Setting up an accounting office inside a bar is the kind of simple genius that makes you wonder why we haven’t been doing it all along. At least if the news is bad, it just makes sense to have a bracing drink one desperate gesture away.
Certified public accountant Shane Mason is setting up shop inside Bushwick’s new all-tap cocktail bar Yours Sincerely (41 Wilson Ave.) on select nights, and by special appointment, for the month of February.
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Mason is good friends with Yours Sincerely’s owner, Julian Mohamed, who also owns the matchingly named Dear Bushwick restaurant next door, and they’ve been kicking around the idea of having him work there for three years. It finally came together at Yours Sincerely because “it’s much more accommodating, with comfortable booths where you can really get settled and cozy get some work done.”
The idea appealed to him as an independent accountant, since he doesn’t have office space — and if business can happen in a coffeeshop, why not here? Plus, there are benefits to the bar setting. “It’s more relaxed,” he says. “You don’t feel much of a rush to get in and out of there. You’re already doing what you want to do.”
Mason’s fee is $135 per hour, which should be sufficient time for most filers, though special cases like freelancers and itemized deductions will cost more. That price considerately includes one of the bar’s 17 on-tap cocktails (for the client), and it’s easy enough to keep things rolling when drinks cost $4-$9.
Batching keeps the prices low and the cocktails consistent — bar manager Darren Grenia spent two years honing recipes in his basement, emerging with results like the Chaos Theory (Jamaican Jerk-infused rum, chickory-infused bourbon, molasses, mole bitters) and Transmit the Box (chipotle-infused mezcal, Aperol, agave, chocolate). Housemade sodas, beer, wine and a whiskey round out the drink options.
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Mason does financial planning as well, and calls his sessions a holistic financial meeting. “Even if you have two W2s, you need some advice on how much to withhold,” says Mason. “Almost everyone can use a 15-minute conversation with a tax professional to at least explain the system to them and make recommendations when it comes to retirement.”
And though Mason also gets a drink on the house at the end of his shifts, he won’t turn down an Old Fashioned (made with a date-infused bourbon) from grateful clients.
Shane Mason will be at Yours Sincerely from Feb. 1-29 at 41 Wilson Ave., Bushwick on Sunday (6-10 p.m.), Monday (8-10 p.m.) and Tuesday (8-10 p.m.), or by appointment. His fee starts at $135. To set up an appointment, email shane@shanemasoncpa.com.
