Nat Davauer doesn’t come off as a “typical” bar owner. A commercial photographer by trade, Davauer says he never even spent much time in bars. But in a dozen years, he’s created two Draft & Vessel beer bars, a cocktail-focused spot called Pomeroy, and most recently opened the first new business at the city-owned Vel R. Phillips Plaza across from the Baird Center Downtown. Draft & Co. definitely has the D&V genes – a rustic aesthetic highlighted by abundant reclaimed wood, repurposed objects (many from Davauer’s family dairy farm in Fall River, near Madison), and plenty of Edison bulbs. It’s also the first of his ventures to serve food. Here he talks about his unconventional journey.
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What was your impetus for opening the first Draft & Vessel in 2014?
I owned the building [in Shorewood] with the goal of making [it] a photography studio. [Draft & Vessel] probably wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t have my third kid at that time. I spent a lot of time sitting in the dark, putting babies to bed. I thought a bar would be cool, and 300 nights later, I had a good idea what this bar would look like. I was casually getting into beer at the time and I thought, “That’s more like it, let’s make it a craft beer place.”
How did you build a bar brand?
I went to UW-Madison and never set foot in a bar or drank. My ignorance of what a bar is meant that the idea that came out of me didn’t look like a normal bar. I had no frame of reference. I stumbled onto the idea that people like alternative experiences from what a typical bar is. A lot of this isn’t high-end design. It’s DIY, found objects.
Your newest spot is Downtown, a different area for you. What brought you there?
The city had a building but no operator. I turned them down initially because I didn’t want to rent Downtown. But the city kicked in a lot to build out the space, and the rent was a good deal. [While considering it,] I sat on a Downtown park bench for a few weeks to watch and decide if there were enough people around. It was really busy, with the 3rd St. Market Hall, the Hilton, the Baird Center and Fiserv Forum. It went from “no thanks” to “absolutely.”
The smash burgers at Draft & Co. have earned quite a following. Did the building dictate what you could do?
We knew if we were adding a kitchen that we couldn’t blow up our concept. It had to be a small menu, very straightforward, and had to go with beer. We didn’t want to do $35 James Beard tapas [but instead] something anybody could understand, whether it’s a Downtown worker or a tourist.
Smash Mouth
The smashburger at Draft & Co. has the requisites – the flattened beef patty with lacy, crusty edges that spill out of its squishy, pillow-soft bun. It comes in various guises (“fancy” has sautéed mushrooms and truffle mayo). But for me, the simple Draft smash ($9) – gummy melted American cheese; slick, sweet caramelized onions; tangy, creamy Draft sauce – achieves critical mass. Smashburgers are inherently messy, but you don’t want them to disintegrate when you pick them up! (This one doesn’t.) One thing bothered me: the heavy-handed salting both on the burger and the fries ($4/$8). Medium-thick with a light, nicely crisp coating, the fries were texturally great. I can’t help but wonder how amazing this all might have been if they’d just dialed back the salt.
