Denim & Diamonds in good times
People miss Dennis Hess. That’s something that ought not get lost in all the drama and litigation detailed in this week’s feature.
Last summer, Tiffany and David Cox and Deann Leddick were among the assorted friends who shared their memories of Hess and the good times they had at Denim & Diamonds with The Pitch.
Tiffany and David Cox met at Denim & Diamonds when David was a manager there. Tiffany had been a regular long before she was of legal age to drink, and
remembers how, on her 21st birthday, Hess put her in the nightclub’s “jail” and made her drink a
bottle of Sex on the Beach mix as mock-punishment.
The Coxes celebrated their wedding and every anniversary at Hess’ bar. This year marked their 11th anniversary — the first time they celebrated elsewhere.
The phrase “Got a minute?” was so closely associated with Hess that mourners had it printed on T-shirts to wear at Hess’ memorial. David Cox explains, “If you were a guy, it could be, ‘Got a minute? Look at that girl’s ass.’ Or if you worked for Dennis and you got, ‘Got a minute?’ it could be your ass.”
Leddick breaks in, laughing. “That doesn’t mean he hadn’t just said, ‘Got a minute?’ to 10 other people about the exact same thing. He’d tell me some gossip and say, ‘Don’t tell anyone,’ and 10 minutes later I’d hear him telling the exact same story to someone else.”
David Cox continues, “The thing is, with Dennis, he always made you feel important. When he was talking to you, he was focusing on what you were saying. Even if it was just crap. … He’d talk to a rich person the same way he talked to a poor person, an ugly person the same as a good-looking person. He’d go up to the ugliest woman and say, ‘Hello, gorgeous, you looking for a man? Because you look good tonight.’ He liked to make everyone feel better about themselves, no matter what was going on in their lives.”
Craig Wolfe, another former Denim & Diamonds manager, says, “Dennis is Denim & Diamonds. I mean, he built it. He made everybody feel like they belonged there.”
