You might not have started noticing Ethyl’s at 312 Grand Street until recently, but the relocation of the ’70s-themed dance bar and performance space has been in the works since 2018.

The original Ethyl’s Alcohol opened on the Upper East Side to pay homage to Elaine’s, Max’s Kansas City, The Copa, The Playboy Club, Jilly’s, Cafe Central, Studio 54 and all the other popular disco spots of yesteryear inspired by the 1970s adventures of owners and New York natives Charlie Sub and Brooklyn-born Gerard Renny.

After establishing downtown Ethyl, the team searched for another neighborhood to settle in and eventually landed in Williamsburg (in the space formerly known as Mulholland), which they considered a progression natural given the evolution of their clientele.

“A lot of our clientele was kids who came to visit the Upper East Side, who had friends who lived up there, family who lived there,” Renny explained. “During the pandemic, a lot of people who were regulars in downtown Ethyl moved to Williamsburg.”

And since opening — which, like most businesses, was delayed by Covid — one of the biggest differentiators between Williamsburg and the Upper East Side has been Brooklyn’s sense of community.

“Williamsburg people are a little more artistic. It’s more musicians, artists, performance artists. A lot of your clientele also work in the same industry as us,” explained Renny. “We think Ethyl’s is a perfect fit for the neighborhood. And so we made the changes that we felt we needed to make to create more of a neighborhood vibe, you know, and also to make sure the energy in the room is better.

To make these changes, Renny and the team decided to close at the end of August for a series of renovations, which resulted in more minimalist exterior signage to align with the look of the neighborhood and a freshly designed space with a front bar and a rear bar. designated room for performances by DJs, bands, dancers and more, plus a backyard lounge. Brooklyn’s propensity for community also extends to the menu, which includes signature burgers, the Ethylz Pretzel and jerk chicken wings (to name a few) with genuine produce and ingredients. local like Mike’s Hot Honey and Peter Luger Steak Sauce.

These updates were released to the public on October 13 and since then Ethyl’s has picked up the pace with weekly performances, dance parties and theme nights. Looking ahead, Renny is also planning monthly collaborative events with their neighbor, Southside Guitars, and residencies for local bands.

“We try to keep the community spirit, the neighborhood spirit,” Renny said.

Lately, a lot of people are longing for simpler days. You know, back when the life of our Tamagotchi and the rise of our jeans were our biggest concerns.

An upcoming bar and arcade in downtown San Antonio taps into those nostalgic feelings and promises a totally tubular experience for those looking to turn back the clock.

Be Kind & Rewind, set to open Friday, October 28 at 115 Alamo Plaza, will offer an immersive experience focused on pop culture from the 1980s to 2000s. We’re talking disco balls, neon lights, music videos, murals and arcade games, as well as alcohol and food, of course.

Co-owner Alex Amaro invited the Running on an exclusive downtown drink tour, explaining his vision and what he hopes the experience means for locals.

“I was born and raised [in San Antonio], and I’m so excited to give people something fun, exciting and new to experience downtown,” Amaro said. “I know a lot of people have mixed feelings about coming downtown, but we built this for locals, by locals…”

He added: “We really wanted to create a space where people can mix and fit in, regardless of race or gender… we just want people to come together to have a good time. That’s what ‘it’s about. ”

Be Kind & Rewind was supposed to open this spring, but step inside, and it’s easy to see what’s taken so long. People who frequented the Fuddruckers burger joint, the space’s former tenant, will barely recognize the interior.

Visually, the space is overwhelming. Every corner is designed to offer surprising detail, from a fun mirrored home-style hallway to a larger-than-life Selena Quintanilla mural by local artist Colton Valentine.

Several other Valentine’s Day murals and art installations cover the walls, which surround a dance floor, stage, and expansive booths meant to accommodate large groups.

The club will also feature eight free arcade games and two pinball machines, which can be viewed from behind the glass of a full-sized claw machine game – one of several spots created for photo ops.

“We wanted it to be equal parts dance club and entertainment house. There are all these different elements, and we just want to keep it exciting,” Amaro said. “All the unique touches and surprises, the menus – we hope this takes people back to those decades. Whether you were born into one or just love 80s or 90s iconography, it’s here waiting for you to experience it in a new way.

