He and the owner, Todd Hyatt, were drinking buddies. I have no idea how they met. Todd would have Don come out to officiate new years eve for a bit. People always assumed Don owned the place and they didn't deny it when it came up. I was talking to one of my friends today that I met working there about Don's passing. He said his first week he came in and was told there was no food that day and probably not for the next few days because the kitchen was fucked. Turned out that Todd and Don had scored a bottle of absinthe the night before and they tried cooking. They set off the chemical retardant and covered the kitchen in powder which needed to be professionally cleaned.