Kitchen Confidential: Tony Avila on Drunk Musicians and Bar Names

By Matthew Bossons, April 9, 2018

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Kitchen Confidential takes a peek behind the curtain at our favorite PRD bars and restaurants and the misadventures that people (like you) get up to when given too much free reign. 

Tony Avila was a longtime Guangzhou expat that formerly worked with The Brew, Hooley’s, the Panyu Tavern and the now-defunct Tomatoes. He is currently bumming around Thailand.

On outrageous bar behavior...
“I once saw a group of 20 local men with weapons arrive at a Panyu bar to fight with another group of roughly 20 men. They had returned to the bar after an earlier scuffle and the two ringleaders were in each other’s faces. Out of nowhere comes the foreign manager and he begins berating them in Cantonese. To this day, I have no idea what he said to them, but he defused the situation and there was no fight.”

On live music...
“One time, we purposely got a drummer completely sloshed before he had to go play a last-minute gig. I didn't see the performance, but from what I heard it was an epic night. At one point, the guy was apparently standing on his drum set.” 

On bar names...
“I often joke that if I owned a bar or restaurant it would be called ‘No Discounts.’ Don't even bother asking.”

Click here for more Kitchen Confidential.

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