American Junkie — Restaurant in San Diego

Started training for security at Junkie in early July, left shortly thereafter. Compared to my last few gigs as security, this one was pretty weird. Usually security guards are trained to use verbal commands, and use force only as a last resort. At Junkie, the culture of brutality I witnessed first-hand was absolutely appalling. The security here are trained to quickly escalate to using physical force without warning. One of the strangest quirks was the "K/O Quota", which was an unwritten rule basically saying we had to eject at least one person every hour or so, in order to "set an example of what happens" in the words of the owner. To meet that quota, security here invent excuses to target certain individuals based on race, gender, general appearance, etc. Especially those who come alone without a group. The bouncers boast about their use of force with eachother, make jokes about which people they should kick out next, or people they ejected previous nights. Violence and hostility is a game to them.

The worst I saw was a young woman who was almost too drunk to stand get punched in the head and fall to the floor for "not cooperating". It looked like she was trying her best to comply, but the security got impatient and naturally fell back on their training. The day after I heard the owner on the phone trying to tell her the bouncers don't remember who she was, when that didn't work he said that she was "too drunk", and "uncooperative", and finally tried to tell her that she "probably just fell".

One of the bartenders told me that most of the alcohol here, at least the nice stuff, is actually just cheaper brands (trader joes, jim beam, etc.) which are used to refill the bottles. My second day of training I thought about trying a mixed drink (a whiskey sour) and the bartender basically just told me I shouldn't bother.

Having eaten here for lunch a few times, I would also recommend avoiding the food. We eat in the employee area by the kitchen, so we can see everything that goes on in there. The bathroom sink had been broken for three months when I started so cooks would have to wash using the dishwashing area. Most of them didn't even bother because the water is too hot. As you might expect there were rats, mold, cockroaches, every unspeakable thing you would expect find in a poorly maintained kitchen.

It also seemed like there were things the owner was trying to hide from us, whether it's drugs, etc. I'll never know but there is definitely some shady stuff going on here. Intense conversations would stop when I walked in a room, strange people visiting with management during the day, etc. There was one "broom closet" which was always locked.

All in all, American Junkie is a pretty horrible place. The owner, Mr. Buehler, is a lazy, incompetent, and cruel business owner who consistently demonstrates horrible leadership skills. He is sexist, horribly racist, and homophobic. I would not recommend visiting to anyone,...

DO NOT GO HERE UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR PHONE STOLEN!!!!!!!

I was in town this past weekend,7/20 Saturday I was in Gaslamp for dinner and wanted to dance. something told me not to enter this place. I had to use the bathroom as soon as I walked in, I had to walk through the dance floor to get to the women's restroom. I went in my bag to tip the bathroom attendant and my phone was gone!!! not even there for 5 minutes and I got pick pocketed.

right after I told security, doorman, bartender, manager and all responded "it happens all the time here".

next thing you know several other girls are reporting their phones were also stolen. the staff did Nothing! if you have over a dozen girls miss their phones how about stop the door and security inside start scanning the place! use a flashlight. look to see who is suspicious! there's security at the dance floor which where they pick pocketed me so what is he doing stand there and not notice any of this happening! the amount of people I met that all lost their phone was crazy to me, I met over 12 people and hearing others while walking out they don't have their phone.

the next morning i went to T-Mobile and the worker which was a SD local has said this place is known for it happening and staff is known to be behind it. explains why nobody did anything! I will never go back here again.

from what was a nice trip and a fun night was ruin by this place and their untrained/unprofessional staff and the losers who pick pocket. if this place is known for this happening, why don't cameras get checked. how about a size limit on purses, put some protocols in place!

the manager that night wearing a white polo, he looked Filipino, was rude and nonchalant about what is happening in the establishment.

DO NOT COME HERE!!

this ruined my whole trip and created unnecessary expenses having to get a new phone. went from a great trip and night to be ruined entering this place.

DO NOT COME HERE, NOT WORTH IT PLUS ITS A $20 COVER THEY WOULDNT EVEN REFUND ME FOR AFTER I COMPLAINED,

I paid $40 for me and my friend to walk in, get my phone stolen in 5minutes, and they couldn't even refund! If you're going to gaslamp, go somewhere...

This place Is Unsafe, especially for Women!!!! I truly hope no one else has to go through what my friend and I experienced at American Junkie in San Diego. My friend had her brand-new phone stolen directly from her purse — and she wasn’t the only one. Within the same hour, several other women had their phones, keys, and belongings taken. The bar was crowded, and it was clear that people were being targeted, yet security did absolutely nothing to stop it. We told the staff and security immediately. One of the guards even admitted they had their eyes on a suspect, but still didn’t confront them or take any action. My friend begged for help, and was instead told to “buy a drink and relax”, as if her phone — which had access to her life, her safety, her home — meant nothing. What made the situation even more painful to witness was when a lighter-complexioned woman approached security just a few minutes later with the same exact issue — her belongings were missing. Suddenly, they moved quickly. No questioning, no waiting. They started investigating immediately, treating her concerns with urgency and care. My friend was left waiting for over an hour, feeling completely dismissed, unheard, and unprotected. It was hard not to feel like there was a clear racial bias in how they responded. We both noticed it. The difference in how they treated her and how they treated us was obvious, and heartbreaking. To make matters worse, the manager admitted their cameras don’t even properly record what’s going on inside the bar. So if something serious happens, they have no way to help you and they won’t take responsibility. They barely check IDs, they don’t monitor who’s coming in, and they clearly don’t care about the safety of their guests — especially women of color. I’m sharing this because I don’t want anyone else to go through this. My friend was left without her phone in a vulnerable and unsafe position — all because this bar is more concerned about making money than protecting the people inside. Please don’t go here. There are so many other places in Gaslamp that value safety, accountability, and respect. This is not...