Mike Irish of Emmy's Spaghetti Shack, Part 2 (S7E15)

Part 2 picks up right where we left off in Part 1, with Mike's move to The City. It was 2021, around the brief lull in COVID cases before Omicron hit.

Full disclosure: This part of my episode on Mike has way more content about me than most of what I publish here on Storied. I guess you'll just have to deal.

Mike knew he could fall back on bartending here while he figured out his next gig in his new city. He'd taken one of what he calls a "big swing" with his move to New York City when he was 18. Now was time for another big swing, this one in San Francisco.

He worked briefly at a mezcal bar on Valencia and a month at a cocktail bar in Emeryville. Then, fate wanted a word with Mike Irish.

Someone he met at a memorial for a friend grew up with Emmy Kaplan and mentioned the restaurant to Mike, suggesting he try to work there. He started off with one or two shifts a week, mostly filling in. And then Emmy offered Mike more shifts.

This is one of several points in the podcast where I go on and on about myself. I share the story of my own decades-long experiences with Emmy's, but for good reason. It culminates with my first time eating inside since the pandemic, when Erin and I sat at the bar and met Mike.

Back to Mike's story, Emmy had just got her liquor license and needed a bartender who could do that. Mike was the guy.

He became "bar lead" (they couldn't call the role "manager" and have Mike still receive tips) and created the cocktail menu for the place. He left the hiring of bartenders to Emmy, but Mike eventually took over ordering. He says he's always had a mind for the business side of things, something not all bartenders carry with them. That possibly stemmed from Mike's time making movies. He says film production is "the exact same thing" as running a restaurant.

Then we get to the elephant in the room—how Mike ended up owning his boss's restaurant.

Emmy had told Mike that a neighborhood bar near her restaurant might be up for sale, and that he should look into buying it. She brought a broker into Emmy's and he sat at Mike's bar and chatted with him about what Mike thought was that bar for sale. It turned it he was talking about Emmy's Spaghetti Shack being on the market. It was roughly early spring 2024, and by summer, the deal was done. Emmy and Mike kept that broker, but ultimately worked it all out themselves.

He does share the story of how the deal almost fell through. Obviously, it didn't. But you just gotta hear this one. He says most of their agreement is verbal/handshake, which speaks to how cool Emmy is.

I prompt Mike to do something he says he hadn't really done at the time of the recording—reflect on the massive life changes he's been through just in the last five years. He moved across the continent, got engaged (and since married), had his first kid, bought a car, bought a business. That's a lot.

Mike says that, after the first day of operation with him as the owner of Emmy's, it all hit him—how hard it was and was going to be moving forward. He couldn't take a day off or call in sick. After about a week or so of mental anguish, though, it all started to click for him.

And then we get to the part of this episode where my life and Mike's really got intertwined—when I went on Check Please! Bay Area last summer, right around the time that Mike took over Emmy's Spaghetti Shack. In our recording, Mike did something that I don't think anyone who's been on this podcast has done over the eight years we've been around—he turned the mic around and asked me some questions. I was happy to oblige, since he was unaware of how applying to and being on Check Please! works.

This part of the podcast is essential Check Please! Behind the Scenes.

We end the podcast with Mike's take on our theme this season—Keep it local.

We recorded this podcast at Emmy's Spaghetti Shack in April 2025.

Photography by Jeff Hunt