Restaurant award winners discuss prominent drug use within the business

Scott Magnuson and his wife Shaaren Pine co-own The Argonaut tavern, which has been recognized as one of the city’s best bars in Washingtonian magazine and twice finishing runner-up in the Washington City Paper’s ‘Most Family Friendly Restaurant award, but it’s surprising that one of the best bars in the nation’s capital is run by a recovering alcoholic and drug addict.

In their new memoir, ‘Torn Together, that the couple has co-written-Magnuson and Pine describe the bumpy road that led to Magnuson’s recovery after battling addiction since he was 14 years old. Their two perspectives join together to form a very real and intense testimony of struggle to save both their family and their business. Now that Magnuson and his family are in recovery, he and Pine have mounted a double-pronged attack in the battle against addiction. They are trying to bring attention to restaurant culture’s permissive attitude with regard to drug and alcohol use in the workplace. In addition to changing the culture within their own restaurant, Magnuson and Pine have also created a nonprofit called Restaurant Recovery that seeks to assist restaurant employees who would like help in finding and paying for reputable drug and alcohol treatment programs.

by Andrea Gonzalez

posted 05/19/15