Last Call

With many of his earliest memories centered around the enjoyment of good food and strong drink, John Bordach’s successful 30-year career in the hospitality industry was in some ways preordained. Whether waiting tables in high-end establishments, managing one of the first sushi restaurants in the region, or cooking for large crowds, the creation, presentation, and pleasure of a fine meal enhanced with the
perfect liquid accompaniment was Bordach’s greatest ambition. It was also almost his death.

Relating tales both comic and tragic, Bordach takes us through his journey of alcohol addiction with a self-deprecating humor that belies the poignancy of his story. Coming of age during the 1970s in Detroit’s downriver suburbs, yet deeply influenced by the woods and waters of northern Michigan, Bordach spans a wide-ranging landscape of love, friendship and work colored with the emotional despair and physical destruction of addiction.

Both a cautionary tale and a hopeful ode to recovery, “Last Call” reminds us that addiction can happen to anyone. When the ingredients in an addict’s ‘bowl of life’—outer-directed blame, indifference, denial, and guilt— combine to create a toxic meal, only new ingredients—inner reflection, faith, and hard work -can provide the nourishment for recovery.