Amaro, who has spent years working with immersive experience companies like Escape Rooms, used that understanding to build the concept.

In addition to the staggering amount of detail in the decor, Be Kind & Rewind will feature themed parties, karaoke and seasonal pop-ups. Upon opening, the club will host local DJs Chacho and Acid Wash on Fridays from the 80s and Saturdays from the 90s to 2000s. Rebel Yell Karaoke with KJ Magic Mark will take place on Sundays.

Be Kind & Rewind will use the kitchen left behind by the Fuddruckers to offer an assortment of bar food, ranging from a forearm-sized fried mozzarella stick to more conventional offerings like pepperoni pizza and sliders. of cheeseburger.

The full bar will offer a signature cocktail menu, including a libation dubbed Weird Science, which uses dry ice for a theatrical twist.

A smaller bar set back from the dance floor will feature a Miami Vice-inspired aesthetic and an edgy reggaeton playlist. This one will focus on frozen drinks.

Be Kind & Rewind will be open until 2 a.m. daily and the kitchen will serve until midnight. The venue will accommodate all ages until 7 p.m., when it will change to 21+.

Service workers will get a 20% discount at the new bar. Customers can park in nearby garages or on the street near Rivercenter stores and enter from Alamo Plaza or Losoya streets, according to Amaro.

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WRIGLEYVILLE – Lost Never Found is offering a limited version of its menu ahead of the full opening of the Clark Street bar and restaurant later this month.

Lost Never Found, which will open in the space that once housed Casey Morans at 3660 N. Clark St., will bring “another side to Wrigleyville:” velvet-pink cabins, craft cocktails and quality food, owner Kendal said. Killerman. It’s slated to fully open on October 27, but people can stop by now for a smaller menu of what it will eventually offer.

“I wanted to target a more female audience. I’m trying to bring the West Loop to Wrigleyville with an Instagrammable aesthetic concept and craft cocktails,” said Killerman, of Lakeview.

Credit: Provided // Lost Never Found

Inside the bar are disco balls, neon signs, gold flamingos, and a wall of greenery. The interior is completely pink.

The menu features eight specialty cocktails. Its most popular cocktail is “9 to 75,” a purple version of the classic French gin cocktail 75, Killerman said. It is made with Empress gin, lemon juice, champagne and a scoop of lemon sorbet.

Another fan favorite is “Mezcal-Me-Maybe”, a sweet drink made with mezcal and guava.

Credit: Provided // Lost Never Found

The restaurant’s head chef worked at various fine dining restaurants, including Tavern on Rush, 1031 N. Rush St.

The menu includes a range of plates to share, such as fried pickles, truffle, spinach and artichoke dip, garlic prawns and chicken wings, as well as soups, salads, sandwiches and pizza.

“I want locals to know this is a place for them, not just a place for tourists who come to the neighborhood for a baseball game,” Killerman said. “We’re bringing quality food and craft cocktails to the neighborhood, which I think is something that’s lacking right now.”

Lost Never Found is open from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight Friday, 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. After 10:00 p.m., pizza is the only food available.

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Hardwicks Bar is under consideration for construction at downtown Adams and Ocean streets.

Opus Group is the contractor for the estimated $500,000 project to renovate Hardwicks’ space at 100 E. Adams St.

Zinn Architecture is the architect.

“Our hope is to be open by March,” said business owner Elias Hionides.

He and operating partner Tim Hoal envision the corner site as an anchor of a downtown neighborhood and entertainment area that can help entice visitors to stay later in the core urban.

“It’s one of the most important corners of downtown,” Hionides said Sept. 19.

The Downtown Investment Authority’s board approved a $145,784 incentive package on April 20 for a proposed bar and nightclub in vacant retail space in the building.

Steve Kelley, DIA director of real estate and downtown development, said Sept. 12 that authority staff were finalizing the execution of agreements with the property’s landlord and tenant.

Hardwicks Bar will be the first LGBTQIA+ bar to open in Jacksonville in 20 years, according to Hoal and Hionides.

Hionides said April 7 that he and Hoal were “automatically drawn to” the energy of the Mediterranean Revival-style architecture of the building, which Duval County property records show was developed in 1926.

