In 1979, two Southampton College graduates, working as bartenders at another Southampton restaurant, heard about a restaurant for sale on Main Street. From behind the bar, the restaurant business looked pretty simple. Fill the cooler with Heineken and white wine, stock the bar with vodka and gin, serve juicy,  delicious burgers, and keep the customers happy. So the two bartenders took the leap and Barrister's became the property of Richard "Digger" McMahon and Michael Ferran. 
   Well okay, so time has changed things quite a bit. The customer has become different, the food world has become a bit more demanding, Southampton has grown and grown and tastes of all kinds have evolved, to the point where nothing seems to remain from the early days. Yet Barrister's has kept it's basic philosphy through the years: The customer comes first, keep the food good and the price reasonable, serve a hefty cocktail and stock the bar with the latest taste in vodka and wine. None of this works, of course, without staff. Barrister's has always been fortunate in this regard. Some of our employees have been with us for 25 years. In the restaurant world, that's amazing, and for Barrister's, that's good. The waitstaff has been comprised of students from colleges and universties all over the world, surfers from Australia, ex-stewardesses from everywhere, struggling artists from Manhattan, visitors from Peru, musicians waiting-for- that-record- deal-to-come-through and local stalwarts from the restaurant scene. The common denominator between all of these disparate people has been their willingness to do the job the "Barrister's Way", with total regard for the customer and professionalism as their goal.