The name says it all. Our Bar is a new pop-up bar located at Elĕva Café (7 Bell Slip), a coffee shop in the northernmost section of Greenpoint. On Fridays from 6 p.m. – 10 p.m., Our Bar takes over the space and serves beer, wine, and cocktails.
Greenpoint local Guinevere is the brains behind Our Bar. She’s a restaurant industry veteran who has been with Williamsburg’s Claudia’s (39 Bushwick Ave.) for the past four years as an investor, social media manager, events and catering organizer, and bartender.
“I feel strongly about the simple beauty of the hospitality industry and the importance of creating spaces that provide community and energetic connection,” Guinevere told Greenpointers.
Our Bar’s concept originated with a conversation between Guinevere and Elĕva’s founder, Emilio Baltodano, who have known each other for years. Guinevere bumped into Baltodano in front of Elĕva and “joked” with him about the idea of a bar, proclaiming it would be fun “to utilize the beautiful space.” Baltodano told Guinevere that if she would take ownership of the project, she could do it, and Guinevere was “giddy with the idea.”
Elĕva has a beer and wine license, but did not have a manager to run a proper beverage program, until Guinevere. She started by researching beverages that fall under beer and wine licenses, like Japanese shochu. She then created a cocktail menu using shochu, vermouth, sake, and wine-based amaro, plus a wide variety of espresso martini options “since it is a coffee shop, after all.”
“I even made a cocktail called ‘The Greenpointer’ to give thanks to my favorite Instagram account,” Guinevere said.
Guinevere also told Greenpointers that “feedback has been amazing so far and the local Greenpointers who have stumbled on us love the vibe.”
Our Bar is currently open only on Fridays 6 p.m. – 10 p.m., but Guinevere hopes to extend the hours “in the near future” with the goal of ultimately being open Thursday through Saturday. She has a lot planned for the new bar including various food pop-ups, DJ sets, live music, themed events, and sake tastings. “I’m excited for this to be another fun addition to Greenpoint’s local spots,” Guinevere said.