It previously housed the Burro Bar and the London Bridge Pub.

Hionides and Hoal said the main bar was up front and a smaller bar in the back was where Chomp Chomp operated.

The repayable loan and grant package will help fund the installation of new ceilings, flooring and bathrooms, walls, millwork, HVAC and equipment for business operations in the 3,479 square foot space .

Incentives include:

• A combined Food and Beverage and Retail Improvement Program forgivable loan not to exceed $100,000.

• A sidewalk improvement grant not exceeding $15,000.

• A frontage grant not exceeding $30,784

Total funding is $145,784

The package uses funding through Northbank Town Center ARC and no City Council approval is required.

The DIA condition sheet lists total estimated rehabilitation costs at $596,156.

DIA and state records show that Shoppes of Lakeside Inc., the company that owns the building, is run by Chris Hionides, father of Elias Hionides.

Elias Hionides is also vice president of the Jacksonville-based property management company Petra, which is owned by Chris Hionides.

The bar business is owned by Hoal, Elias Hionides and Richard Trendel through Downtown Bar Concept LLC, according to state records.

On April 13, DIA CEO Lori Boyer told board members that the city agency hoped to resolve any naming disputes that arise between Hardwicks Bar and Atlanta-based developer Carter. Street.

“It’s a bar compared to an apartment building and we’ll be open for several years before it’s nearly finished,” Hionides said.

He doesn’t expect confusion.

The projects reference Jacksonville architect Taylor Hardwick, who designed the Haydon Burns Library, now the Jessie Ball duPont Center on Ocean Street, across from Hardwicks Bar.

Planned upgrades to 100 E. Adams St. include accordion-style windows to let patrons feel alfresco inside Hardwicks Bar, and sweeping views of duPont Center’s mid-century modern architecture .

Tables and chairs will line the sidewalk on Adams Street and plants will be added to the side of the building along Ocean Street.

Hionides and Hoal intend to add fresh paint and new lighting to the exterior and restore the windows to their original height along Ocean Street.

The DIA term sheet states that the minimum hours of operation would be 4 p.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday and noon to midnight Sunday.

Hionides and Hoal also hope to eventually expand Hardwicks Bar into more of the building.

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DES MOINES, Iowa—

Police are investigating after an adult video of a nightclub performance at Shag’s Dance Club on Court Avenue circulated online.

The video, which was reportedly taken Friday night at Shag’s house, shows what appears to be a sexual act between an exotic dancer and another woman. The exotic dancer denies this and tells KCCI that it is part of an adult show she does at bachelorette parties. She said the video is not what it looks like.

Des Moines police say they can’t comment yet because the investigation is in its early stages. But police confirm they are investigating the incident based on complaints from some people at Shag’s that night.

Shag management sent the following statement to KCCI:

“Shag management and ownership are aware of the incident on Friday night and are actively investigating how such a thing could have happened. Management and ownership want the public to know that this type of thing is not happening. ‘has never happened before and will never happen again. After a few successful events organized by a club promoter, they were booked again for an event last Friday night which got horribly out of hand. The promoter was twice invited to end a woman’s performance on the dance floor and the promoter has been terminated and will no longer promote the site in any capacity.The property is reviewing the details of what happened and is working with the authorities to see what can be done about it.”

By John Ruch

The Star Community Bar redevelopment controversy has got to be one of those “Avengers, assemble!” moments for the Atlanta subculture.

Because it’s not just about this bar and the fate of Little Five Points. These are the noise complaints from new condo owners about East Atlanta Village bands. It is the decision of the city council to easily close the nightclubs as “nuisances”. It is Atlanta that once again tears down or demonizes the sources of perhaps its greatest product – musical culture.

It’s not just about Star Bar and its owner, a situation that is generally poor in information and very hot. It’s about rethinking the broken ownership model that causes such chaos by weakening the cultural tenants that create value, and new ways of doing things that can bring them stability and equity.

But L5P is the crucial battleground because it’s a neighborhood that already has the legacy of winning such fights and providing such alternative models. What happens here will inform the future of punk, metal, hip hop and other venues across the city.

