I hadn't thought of the Embassy Supper Club in years, and when I Googled it, this was the only hit.
I worked at the Embassy as a bus boy for a year or so during my freshman year of college (1976-7). It was a classy place and home to quite a collection of characters - a fairly dysfunctional family, but family nonetheless. Sam(my) Pedro was the owner, Mike (his son) was the m'aitre d' (as suggested by someone else). Sammy was gruff and kind of intimidating (think Peter Falk doing Marlon Brando doing Don Corleone) but I liked him; Mike seemed like he was trying hard to be the swinging playboy, but he came off as kind of uptight and stuck on himself (especially with regards to the ladies); I think he had a lot of pressure to live up to with his dad. I think the bartender's name was Mike, too. Like Mike Pedro, he was also young and dark-haired with a mustache, but was very nice and much easier going.
Jacques Tisserand was the head waiter and oversaw the bus boys. Jacques was (as you might guess) a Frenchman with an eye for the ladies as well, but his approach seemed more funny than obnoxious (easy for me to say - I wasn't one of the waitresses - it was all pretty un-P.C. by today's standards). Since I was a hard worker (which was rare among the menial staff), Jacques sort of took me under his wing and we eventually got along very well - he probably became something of a father figure to me. He was all B.S. and no B.S. at the same time, and charmed his way into many a big tip (and many a woman's panties, according to him).
Oscar was an older black gentleman and the head cook. He had to be nearing or past normal retirement age and the days spent in food preparation and late nights cooking seemed to take their toll on him. He was the guy responsible for the lobster, prime rib, Oysters Rockefeller, filet mignon, etc. being as good as they were. He had several assistants, but he was the money guy. I remember finding him interesting and trying to get to know him better, but I'm sure I was just another annoying white kid who was working this job for beer and gas money.
The waitresses were an interesting collection of women who sort of embodied every upscale waitress stereotype you could dream up (names witheld to protect the innocent, or because I don't remember) - a sweet 30-ish woman who, in an unguarded moment, admitted to me her unhappiness in her marriage (which only deepened my unrequited crush on her); a hot 20-ish party animal who mercilessly teased the bus boys and went at life with reckless abandon (to the chagrin of the more proper waitresses); a middle-aged long-timer who seemed perpetually intimidated and irritated by the young attractive waitresses around her; etc. (no budding actresses, but this was Louisville, not New York).
The bus boys and dishwashers were an odd array of druggies, under-achievers, and other residents of the Island of Misfit Toys (I fit in at the time more than I'd care to admit ). These included at least two dishwashers: "Boone" (I think) and a crippled guy who nearly wrecked my car after a night of heavy drinking; as well as a pair of perpetually red-eyed brothers, Robert and Rex (Rex and I were in a band together and I think he got me the job). The running joke was that they also turned Mike P. on, and he went running around exlaiming that "I can't wipe this smile off my face!"
I was too young and naive (not to mention poor and unsophisticated) to appreciate the food, but I remember it being expensive and first rate. We were well-fed (and well-hydrated, sneaking unfinished glasses of wine and cocktails off the bus trays at every turn - did I mention we were idiots?).
The restaurant really flourished during Derby Week, and the list of celebrities who came through in my year or so there included Phyllis Diller (fascinating to look at, in a train wreck kind of way, but warm and with the most fun and contagious laugh I've ever heard), Leslie Neilsen (before his career rebounded), Robert Goulet (easy on the hair color there, Bob), and Stan Musial. Paul Hornung was a regular, too, and although he's from Louisville, it was special for me since I grew up on the Green Bay Packers of his era.
Sorry for the ramble, but I hadn't thought of a lot of these people for many years until I started typing this, and once I started, I couldn't stop. It's kind of amazing that I survived and became sort of respectable; I hope the others did well - I've never kept up with them and would love to know what became of anyone else that worked there (apologies in advance if I offended anyone/everyone).
- rl
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