Dino Tripodis (Credit: Chris Casella)

Greg Morgan (Credit: Megan Leigh Barnard)

There comes a time in the life of any man in America where he must make a serious decision about his home. The structure is solid, the yard is kept and the pipes are leak-free. The only logical improvement left to make at that point is to somehow fit a small drinking establishment under your own roof.

That annoying bouncer who tells you to wrap it up and go home at the local watering hole will be nowhere to be found. You’re already there, my man. (614) pulls up a stool with these three local home slingers to get the inside pour.

Manhattan Bunker

The way Kris Misevski pours a Manhattan, one might think he was about to perform surgery as his hands skillfully pass over a number of bottles of specialty bitters and gleaming cocktail accoutrements. Behind Misevski is the “patron saint of the bar,” booze-soaked writer Charles Bukowski. To garnish the drink, he turns to a jar of specialty-brandied cherries, as opposed to the bright red variety so familiar in public bars, just because “it definitely makes a difference.” Even the ice that Misevski serves in his drinks comes in the form of custom, perfectly square large cubes. He’s a man that loves the cocktail for its romance, and in celebration of that, he’s built his bar around a time when Manhattans were king.

“Back during prohibition, when they were making bathtub gin, they needed to change the flavor of the alcohol and make it drinkable,” explained Misevski. “That was the birth of the cocktail. I use the aromatics in several different things I make. I’ve got a passion for this. I buy books and read them. I really do study this. You go to most bars and they have regular bitters, and that’s it, but I’ve got a pretty decent collection.”

The idea to build a bar in his basement wasn’t even his own. When the house was constructed after WWII, it had a bar installed. The big replacement during the renovation was to replace the previous Formica bar top with a Matisse marble slab for a vintage flair. The bar was apparently a must-have addition for a building that might have been intended to house some thirsty folks for a while.

“It took me a year of remodeling after I moved in,” said Misevski. “It’s a bunker. The floors, the ceilings, the walls – everything was cement. There’s no wood in the whole house. It was built in 1948, so I really think they built [this basement] as a bomb shelter . . . and they put in a bar.”

As an added touch, the presumably elderly previous owner of the house had a powered chair installed to go up and down the steps. Misevski left it in. Hey, you never know when you’re gonna need that feature after a few Manhattans.

Golden Memories

Radio personality Dino Tripodis, of Sunny in the Morning with Dino and Stacy on Sunny 95, is a man with a big personality and a love for libations. His affinity for drinking culture and the social aspect of bars has moved him to construct several around his house in Clintonville, ranging from an outdoor watering hole, referred to as “The Pond,” to a small bar in his writing room. For Tripodis, the actual drinking is secondary to the social enjoyment that surrounds the hobby.

“I don’t drink every day,” clarified Tripodis. “People think because I have bars everywhere that I do. That would be ridiculous and unhealthy. I don’t drink compulsively, I drink consistently – there’s a difference.”

Due to the sheer level of fun he’s arranged around his home, it becomes a frequent hangout for his friends. It’s an aesthetic he has appreciated since his days as a whippersnapper, when he often joined his Grandpa down at the tavern.

“Mainly, it’s the social aspect of it; good friends, laughs and good times. I don’t remember ever not being in a bar – I mean, when I would go into town with my grandfather, we’d go in a bar, and I’d sit there while he drank his forbidden whiskey. They’d make me up a little Cherry Coke or something, and he’d be sitting there talking with his friends, laughing and smoking. It was always very social and friendly and attached to good times.”

His basement bar, located in a media room with more DVDs than an old Blockbuster, features an extensive Rat Pack memorabilia collection and a side room done up speakeasy style, where he hosts a weekly poker game. The bar in the dining room is an early ’60s number, with a tower of booze featuring his favorite, Jack Daniels. “The Pond” outside is actually built on top of a defunct koi pond. On the bar top is a vintage parking meter, and when the change runs out, “it’s time to go.” All in all, the diverse collection pays a fitting homage to the golden era of drinking.

Year-Round Tiki

Greg Morgan had watched with envious eyes as his neighbor enjoyed the hell out a tiki bar in his yard. Then one week while he was away on vacation, his wife Erica, in a move that solidly plants her in the “Wife of the Year” running, took it upon herself to have the framework built for Morgan’s own tiki bar. Gold star, Erica. When the Morgans returned home, it was to their own hallowed tiki ground, which has since become his favorite hangout. What started out as more-or-less a tool shed has gradually been adorned with bits and pieces of island memorabilia, including sand from Caribbean beaches, shells embedded in the bar top and artwork celebrating the tiki theme.

“Most everything in here is from somebody else,” explained Morgan. “People will find things on vacation or around and think it would look nice in the tiki and just drop it off. They call ours the formal tiki bar. We live out here. After working in a hot shop all day, it’s like being on vacation – but in your backyard.”

In addition to looking cool, the bar is exquisitely functional, which you’d expect from the brainchild of an auto mechanic. It’s got a self-contained hot and cold water system that runs to a sink and full electric to run the ceiling fan. But, of course, an avid sports fan can’t stop there – it would be unthinkable – thus, there’s a plasma screen television piping HD cable through a 1,000-watt surround sound system. On special occasions, the outside of the bar is utilized as a projector screen, and if you think all this is a hell of a lot of work to put into a bar that can only be used for three or four months a year, think again, because Morgan’s got that covered.

“In the winter, I put carpet down. I’ve already insulated the roof, and a shade covers this opening. It’s heated. I can get it up to 80 degrees out here in the winter. This is now a four-seasons room.”