What happens when you mix one of Greenpoint’s popular cocktail bars with one of the neighborhood’s favorite pizza places? To answer this, you’ll need to ask for Janice.
Ask for Janice (640 Manhattan Ave.) is the name of a new project from the teams behind cocktail bar Eavesdrop and pizzeria Upside that will open in a small space at the back of the latter this fall.
In 2022, both Eavesdrop and Upside opened on the same block in Greenpoint. Shortly after opening, Eavesdrop’s Max Dowaliby and Dan Wissinger and Upside’s team of Noam Grossman and brothers Oren and Eli Halali got to know each other and began discussing a collaboration and how they could utilize the unused space in the back of Upside.
The result is Ask for Janice, a bar that aims to combine Italian-American culinary influences with 90’s hip-hop vibes. The new spot will serve pizza-adjacent food alongside cocktails, beer, and wine in a 25-seat space.
The food and drink menus will be all about nostalgia. The newcomer’s food menu pulls inspiration from classic neighborhood pizzerias, but Ask for Janice will not actually offer pizza. The team calls the options “everything but the pizza” with a menu that is meant to be shared through small plates and a few larger items.
The playful cocktail program at Ask for Janice will also celebrate the familiar flavors of pizzerias with some ingredients that are sure to surprise customers. One example is a soppressata martini. The wine menu will offer natural and organic selections from around the world, and beers will be a mix of both local and classics.
The designer of Eavesdrop’s space, Danny Taylor of House Under Magic, is also designing Ask for Janice. The vibe will be “mysteriously dark and scandalous” with red and white lighting that will glow from behind walnut cladding and dance across mirrors on the ceiling and walls. The team dubbed the design “a mixtape of various materials and shapes that are distinctly different but cohesively complement the whole.”
The music programming is also about nostalgia. Eavesdrop’s Wissinger is partnering with local DJs to produce tailor-made mixtapes which will be played on a vintage Nakamichi 600 cassette deck behind the bar.