Like most working-class subcultures, the punk and metal communities represented at Star Bar aren’t used to winning and are often bullied by a dismissive majority. A community development meeting held at the bar on September 18 showed the fans’ sharp intelligence but was not strategically focused. Meanwhile, some media outlets have freely used derogatory adjectives for his neighborhood by writers who would never dare to insult affluent communities like, say, antiseptic and bogus. As a journalist who goes to the Star Bar, I’ve heard a bit of this attitude in recent conversations – “someone with a high-profile job is hanging out with these people?”

A related bias is that nostalgia is the only reason anyone would support a 30-year-old venue. The implication is that anything centered on youth music culture must naturally die when its first generation has grown boring and old.

Sure, plenty of oldies hang out at (and own) Star Bar, but dissing that is like saying libraries should be closed as worthless nostalgia for old stories. I’ve heard some amazing underground stories at the bar, most of which haven’t been recorded, and you always learn something drinking with the occasional rock star, like the guys from ATL’s Grammy Award-winning metal freak, Mastodon. Michael Gamble of the Wild West Picture Show, a band from the early days of the bar that supported the alt-country scene, was seated next to me by chance at the September 18 reunion. He recounted how his late bandmate Tom Gray penned Cyndi Lauper’s latest hit “Money Changes Everything” – an artistic endeavor that certainly shone a light on our current human condition.

But plenty of new bands, comedians, drag artists and the like play the bar all the time, often drawing young crowds. Ignoring this says more about the speaker than the place and how subcultures continue to be undervalued as disposable in Atlanta. Perhaps if we started calling bars “business incubators” for the arts, the attitude might change. Historical disregard is already changing with efforts such as the “Atlanta Punk Rock Collection” at Emory University’s Rose Library, where flyers from Star Bar shows are among the artifacts. Randy Gue, an assistant director who helped put this collection together, noted the diversity at a recent Star Bar show — last year’s reunion of Atlanta’s flagship hardcore band Neon Christ and newcomers. opening acts, which attracted hundreds of people.

“Bill and the overwhelming crowd represented the past, present and future of Atlanta punk,” Gue said. “It was a fun and joyful celebration of Atlanta music and the importance of place. And it could only have happened at Little Five Points at the Star Bar.

Neon Christ frontman Randy DuTeau told me he was impressed with the show’s “multigenerational, multicultural crowd” and the “revealing” performance of Upchuck, one of Atlanta’s newest punk stars. . “It told me that people still wanted to play loud punk rock music and they would find a place to make it happen,” he said.

DuTeau used to go to the bank that preceded the Star Bar in his building, spending his money at Wax ‘n Facts Records across the street. He said he was “disappointed” at the possible disappearance of the bar. Now working as director of tourism for North Augusta, a city in South Carolina, he says he understands the progress development can bring, but asks the question, “Do you want to completely abandon the history of the community for the new and shiny?”

The redevelopment of the Star Bar site, DuTeau said, “almost, like, commodifies the counterculture” that made L5P so desirable in the first place.

This is the classic dilemma of gentrification. So it was 50 years ago when other developers – including current Star Bar owner and now co-developer Scott Pendergrast – came up with a more community-based approach. Even now, he is proposing to build a new space for the bar – which co-owner Dusty Mumma says would be bigger than the existing one – in the basement of a new commercial building on the site. And amid all the heat, the bar’s former co-owner Jim Stacy admitted at the reunion that Pendergrast had been “leaning back” for years to keep the business going with below-market rents and a kind of a special deal during the pandemic.

But this solution also smacks of the softer, milder version of the old gentrification and displacement often used to appease consciences despite the same results. How would the bar, its fanbase and its musical culture survive a long period of construction? Could he pay the new rent? Would the new residents of the proposed multi-family units at the other end of the property be willing to live next to a rock bar?

These are dilemmas in large part because we simply accept traditional ways of development that are often extractive, rapacious, or just plain greedy, encoded into law centuries ago by pretty dumb people. So the Star Bar conversation is already turning into a NIMBY-vs.-YIMBY binary take beloved by Urbanist Twitter, punk anarchists and others doomed to clash. But there are many other directions to take.

