Grey’s Anatomy season 14: Where is Joe the Bartender? Show boss explains

Where is Joe the Bartender on Grey’s Anatomy? If you’re a longtime fan of the show you may have wondered that. The owner of Joe’s Bar was at one point a recurring presence on the show — he appeared in several seasons — and he was a source of comfort and social interaction for the doctors. Basically, he was one of the few people on the show who exists outside of the hospital universe.

Unfortunately, Joe has been gone for many years and it doesn’t appear as though we’re going to see him anytime soon. Speaking to TV Guide, executive producer Krista Vernoff makes it clear that she knows many people wanted to see the character turn up in the 300th episode, even though that ended up not being the case:

“I know everyone had hoped Joe would be an easter egg but… Joe has moved on, the character and the actor … We keep him alive through his namesake bar.”

Steven Bailey is the actor behind the role, and the site reports that it was contract problems that caused the deal to ultimately fall through for him to return:

“They didn’t find enough value in my character to continue … It was amicable. It was just one of those things that, after I did that many episodes, I kind of hoped for a little bit more, and they didn’t want to do that, and there you go. That’s Hollywood.”

There is some proof out there that the exit is indeed amicable, given that Bailey has appeared on multiple episodes of another Shonda Rhimes series in Scandal since his last appearance on Grey’s Anatomy. He’s also graced such other shows as I’m Dying Up Here, Bones, Bunheads, and Scorpion. We’re not sure that he’s as famous for any of these roles as he was with Joe, but that makes sense given that he appeared in more than 30 episodes of the ABC series in this part.

For the time being, just put Joe the Bartender alongside Izzie on the list of one-time familiar faces who, for one reason or another, we probably will not see again.

Remember that Grey’s Anatomy returns in the new year with more new episodes — you can read a little bit more insight on that by heading over to the link here.

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