As previously mentioned, last Friday Bank of Amerillwide chief Ken Lewis celebrated firing John Thain with half-priced scotch at Sonoma Restaurant in the BAC corporate center. Nothing really scandalous there (besides his terrible tipping) but the event apparently came as a shock to the regulars at Phil's Tavern, who Mr. Lewis has seemingly been running around on. From the mailbag:
The story about Ken Lewis drinking at Sonoma at 6:30 on a Friday was a surprise to those of us in Charlotte because up until recently he could be found at Phil's Tavern, a dive bar next to HQ, several days a week drinking scotch with Steele Alphin.
According to the (young, well endowed) bartenders he would call down (the man himself, not a secretary) at 4 to ask if "his table" was open then would show up at 4:30. These 4:30 drink sessions were a regular occurrence while our stock plummeted from $40 to $5. Sadly this is 100% true. The CEO of the former largest bank in the US spent many a weekday afternoon sipping scotch while his company fell apart. Oh...he also told the bartenders that he dyes his hair. If you want to check if this is true try calling Phils today around 4 and asking if his table is open. I bet they don't sound surprised.
