Johnny Althoff
Age: 54
Hometown: Aurora, Indiana
Profession: Bartender
Bar of Choice: Nosh
Drink of Choice: Sailor Jerry’s and Coke
Constructed in the late 1920s, the building at the northeast corner of Portland’s Congress and Oak streets still stands out for its gorgeous Art Deco design. Formerly a movie theater (where a young John Ford ushered), a diner, and a funky gift shop over the decades, its shotgun-straight and narrow ground floor was renovated in 2004 into a cocktail bar called The White Heart, which restored its beautifully detailed, curved white plaster ceiling and added the long, sleek concrete bar still there today.
The original owners of Nosh Kitchen Bar took over in 2010, and new owners have been running what you could call Nosh 2.0 since 2022. They had big shoes to fill, trying to run a popular bar with a reputation for over-the-top burgers (e.g., two donuts as buns!) and a strong cult following while forging their own identity. They still have great burgers and pony-sized draft pours, but nowadays the buzz is about their South Shore–style pizzas.
The new Nosh is still affordable, chill and reliable (kitchen’s open until midnight, nightly), which keeps Portland’s most unassuming white-bearded bartender, Johnny Althoff, coming back. Granted, the place is familiar to him because he built and operated The White Heart back in the day, but Johnny also just likes the food and the people.
Why did you become a regular at Nosh?
A lot of things, but I think [bartenders] Liz and Olivia and Dajana are a part of that. Also, [Nosh co-owner] K-Dog — I mean, Kevin [Doyle]. I’ve always loved this place for a lot of reasons. I used to hang out with Liz’s dad here [the poet Jay Davis] when I owned the space.
Can you tell us more about that?
Yes, it was called The White Heart. We opened it in 2005. It was a bar, restaurant, cocaine palace. I built the whole thing, but only ran it for about six months. Everything was good, and we had some investors lined up — including my in-laws at the time, who decided to invest, and they ended up fucking us in the end.
How did it feel coming back? Did it bring back bad memories?
It used to at first, when [original owners] Matty [Moran], Tobey [Moulton] and Jay [Jason Loring] had it. I first moved back to town in 2012. I was like, Fuck that place. Then I started hanging out and got to know those guys. So, then I became really comfortable again, because I spent so much time in the space during the entire construction.
How did you end up in Maine initially?
I got offered an eight-week-long temporary job as a teaching assistant in Rockport at the International Film and Television Workshops. I went to school for illustration and painting at Ball State in Indiana, but I was always way into film, so the translation of oils and pen-and-ink translated straight to light, and that was always my medium of choice. I ended up working as a grip. There’s a difference between a grip, an electrician, a gaffer, and a key grip. I was mostly a dolly grip that made things move with rigs, car rigs, trains — that kind of stuff.
Did you work on any notable projects?
Yeah, I did some really cool ones. Session 9 was a really cool movie that nobody cares about. Any time that camera moves, that was me, except for on the roof, because I said, “Fuck that, I’m not taking the fucking dolly up there.” We were Oscar-nominated in 2001 for a film we did called In the Bedroom, directed by Todd Field up in the Midcoast here. It was really intense. I can’t watch it.
Where were you based out of when working on films?
Mostly here. I was in the Midcoast for a while and a little bit in Brooklyn. Even when I was in Manhattan, we didn’t do any film work there — maybe some local commercials. But most of the time it didn’t matter where you live — you travel to wherever the fuck’s going on. I stopped because I made a bunch of money and was like, Fuck this, I don’t want to hurt my back anymore. I ended up putting my money into buying this location right here.
You also toured as a musician during this time, correct?
During all this time period, yes. As a freelancer back in the day, I could go on tour and do gigs. I played guitar in a band called Conifer. It was post-metal, post-hardcore, or if you go in reverse, math-rock nerds that got heavy. I grew up listening to thrash metal, but the guys I was playing with were younger than me and were more into the ’90s math rock kind of thing.
Where did you get to travel while on tour?
We didn’t leave the country, because our other guitar player didn’t want to lose his dishwashing job. So we didn’t go to Europe, even though we were offered it. We went all over the country. We never played in Florida, but we played the other forty-eight contiguous states, more than once.
How did you go from owning this space to bartending?
I had to sell Volkswagens and BMWs and stuff in between for a minute. Then I started working as a rep selling whiskey and wine. I had a stint out west after my mom got ill, so I was in Arizona for a little bit. I was like, Fuck it, I’m never coming back to Portland, but then I got a call from somebody asking me to visit this new project. So I visited for a week and ended up moving back in 2012. The project was LFK. We planned and built the entire bar. I learned carpentry from being a grip in the film and television business; part of your job is to be a jack of all trades.
You’ve worked at a lot of places around town. Do you have any favorites?
When I came back to town, LFK was awesome at first. I started working for Chresten [Sorensen] at Bunker [Brewing] and that was super chill. I also worked at [Mama’s] Crowbar during that time. I got sucked into being the bar manager at Salvage [BBQ] for four years. We used to party really hard back in the day, and it was busy back then. I was a partner in The End. I’ve been around. I’ve seen a lot of places go down over the years. It almost always has to do with cocaine. Stay away from that stuff. I’ve been at DTL [Downtown Lounge] for almost two years now. I love working for Kat [Taylor].
What do you do for fun?
I like to watch football. I love reading science fiction, fantasy books, comic books. Watch bad movies, sleeping, doing nothing, and putting on my headphones and ignoring everyone that fucking bugs the fuck out of me in town all the time. I like to drink, but responsibly.
Know an interesting bar regular? Send them our way at theregularsmaine@gmail.com.