Hours before the September 18 meeting, I took a historic L5P walking tour conducted by the Atlanta Preservation Center and the L5P Business Association where the Star Bar was a main topic, but also put into a broad context of a consciously rebuilt community. .

A historic legacy is a neighborhood that knows how to rise up and cause good trouble for developers to stop bad plans and buy time to improve others. In the 1970s, L5P was among the communities that almost unthinkably prevented the construction of a freeway in what is now Freedom Park, a challenge far more difficult than a beloved bar. The alternative turned out to be quite good.

In the 1990s, it was an attempt by chain stores to enter a redeveloped neighborhood with small businesses in mind. A drugstore chain was aiming to take over supermarket space, which would have directly competed with beloved local pharmacist Ira Katz. He recalls about 100 people turning up at an opposition rally that scared the chain into favor of his Little Five Points pharmacy. He says that after the highway war, “we were ready for another fight – the David versus Goliath kind.”

And it wasn’t just about being hip or counter-culture. “Overall, it’s a very special community, unlike what you see in the suburbs,” Katz said. He notes that the mix of tenants is deliberately diverse to this day so locals can get a lot of what they need on a stroll, in a symbiotic small business culture.

The visit noted examples of alternative business models that have helped ensure some of these things. The Point Center building next to Star Bar is also being redone by the developers, but cannot be demolished because developer Kelly Jordan (now a SaportaReport contributor) has put a historic preservation easement over it. decades ago in exchange for financial benefits in a prize-winning effort. Today, the building still houses the BOND Community Credit Union, which was created to fund mortgages for locals when the big commercial banks wouldn’t. And there’s the Little 5 Points Center for Arts and Community, established in the 1980s as a non-profit organization to provide affordable housing for a wide range of arts organizations, radio station WRFG and others.

There are many other models. Community land trusts where residents could own shares and dictate development instead of private for-profit corporations. Commercial condos where businesses get equity. Significant protections that save the building and entitle you to tax credits that could subsidize an affordable rental contract.

The outrage has bought time – apparently at least until January – and it would be well spent advocating for a model that could collaboratively support an owner, a bar and his subcultural community rather than pitting them against each other. others. And show Atlanta how it’s done.

After all, as Stacy, the former co-owner, noted at the reunion: “Community” was not in the name of this bar by accident. »

Looking for a new cocktail bar? Well, maybe check your calendar first: A reservations-only bar just opened in West Hollywood, hoping to be a hotspot for celebrities and celebrity-adjacent (or maybe just the obsessed with celebrities).

La Fleur Room, located on Sunset Boulevard, is a moody space decorated with disco balls where you and your friends can grab a late-night drink, provided you plan ahead. The brainchild of Tao Group Hospitality, known for its clubby vibe, the new bar is run by Craig Schoettler, an Alinea alum who is now the group’s vice president of beverages in the Western region.

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Ryan Forbes

Schoettler’s menu focuses on whimsical creations that incorporate fresh juices, homemade syrups and infusions, and dramatic details, such as vapors and dry ice presentations. A few offerings from the opening menu include the Cotton Cloud 9 (vodka, St. Germain, fresh lime, grapefruit and cotton candy) and the English Olive Branch (gin infused with olive oil, fresh lemon, rosemary , eucalyptus, tonic and steam).

While many customers will likely show up for the drinks, it’s just as acceptable, maybe even more so, to show up for the ambiance. Tao Group’s in-house design team worked with Los Angeles-based interior designer Tara Bean to create a lavish disco-era vibe throughout the space. The walls are covered with a pleated blue fabric; the ceiling is mirrored; marble cocktail tables are surrounded by patterned velvet seats; and the fixtures are custom pink Venetian glass.

Ryan Forbes

Maximalist energy is most embodied in an extra-large “Love Handle” vase filled with fresh flowers by artist Anissa Kermiche. This remarkable piece is accompanied by original artwork by Kenny Scharf and Emma McMillan lining the walls.

The story continues

Despite its soft opening, the Fleur Room is already cultivating its status as a hotspot for the rich and famous: private parties have been attended by Bella Hadid, Calvin Harris and Steph Curry, among others. Exclusivity is helped by the bar’s mandate that no photos or videos be taken inside the venue. What happens in the Flower Room stays in the Flower Room.

