When Mike Harmon relocated to Topeka, he brought his distinctive flair for bartending to The Wheel Barrel. Nine years later, as the sole bartender for Salut’s speakeasy known as The Principal’s Office in Topeka, recently named the best speakeasy in Kansas by Chowhound, we're bringing you an in-depth profile of Mike and get his love letter to Topeka on the record.  

Salut Wine and Cocktail Lounge in Topeka, upstairs the speakeasy underneath it known as The Principal’s Office, offers light meals with thoughtfully-crafted cocktails and mocktails. We think you’ll see what we mean by “thoughtfully-crafted” when you grasp this bartender’s stickler attitude, the inspiration he takes from American History, and his creative approach to developing the flavor profiles of his menus (and their fictional characters).  

These muses and his stubborn sense of authenticity make him a top notch bartender in Topeka.  

Mike started bartending at Coyotes, a country western bar in Lawrence, Kansas, while studying Music Performance at the University of Kansas. Mike started as a bar back at 19 and continued until the age of 21.  

“Once I figured out after about a year and a half or so that I could still party and do all the fun things without actually going to class, I dropped out and did all the fun parts. I was like, why am I paying all this money to do the boring parts when the fun parts are free?” 

He recalls that in the late 90s, there were no cocktails and being “a good bartender” at that time came down to how much flair you had, if you could spin a bottle well, or how colorful you could make your drink. “It took a while for cocktails to kind of start making a resurgence in the Midwest, at least, Milk and Honey at that time was just opening in New York: that, in my opinion, kind of started this whole revolution of the cocktail resurgence.” 

Milk and Honey opened in 1999 in New York City, later opening locations in SoHo and London. Milk and Honey ushered in the modern speakeasy wave and “craft cocktail movement”. In addition to the long list of cocktails created at Milk and Honey, this club operated with a set of club rules.  

At the age of 25, Mike enrolled to study English and History at Washburn University, commuting from Lawrence. Mike praised Washburn University’s faculty and the level of personalized connection they provided to students. As a Washburn University student, Mike bartended and played in local bands.  

“The history side just taught me how to research properly. So, I decided to research the job I was doing, bartending. And I got really deep.” Today, Mike boasts a “library” of books on cocktails from the 1800s and early 1900s. “Just any book that I could possibly find, I have and I've read and I've paid attention to.”  

According to Mike, a common bar in the pre-prohibition era would have been set up with more variety in liqueurs, liquors, and spirits than we have today. Behind Mike’s bar are mason jars and tinctures with homemade ingredients like “onion-infused vodka” and “fermented golden beet juice,” which he uses to make one-of-a-kind cocktails and mocktails.   

“So I'm trying to get back to kind of that and not using any of the things that popped up in the '50s, '60s, '70s of high fructose this and artificial this,” Mike said.  

Unlike original speakeasies, which according to Mike would have served their customers liquids containing formaldehyde and turpentine, his menus don’t include so much as artificial sweetener. “I try to have no ingredient down here that I don't know everything that's in it. Even any infusion that I add, I made that infusion.”  

For Mike’s menus, that’s important for two reasons: being true (within reason) to the art form and control. “I know that there's not going to be some artificial weird thing in this that when I mix it with this artificial weird thing turns into something else that I couldn't imagine.” 

You may know that there are rules presented at the entrance of The Principal’s Office stating things like if you can’t hear the music, you’re speaking too loud and please keep your phone on silent. 

“I didn't want to make the rules. But I had to make the rules. So I want one place in town where there's no TVs, the music is soft, the lighting is low, the idea is to come and relax, have a couple nice cocktails, and just chill.” 

Okay, there are rules at The Principal’s Office and there are rules to good bartending. What are the rules according to Mike? 

“Your main job as a bartender, whether you are at a dive bar or a big music venue or a nice cocktail bar, is to make sure that your clientele is and feels safe and comfortable.”  

“So it's surprising. I focus on classic cocktails, the history of cocktails, pre-prohibition. I don't use anything artificial. People know me for being a very big stickler of doing things the correct way and all this stuff. But when I talk to people about being a good bartender, none of the main things that you need to focus on have anything to do with cocktails, with history, with everything. Like I said, the first thing is keep people safe.”  

“Second thing is, as a bartender, you need to stay calm and collected. By doing that, it's a trickle-down effect of other people feel calm and collected, whether it's the customers, the servers, the kitchen, whatever. Being able to multitask is one of the most important things. But all of these skills that it takes to be a bartender, being able to talk to someone while at the same time making two drinks and taking someone's order, kind of keeping an eye on this creepy guy at the end of the bar, like doing all of these things at the same time while having a happy and calm demeanor, that's bartending.” 

[Author’s note: This, and straight shooter conversation, is why I gravitate to a beverage at Salut. The mindful approach to atmosphere, ingredients, and the personal touch Mike adds to my orders make the libations equally refreshing in flavor and balance.]  

“Once you can manage to master all of these things, then we can start talking about cocktails and all the knowledge that you might want.” Mike admires his contemporaries working in dive bars and breweries “pouring like 4 beers at the same time with a crowd of 40 people around the bar. Like, that's bartending.” 

Mike wants people to know that the biggest misconception about Salut is that it is fine dining, or as a place that people need to dress up or have a reservation for. “And that's not true… When the owners opened this place up, their idea was to have a neighborhood bar. So a place that people in the neighborhood could walk into, people feel comfortable coming in.” Mike emphasizes the chill nature of the spot while recognizing that the food might seem like an uncommon affair, “I mean, our dress code for staff upstairs is blue jeans and a t-shirt.” 

Mike has worked as a consultant for local bars and a source of training to other bartenders in the area, priding himself on successful collaborations with exciting young talent. “Something I am happy with Topeka about … I'm happy seeing it move forward.”  

Mike said one of the reasons he decided to stay in Topeka was in hopes that by teaching more young people and consulting businesses on the art of what he does, the cocktail scene would grow here. “And through making connections with people and people also coming to this same realization on their own [that the Topeka community could sustain craft cocktail lounges] and meeting up and getting together, nine years later, there are a plethora of places where you can get a good cocktail.”  

He remembers his early days working as the bartender for The Wheel Barrel in NOTO Arts and Entertainment District, pushing the envelope with a new “bone marrow drink” that, according to Mike, made people question his grasp of reality. “But it worked and today they're still making great cocktails with Chase and Savannah, they're just doing awesome things.”  

  

But Mike’s pride for the craft cocktails of Topeka doesn’t stop with his protégés. Mike concluded his Love Letter with praise to his contemporaries in the city. “And you go to somewhere like The Tee Box, which is this indoor golfing place. You're like, okay, cool. They're going to have Bud Light and Bush and Jack. And, Phil is there making some of the best cocktails I've ever had. … And then you see what Sarah's doing at The Weather Room. And just all the Thursday Club guys, even though Blake just left, which is sad. I mean, you still have people there that are killing it. Like there's all these places that you can go and get these good cocktails. And that's the closest thing I can think of as a love letter to Topeka.”  

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