CNN
—
When Johnny B. Barounis opened The Auction House in New York’s Upper East Side in 1993, he knew he wanted to deter a certain type of customer in their early 20s — in his words, “those kids that had their flannel shirts tied around their waists, wearing their Villanova hats backwards, walking around in the street with their Amstel Light in their hand.”
He deliberately cultivated an atmosphere at his bar that he felt might intimidate a fresh-out-of-college 20-something: rich velvet drapes, crystal chandeliers, antique furniture. On Fridays and Saturdays, the message was more explicit: Only patrons 25 and up were allowed in…
