ALICE COOPER: Shock Rock, Comfort Food

Bryan Reesman of the Attention Deficit Delirium recently conducted an interview with legendary rocker Alice Cooper about Alice's restaurant, Cooperstown. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

Attention Deficit Delirium: So Cooperstown has a fun atmosphere?

Cooper: Oh yeah. I designed the restaurant to be rock 'n' roll and sports because I realized that those are the two things that everybody can agree on. Those are the two things that you can't go wrong on. So you'll have a bass from THE WHO and a bat from Al Kaline. You'll have Johnny Miller golf clubs and a drumhead from THE ROLLING STONES. Most of our clientele is either going to be going to a Phoenix Suns game or a Diamondback game because we're right there [by both stadiums]. You have to walk right by our restaurant. So I said barbecue. Everybody loves barbecue. I said let's get big fans just to blow the smell of barbecue out there. If I had a choice between going to the stadium and having a hotdog for eight dollars or going into Cooperstown and feeding my family for fifteen, I think I might do that. One time [celebrity chef] Anthony Bourdain came in, and he wanted to try the two-foot hot dogs. We have a two-foot hot dog called The Big Unit, named after one of my co-owners, Randy Johnson the baseball player, who they call The Big Unit because he's about six-foot-eight. So we couldn't resist calling the hot dog The Big Unit, and anytime anybody orders it, sirens go off.

Attention Deficit Delirium: You are many things — rocker, golfer, radio host. Why a restaurateur?

Cooper: My manager Shep Gordon is a foodie. He used to manage Roger Verge and Wolfgang Puck, and he made these guys into international stars. He looked around and said, "How come everybody is treating you guys like you're the help? You guys should be rock stars." So he organized them. The reason why these guys are now getting $100,000 every time they go out is because Shep put them in that situation. So he's the foodie. Somebody came to us and said, "What do you think about a sports restaurant downtown?" And I said, "If you say Alice's Restaurant, I'll hit you with a five iron." They said, "No, Cooperstown." I thought that was actually clever. I said as long as it's a place that's family oriented where you don't have to worry about a wet t-shirt contest — you can bring your kids, and they can have their birthday parties there — and I don't want everything deep-fried. I want the food to be something people like and will come back for.

Attention Deficit Delirium: There are other rockers who have embarked on food ventures. Geoff Tate (QUEENSRŸCHE) and Maynard Keenan (TOOL) make wine. Sammy Hagar (CHICKENFOOT, ex-VAN HALEN) has his tequila and Michael Anthony (CHICKENFOOT, ex-VAN HALEN) and Joe Perry (AEROSMITH) have hot sauces. Why do you think rock stars who have been in the business for 30 or 40 years are delving into these kinds of undertakings?

Cooper: We obviously understand that our name is worth something. I think all of us have our favorite places to eat. One of the things that I liked about this was that the [Cooperstown] building is 100 years old. It's brick and kind of looks like the Chicago Cubs stadium. I didn't want to lose all the old brick and everything, so we kept that. It has a really warm feeling. When you walk in you feel like it's really homey. I want it to feel like it's been here for a long time. I don't want it to look like a new restaurant. That was part of the trick, to make people feel like they get there and feel like they belong. And then the fact that I'm there [once in awhile].

Read the entire interview at Attention Deficit Delirium.