Ex-pat bars draw Americans for feel of home

By ASHA ANDERSON
School of Communication
University of Miami

PRAGUE--- They came. They saw. They stayed and opened restaurant-bars.

Lori Breitmeyer and Max Munson are United Stated ex-patriots who have each opened long-established, American-themed hang-outs in Prague’s Old Town district.

The bar at Red, Hot & Blues is small, but offers a selection of drinks (Photo by Jennifer Boehm).

Breitmeyer’s and Munson’s businesses, Red, Hot & Blues and Jama’s, respectively, have both been fixtures for American tourists and ex-patriots living in Prague for more than 10 years.

Breitmeyer came to Prague in 1992 with the intention of opening a bed and breakfast, only to find a space that was better suited for a restaurant.

According to Breitmeyer, one of her Georgetown University buddies helped her in designing a New Orleans feel for her new place.

The result is what patrons find at Jakubska 12, Prague 1.

On display at Red, Hot & Blues, customers are surrounded by black and white posters of the jazz legends: Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong and others. Sweet jazz and blues tunes are played on the piano and sung every night by local musicians such as Cleanhead Phil, Jamie Marshall and The Lazy Prep.

Close to closing time, when most patrons have cleared out, it is not uncommon to find ex-patriot regulars sitting at the piano and singing the choruses to popular American television theme songs.

The customers themselves, according to Breitmeyer, inspired Red, Hot & Blues menu.

A cold pilsner is poured for a customer at the Red, Hot & Blues bar (Photo by Jennifer Boehm).

“There was a lot of interest in the place from Americans living here before it opened,” Breitmeyer said, “They all told me that they missed Tex-Mex food the most, so I put it on the menu.”

Red, Hot & Blues menu consists of traditional American dishes such as hamburgers and Mexican dishes such as nachos. Food prices range from 130 kc to 250 kc.

According to Breitmeyer, the restaurant’s biggest business night of the year is Thanksgiving, when they usually serve about 200 traditional turkey dinners to reminiscent ex-patriots and homesick American travelers.

Breitmeyer attributes her business’ success to a balance between friendly American-style service with an Eastern European no-hassle mind set.

“Our customer base is very diverse; we get a lot of Czechs and European tourists as well as Americans.” Breitmeyer said. “Czechs are usually shocked when waiters speak to you. I wanted to break down the reserve of the European customer while not offending them.”

The entrance sign says it all: Spicy food and music (Photo by Jennifer Boehm).

To accomplish this, Breitmeyer said that she had to train her Czech staff to not rush customers into leaving quickly, and to tell her American wait staff not to make frequent table visits.

Munson says that he and Breitmeyer are not competitive with each other, and that he frequently recommends Red, Hot & Blues to friends.

With experience in the hospitality industry and an English degree from Arizona State, Munson opened Jama’s in 1994 with business partner Will Pritts.

Jama’s, which is Czech for “the hollow,” is named after its street address, which is V Jame 7, Praha 1.

In this cave-basement style establishment, the walls and ceilings are littered with posters of popular American rock musicians, past and present, such as Sheryl Crow, the Beastie Boys and Bob Dylan. English-language rock music pours from Jama’s stereo system from open to close.

Jama’s menu boasts items similar in content to Red, Hot & Blues; American and Tex Mex staples including enchiladas and burritos. Prices at Jama’s, however, are slightly less expensive than Breitmeyer’s restaurant, which, according to Munson, is part of the reason that Red, Hot & Blues caters more to a fine dining clientele while his place appeals more to the drinking crowd.

Jama's cozy entrance (Staff photo).

Unlike Red, Hot & Blues, Jama’s caters to mostly male patrons.

Munson’s bar and wait staff is comprised almost entirely of thin females in tight red shirts, which seem to be appealing to American and Czech men alike.

“The bar is usually full of ex-pat guys and Czech woman, but it is very tasteful.” Jonathon Stein, a regular at Jama’s said.

Munson had every intention in creating his bar to appeal to both nationalities.

“I wanted an American style place is very acceptable to Czechs,” Munson said. “I knew that Czechs would be here everyday while tourists would only be here fleetingly. It was important to reach the Czechs for long standing business sustainability.”

To attract both the American and Czech markets, Munson’s strategy was similar to Breitmeyer’s.

“We were the first restaurant in the area besides Red, Hot & Blues that was hiring for friendly, casual service instead of stern, formally trained service,” Munson
said. “But we have a 100 percent Czech staff, with the exception of me.”

Today, Jama’s is a place where Munson says that Czechs can feel comfortable bringing their American friends, a hybrid environment where both sides feel at home.

In addition to food and drinks, Jama’s features two computers with internet access for 1 kc per minute and free wireless internet.

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