An FND native fills your stomach with beer, employee pockets with cash

If you want employees to support an effort, give them a stake in its success -- something more tangible than "pride", but not so grand as an "Associate" tag (you can't just have them price-rollback whatever's in their treacherous little hearts). Giving its staff the best kind of motivation, The Draft House.

Retrofitting a former Shuck-N-Jive with an earth-tones-on-black color scheme, flat screens, video games, and glug-encouraging board games, Draft's a pretense-bereft neighborhood gastropub opened by a raised-nearby ex-Pappacito's/Sneaky Pete's manager; to stoke great service and new-customer acquisition, he's handing 2% of the daily gross to the staff, plus a $2.5K-per-semester scholarship to one worthy employee, ideally one who's actually in school. The menu's conceived by a self-taught ex-corporate chef, starting with apps like Pub Cheese Toast (Beemster/serrano ham/pickled peppercinis on grilled baguettes) and Spicy Sausage Dip (Jimmy's Hot Italian & roasted peppers in melted cream cheese), as well as sandwiches like the griddled pulled pork/Swiss/brown mustard "French Toast Cubano" and the Ital-sausage-spiked, provolone/pepper/spicy mayo "Meatloaf Hoagie", a.k.a., the "Fat out of Hell". Mains include pretzel-bun beer brats like jalapeno/cheddar & avocado/salsa verde, an Andouille-Angus half-pound burger, pan-seared filet mignon w/ seasoned potato strings, and flatbreads like the sausage, sopressata, pancetta bacon, mozz & parm reggiano "Italian Stallion", so named because to stay in shape after eating it, you will have to take steroids.

Specialty cocktails are in the works (including a Maker's-vanilla milkshake), but the bar's anchored by a tin-backed 35-spigot bank of taps ranging from Drop Top Amber to Breckenridge Agave Wheat, plus 30 bottles spanning Dogfish 90min to Turkish Efes. Every few weeks, 10-15 taps'll rotate depending on in-house and customer preference -- though if you really listened to what was in their treacherous little hearts, motivation would demand all beers be accompanied by a steak.