail bar attached to it, Annex. This was a Michelin-star restaurant and incredible cocktail program that was a collaboration with Dead Rabbit’s Consulting company (Jack McGarry and Ben Schaffer) and local talented bartender, Julia Momosé. While working in Annex at GreenRiver, my mentor, Amit Gilad, took me under his wing, teaching me everything he knew. After two and a half years, GreenRiver closed, and I really doubled down on my career, taking over as beverage director at award-winning Billy Sunday in Logan Square.
How does being based in Chicago influence your bar’s style?
Barrett: Chicago has such an incredible industry scene. I think one major difference in this city is the level of community and support. We have a tight-knit hospitality industry that likes to collaborate and raise each other up. Because of this, our bar really focuses on industry events such as pop-ups, collaboration brand events, guest bartenders, friendly competitions.
Another heavy influence on Lemon is the sense of neighborhoods we have here in Chicago. Although it is not as drastic as the boroughs in NYC, some people don’t tend to leave their respective neighborhoods because we have such a rich culture of bars and restaurants in almost every neighborhood. We wanted to bring a quality upscale cocktail program to West Town, a neighborhood that desperately needed a bar with intention and creativity. We strived to [offer] something for everyone, whether a cocktail nerd, craft beer drinker, or someone who is sober.
McMahon: I come from blue-collar St. Louis. Moving to Chicago allowed me to relate to the working-class bartender in a city that also nurtures creativity and community. I was able to fit into the hustle of the Chicago bar industry as an individual who works hard. Although I have sometimes been taken advantage of, I’ve been rewarded for my tenacity. Chicago is a city of hustlers where I was able to fit right in with my equally hardworking counterparts for support behind the bar.
When it comes to designing cocktails and menus in Chicago, every bartender probably has a couple of pages with Malört cocktails they like to play with. I know I do. But this city has a long history with spirits and drinking culture we like to pay homage to. We have four seasons, with the longest being our winters. Like many bars, I definitely like to complement the seasons with my ingredients. That being said, winters are long, sometimes with harsh conditions, so creating something special for people to leave their homes is key. You have to have an approachable menu for all types, in palate and price. We have anything from cheap beers and shots to a wacky “Bartender’s Choice,” allowing the imbiber to explore flavors they may not taste anywhere else.
What’s your philosophy on deciding what spirits to stock in your bar?
McMahon: When we started doing spirit tastings to decide what we’d carry at Lemon, to say we were thorough would be an understatement. We dug deep, searching for unique, versatile spirits. With as little bias as possible, we looked into which spirits would work in all our cocktails, not limiting ourselves to cross-utilization. If we felt a specific gin worked best in a classic or menu cocktail, we went with that. For example, [we have] five gins in our well at a bar that isn’t specifically gin-focused.
We tried to let go of preconceived notions of what “standard” backbar brands and well placements looked like. This allowed us to fall in love with newer and more unique products we may not otherwise give the time of day. If it works best in the cocktail for an approachable price, we went with it.
There has been a boom in quality spirits and ingredients. We are of the mindset that if someone has spent their time creating a product of exceptional quality, we’d prefer to use those ingredients rather than make something “in house” just for the sake of calling it “housemade.” Though growing up in the culture of making everything by hand, this saves us labor costs and waste, [allowing us] to pay our staff a greater wage.
Barrett: We’ve never been big on letting giant brands ”buy” our menu or own a certain section, hence our decision to not list brand names [on-menu]. Of course we partner with bigger brand names to help host events, activations, pop-ups, etc. But we wanted to retain complete creative freedom with our drinks.
There are so many incredible small brands putting out unique spirits we want to highlight as they don’t have as much recognition. We find smaller, independent brands tend to turn out more creative, wacky, or complex products that really allow us to play behind the bar. Although we cross-utilize a few of our ”well” spirits, we wanted to use different styles of a certain spirit when it made sense to. For example, instead of using Citadelle [gin] for every classic cocktail in our compendium, we picked a different gin that works better for that specific cocktail.
How do you educate customers on small-batch spirits?