The bar is now open Thursday through Saturday, 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. You can inquire about reservations through its website.

Click here to see all the photos of the Flower Room.

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The demolition of a closed sports bar, restaurant and nightclub on the edge of O’Hare International Airport in Rosemont is finally expected in the coming months, village officials said.

The village council on Monday signed a $187,128 contract with Elgin-based Omega III to do the job. The company will also remove asbestos from the property at the northwest corner of Mannheim and Higgins roads for an additional $35,000.

Rosemont paid $1,675,000 this spring for the building that once housed the Shoeless Joe sports bar, nearby Pine Grove restaurant and Enigma nightclub The Lounge in the basement.

Officials have been eyeing the prominent corner for redevelopment for years, even considering a conviction trial before agreeing a sale price with the owner. Shoeless Joe’s was the last tenant to vacate the property, moving to nearby Schiller Park in 2019.

The demolition will only include the easternmost portion of a three-story, 75,000 square foot building; the adjoining Best Western at O’Hare Motel, which is connected by a hallway, will become a stand-alone building, Mayor Brad Stephens said.

A storage room that belongs to the motel near the property line may also need to be demolished. If so, the village will rebuild it for the motel owner, Stephens said.

Village lawyers and engineers are still trying to clear a series of intricate cross parking easements so that the motel and former restaurant/bar properties each have their own parking lots and proper site traffic.

For the motel, that means enough space for garbage trucks to move around, Stephens said, and for the neighboring property, a possible driveway as part of the new redevelopment.

The mayor said he met with the hotel’s new owner, who was recently in town from Minnesota, and was supportive of the village’s plans.

The village has yet to obtain demolition permits from the Environmental Protection Agency. And, just before demolition day, ComEd will have to shut off the electricity that is still needed to power a sump pump in the constantly flooded basement. A flood forced the bar to close for three weeks in 2018.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – H-Bar in Iowa City opened seven months ago with a full security system, including cameras and doormen. After the Taboo Nightclub shooting in Cedar Rapids and in light of many similar recent events nationwide, the owners have further tightened security measures.

When patrons enter the building, they barely cross the threshold before security ensures they have no weapons on them.

Co-owner James Miller works with his co-owners, Katrell and David Sykes, to make guests feel as safe as possible.

They coined the term “uncomfortably safe,” taking every step possible to keep people safe.

Metal detectors, a strict no weapons policy and at least one security guard at the entrance and exit.

“They step back and puff out their chests. ‘SECURITY’ [is written] on their chest. And if someone comes, they open the door, close the door behind them. Nobody knocks on the door, it’s a matter of security,” Miller said.

After the Taboo Nightclub shooting in April, they went further by establishing a personal and professional relationship with the Iowa City Police Department.

“We were approached by a local bar owner here who had similar concerns. We met with them, toured their establishment and gave them advice on steps they could take to increase security, and had a greater presence in and around this bar,” said chef Dustin Liston. .

Miller’s concern now is that the increase in calls to the police reflects badly in the eyes of current and new customers. When, he says, he and his co-owners make the calls to protect everyone.

“When the police pull up to Mighty Shop and they catch someone in the car and they have guns or they’ve been drinking, it’s not by accident. We called,” Miller said.

While these measures may seem extreme to some, he says it’s the least we can do to keep some of the worst kinds of violence away from the bar.

He adds that he and his co-owners believe that if Taboo had security measures in place similar to what H Bar currently has, this could have been avoided.

Copyright 2022 KCRG. All rights reserved.

A little over a year has passed since the debut of natural wine spot, Snail Bar, but now chef Andres Giraldo Florez’s popular business doubles down: Say hello to its new sister bar, Slug.

Launching in downtown Oakland Friday, July 22 Slug is a new natural wine bar from the Snail Bar team, sharing the same DNA and principles as the original, while doing things its own way. It’s not entirely Snail Bar 2.0, though Slug is learning from the bar’s year of activity. There’s the added musical element (more on that later), and notably Florez hands over the reins, so to speak, to chef Spencer Horovitz, acting in his first executive chef role after some time at Itria, AL’s Place. , the Progress and a brief stint at the restaurant in Meadowood. “I’m only human; The snail bar is my baby and I’ve always wanted to cook there, I can’t do things by halves,” says Florez. “I’m not a person with a lot of ego, so I thought I might as well give someone else the opportunity, let them do their thing.”

