Jay Krymis grew up in a small Michigan farm town where hard work and family were everyday lessons. The value of community was never just an idea for him. It was something he lived. He carried those lessons into every step of his career.
After college at Temple University in Philadelphia and graduate study in Budapest, Krymis entered the hospitality industry with a focus that always circled back to people. His earliest job was a dishwasher at a seafood restaurant near Philadelphia. That position was small on the surface, but it was big in shaping how he saw the world. The staff treated him like family. Customers came together in joy and comfort. He understood right then that restaurants and bars could be much more than businesses. They could be places of belonging.
Krymis spent years working in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Delaware before heading west. Los Angeles quickly became the center of his hospitality career there. He opened up a string of several venues, each with its own character and style, but all with a purpose that tied them all together.
He opened 66 Restaurant and Bar on Sunset Boulevard. He opened Fubar, the landmark bar in West Hollywood that became a hub for many in the LGBTQ community. Ambitious projects led to Padre in Long Beach, various locations of Mezcalero, Schmitty's in WeHo, and Mic's Bar, which he named after his beloved wife and partner, Michel Verdi.
What really connected these places was not merely what they looked like or the drinks that they served. The things they all had in common was community. For Krymis, the neighborhood bar is not about what is cool or new. It is about what is honest. He does not prescribe to the notion that the neighborhood bar needs to be concerned with fancy drinks or curated environments. His purpose has always been to revive the role of the bar as a community living room. A space for celebration, for mourning, for laughter, and for connection.
Krymis’ work has not gone unnoticed. He has been honored by the City of West Hollywood, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, and even the California Senate for contributions to economic and community development. These awards reflect what his businesses mean beyond their walls. His establishments sponsor local teams, hold space for people to gather, and create opportunities for both patrons and employees.
His leadership style has shifted with time. Early in his career, he believed he needed to carry the weight alone. Now, he leans on his teams, hiring people who bring strengths different from his own. He learned during the pandemic that he could not fully step away from hospitality, but he could build strong teams who share the vision. He sees his role as guiding, mentoring, and reminding everyone that hospitality is about entertaining and caring for guests.
Hospitality is one side of Krymis’ professional life. Acting and storytelling form the other. He has been a working actor for years, not as a hobby but as a serious pursuit. He earned a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the cast of “Traffic” and has appeared in films such as “Prepare To Die,” “Jim Bridger,” “Tall Tales of the Wild West,” “Gladiators,” and “Christmas Eve.” His performances have won him several Best Supporting Actor awards.
Jay Krymis also ventured into production. He and his wife Michel sold an eight-episode television show called In the Big House to Viacom. He has produced films, blending his interest in storytelling with the discipline he developed as an entrepreneur. Most recently, he booked a nationwide commercial campaign, balancing the demands of acting with running multiple businesses.
Krymis observes a direct connection between hospitality and acting. Both necessitate entertaining, both demand attentiveness to the emotional state of people, and both regard peoples' experiences. Behind a bar or in front of a camera, Krymis' focus is the same. He wants to make sure people leave feeling an emotional impact, captivated, and, above all, cared for.
Krymis often tells his team that the objective is not merely serving drinks or delivering food - it is the job of entertaining. Guests don't come back to a restaurant or bar because of the light fixtures or how the artwork is arranged. Guests return because they felt seen. They come back because the bar is full of people who care about other people.
Partnership is fundamental to much of his work. Michel Verdi, who is also his wife, is both his partner and his muse. They own two bars together and Booked Talent, an extras casting agency. Their business arrangement works because they have similar values. Much of the way they have created their environments together has been due to Michel’s openhearted demeanor with people.
Mic’s Bar, named after her, demonstrates that influence. It is built to be accessible, friendly, and real. You will not find the contrivance you see with many of the newer bar designs you come across. Instead, it captures the essence of a neighborhood bar—that is, affordable, inviting, and invested in the surrounding community.
Krymis is in his mid-fifties and has a different understanding of success than what represented in his twenties. It is no longer about just expansion. It is about doing something he loves, while contributing to others.
He has decreased the volume of some aspects of his life to develop a more clarity about what is important. To him, success is about balance. It is about earning a living in a field that matters to him, while still having time for creative work, and helping out in his community.
When asked about legacy, he speaks less about profit and more about people. He wants his businesses to remain pillars in their communities for years to come. He hopes to be remembered as someone who put others before himself, whether employees, patrons, friends, or family.
This outlook has been steady from the first day he opened his first bar. That first opening confirmed for him that he was exactly where he was meant to be. The feeling of watching people gather in a safe and joyful space left no doubt. This was the work he was built for.
Krymis identifies two communities as the most important influences of his style. The first, his small hometown in Michigan, instilled in him the values of discipline, humility, and the importance of family. The second is West Hollywood, where he launched his first bar. The tension between competitiveness with fellow bars, and the love the community had for its institutions, helped define his business approach. People and institutions became sources of both challenge and encouragement. His work, growth, and life in general has been made possible due in large part to the LGBTQ community.
Krymis's future lies in hospitality as well as film. He is committed to making Mic's Bar a sustainable neighborhood center. And he is getting ready to start a three-picture deal in film. It is not easy to balance the two, but that is what fuels him each day. He loves the diversity and the ability to reach people differently.
The story of Jay Krymis is not about a single career. It is about weaving together multiple paths that all circle back to community and storytelling. From his days as a dishwasher to his current work running bars and acting on screen, his focus has always been on people.
Whether he is creating a safe neighborhood bar, standing on a film set, or mentoring a team, the center remains the same. People need connection. They need to be entertained, supported, and part of something bigger than themselves. That belief has carried him through four decades in hospitality and into new chapters in entertainment.
Jay Krymis is still establishing his work by how it serves others. His businesses, acting, and production projects all have that common thread. He is creating spaces where community flourishes and stories are shared. Moving forward to additional work, his focus remains consistent. He does not measure success with dollar signs or profit margins. He measures it through the lives impacted on the journey.
