Our Story
“Craft Bartending is literally bartending about bartending.”
Award winning Bartender/Owner Jeremy Johnson started Meta with that clear concept -about as Meta as you can get in the drinks industry. He has led his team for a decade, encouraging creativity and education but also making sure the guest is treated to the experience they desire. A true student of his craft, but never one to take things too seriously, Johnson has employed a simple ethos- “Be ready to teach, but don’t be a dick! I love to wax poetic about the classics if that’s what’s desired, but if someone wants a rum and diet, a top shelf bourbon and coke, or an LIT, why drink shame? This is a bar, it’s supposed to be fun!”
It’s exactly this aversion to exclusivity that led to Johnson’s most infamous creation- the Pappy Van Winkle Jello Shot. A stunt born of genuine frustration that got Jeremy and his family death threats, but also launched the bar into the national spotlight with stories in Esquire, Food & Wine, Imbibe, the Today Show, Playboy and many many more; ultimately leading to multiple appearances on the Criminal Podcast (with Phoebe Judge), as well as a genuinely fun segment on the bourbon documentary NEAT with friend and Old Forrester alum Jackie Zycan.
This attitude of inclusivity has been a constant for Meta, and passed on to the staff who has overwhelmingly been long-standing, loyal, and equally acclaimed. The helm was shared with original bar manager Amy Fisher, who not only shined behind the bar, contributing many of the bar’s personal classics, but who created a truly intensive but fun training program which is still used to this day. After seven years and a global pandemic, Amy passed the torch to current bar manager Nataleigh Kabler who has continued the best of Fisher’s traditions while also contributing an updated culture all her own.
The significance of celebrating a tenth anniversary is not lost on Johnson or his team. As they move into a second decade with a brand new event space, a newly refreshed wine and spirits shop, and beautiful new interior spaces such as the Tiger Room and a delightful outdoor courtyard, Meta is ready for another ten.