Despite airing 201 episodes over nine seasons, The Office still managed to leave us with questions at its conclusion. Who was the Scranton strangler? What did Jim’s note to Pam actually say? But the biggest question of all might be how on earth did Kevin manage to own his own seemingly successful bar after getting fired from Dunder Mifflin?

While we may never get the answers to those first two (although the internet has some fascinating theories about the strangler), we do officially have an answer to Kevin’s improbable bar patronage thanks to Brian Baumgartener, the actor who played everyone’s favorite terrible accountant.

During an interview on Pardon My Take, Baumgartener addressed the confusion, saying that there was actually a storyline that was filmed that would have explained how a guy who struggled to answer phones and carry chili was able to afford and then competently run a bar.

“The idea is that once the documentary airs, Kevin Malone becomes a fan favorite,” Baumgartener explained.

So how does that get him a bar? Well, Kevin uses his newfound fame to never have to pay for a drink again and at one bar in particular, he “accumulated such a credit at that bar from people buying him drinks that he uses that as leverage to own the bar.”

It’s a pretty brilliant strategy that supports the popular online theory that Kevin may be a lot smarter than he lets on. But if that storyline was shot, how come none of us know about it? Because it was one of several plots that was eventually cut due to time constraints.

But at least now the next time you are rewatching The Office for the thousandth time, you can take some comfort in understanding exactly how Kevin became one of Scranton’s most distinguished entrepreneurs.