McMahon: We keep a lot of smaller brands to use in menu cocktails and “dealer’s choice.” When guests ask about our ingredient choices, we’re able to discuss these spirits in-depth because we’ve taken the time to learn as much as we can about them and educate our staff. In some cases, we’re even able to bring in the founders of these spirits to talk to our staff. For example, when we were tasting different sotols, we came across Los Magos and have since hosted a master class with one of the owners. These personal experiences do not come with a lot of larger brands, which is what’s beautiful about working with “artisanal” brands.
Barrett: We strive to educate guests in a non-pretentious way, which seems to be more common in stuffy, upscale cocktail bars. One way we accomplish this is hosting master classes that are open to public and industry workers that help to highlight smaller brands. We also focus on training our staff to have the knowledge to talk to customers in an informative way, explaining why we chose a smaller brand vs. a large one, the intention behind the brand, and how it works in a specific drink. It falls on us to promote these brands we love through our social media.
Tell me about your menu philosophy.
McMahon: I believe in inclusivity and approachability when it comes to our beverage program and space. We’re trying to bring back a true “third space,” which we feel has fallen off over the years. We provide a creative sanctuary for different performances and entertainment. Because of this, we find it important to have nonalcoholic and low-ABV cocktails, so a guest can enjoy the space without feeling pressure to consume alcohol — or over-consume, for that matter. We’re a neighborhood bar. Yes, we love creating and serving great cocktails, but we also want to be accessible to the guest looking for a cheap beer and shot. Lemon has a couple of “house shots,” including housemade limoncello. These deals help bring down the cost of our menu, making our program approachable for most budgets.
Barrett: This comes back to [wanting to offer] something for everyone. Most people enjoy a proper, full-proof cocktail, but the lower-ABV trend is more popular the last 5–10 years, which we absolutely love to promote, especially with my background at Billy Sunday focusing on amaro. Sherry, amari, and vermouths never get enough attention, so we like to utilize those frequently. There are many reasons why someone may choose to not drink, and we’re firm believers in creating complex, delicious, spirit-free cocktails for those clientele. We want everyone to feel comfortable in this “third space.” That starts with inclusivity for everyone and anyone, without judgment.
What is your philosophy on hospitality and atmosphere?
McMahon: Similar to my above statement, we’re trying to be a true third space, which requires more than just serving alcohol. We’ve tried to create an unpretentious environment that invites people to exist in a space other than work or home. A lot of our ownership and staff are artists and performers. We find oftentimes when going to a venue, you either experience great entertainment and terrible drinks, or the opposite. We’re trying to facilitate both.
Our staff treats guests as if they’re coming to an event hosted at our home. We’ll be as hospitable as possible, but if a guest misbehaves or acts out of line, we’ll kindly show them the door. It’s a privilege to enjoy our carefully curated space. Essentially, what I’m trying to say is: Don’t be an asshole, and we’ll supply nothing but great vibes and drinks.
Barrett: We really have leaned into the third space philosophy, which helps provide a comfortable, warm place to enjoy a drink or show and live out your relationships separate from work or home. We also market ourselves as a “creative sanctuary” in which we get to highlight and showcase any and all kinds of art on our stage. Although we’re music-focused, we’ve produced everything from drag to cabaret and stand-up comedy. We all come from various backgrounds of fine dining, which reflects subtlety in our service, but we try to keep a relaxed approach, and [hide] our more technical touches behind the scenes. Also, the customer is not always right. If you treat us with respect, we will do the same. But if you’re disrespecting anyone on our staff or acting like an entitled prick, we won’t hesitate to kick you out [with a laugh].
How do you envision the bar world evolving in the coming years?
McMahon: I hope this industry grows in the hands of more owner-operators. We’re essentially trying to achieve our dreams, but we know how toxic this industry can be. Pay your staff well, treat your staff as human beings, continue training the next generation, nurture their dreams and aspirations. Oh, and pay your artists!
Barrett: I think we’ll continue to see many concepts push the boundaries of modern culinary techniques, resulting in more “theatrical and presentational”-style bars. At the same time, we’re starting to see a push in the direction of neighborhood bars that want to go back to basics with less smoke and mirrors, which is our approach. Lastly, we’re going to see Chicago and other markets pump out more owner-operator concepts with better ideals and standards than that of massive, corporate-run entities, like paying staff better, providing benefits, and profit sharing, etc.