There is, of course, the same dedication to natural and organic wines, with partner Jake Michahelles handling the selections, but at Slug there will be more California wines from small producers, with name check marks Michahelles such as Purity Wines, Everything is Okay, Château Fiasco and Gearhead Wines as examples. For Snail Bar, Florez built and designed the space himself, but that changed with this new project; for Slug, Florez takes a more collaborative approach and works with local artists such as Gabe Kasor. “Slug’s aesthetic was driven by everyone we’ve met through Snail Bar over the past year, then using the bones that were already there and bringing in a little more Oakland, a little more youth in space than there was before,” says Florez.

Located on the ground floor of the Lionel J. Wilson Triangle Building in Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Slug may seem reminiscent of Snail Bar, but in case you’re confused, there’s an instant reminder that you’re somewhere new. : The high ceilings give way to a disco ball, which serves as an instant, shiny, twinkling reminder of her glamorous little sister status – complete with music. A major difference between the two bars is the inclusion of a DJ booth at Slug, and Florez enlists Oakland’s Lower Grand Radio to help with that end of the equation. “Music has always been a big part of my life and I thought if we could tie together three things that we love – food, wine and music – that’s sort of an obvious achievement,” says Florez. .

For food, Horovitz will work with Florez to create dishes in the same vein as those found at the Snail Bar, but using elements from Horovitz’s culinary past and childhood, telling his own story. Some dishes will be carried over from the original, such as blood sausages and ham and cheese, but Snail Bar fans, take note: the wine bar’s popular snail dish won’t be served at Slug, and it’s a deliberate decision by Florez and Horovitz. “I think that keeps us from diluting the brand a bit,” says Horovitz. “We want Snail Bar to be special and have its own thing and you can feel a bit of Snail Bar in the room, but be organic and its own thing.”

The plates still retain much of Florez’s impeccable style, but under Horovitz there are elements of both chefs’ tastes. The two talked about the collaborative nature of their relationship and how it’s been helpful for them to agree on food, immediately come up with dish ideas and share an appreciation for vegetables and fruits. season. There are lovely oysters, crudo, peach salad and the aforementioned blood sausage and sandwich on the menu. One dish that shines is the cucumber salad, which was originally designed as a crudité, but has been upgraded. Citing diners’ newfound appreciation for seafood, such as canned fish, Horovitz takes Japanese tarako, a seasoned egg, and combines it with eggs in an aioli seasoned with garlic, ginger and shio koji. of Shared Cultures, giving a layer of “umami”. , ocean flavor” with cucumbers. He then stirs in lightly kombu-poached potatoes, Meyer lemon, garlic, and bay leaf, then mixes everything in a vinaigrette made with shio koji, shiro dashi, lemon juice, and includes chickpeas and trout eggs.

Horovitz has spent time at fine dining restaurants in San Francisco and Napa, but he aims to make Slug very local, working with the likes of Oakland-based pop-up De La Creamery. The local ice cream brand will create flavors for the bar, such as fresh cream ice cream placed on top of sticky miso caramel pudding on the first menu.

Horovitz is already looking to the future, with plans to incorporate more seafood into the menu, such as geoduck, as well as a plan for “to-go snacks” that customers can munch on after the kitchen closes. This last bit of food is a nice attention to detail, especially since the team also aims to be a late-night spot designed for the hospitality industry. With its close proximity to BART, Slug is an easy place to stop after a shift at a restaurant, which Florez appreciates given the limited late-night seating in the Bay Area. “We offer another option, after 10 p.m. you can always come to a place like this, enjoy a nice white pudding and have a glass of nice natural wine or champagne,” says Florez. “I wish it was there for me when I was in the industry growing up. I feel like we’re bringing something that this region desperately needs, and something that’s made by the industry. for industry.

Slug (102 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland) opens Friday, July 22 and will be open Thursday through Monday, 5 p.m. to midnight. The kitchen will be open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., with a limited menu between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.