One among San Antonio’s most visionary bars is coming again, at the very least for one night. Former proprietor Jeret Peña has gathered a crew of former bartenders for a pop-up revival of The Brooklynite, held September 3 at Gimme Gimme, 803 S St Mary’s St.
Peña says the unique thought was a redo of Double Peñatration, a years-ago pop-up with brother Jorel Peña at Diego Galicia’s Mescalaría Mixtli. With Gimme Gimme proprietor Aaron Peña (no relation) concerned, it will definitely grew to become a full-blown reunion of The Brooklynite’s alums.
Peña’s Boulevardier Group first debuted the bar in 2012 at 516 Brooklyn Ave., taking on a dive that was identified extra for its drug commerce than its combined drinks. Peña gave it a refresh with brocade wallpaper and glittering chandeliers, a glance that got here to outline the American craft cocktail revolution.
San Antonio quickly grew to become an epicenter of Texas cocktail tradition, buoyed by Mark Bohanan’s San Antonio Cocktail Convention, created the identical 12 months. However The Brooklynite prolonged the map nationally, scoring a James Beard semifinalist nod and a StarChefs award.
After the unique place closed in 2019, Peña had initially meant to revive it as an intimate 25-seat cocktail lounge. 4 months earlier than its debut, the lease was purchased out. Although it by no means returned, its legacy continues to be felt all through San Antonio nightlife.
The Brooklynite in its heydey.Picture courtesy of Jeret Peña.
Along with Aaron Peña, the previous workers are a who’s who of Texas nightlife. Hillary Woodhouse is now a companion in Lonesome Rose and Holy Diver. Javi Flores, who drove down from Austin to bartend on weekends, now owns Fats Ice, whose bespoke cubes will be discovered at a number of native bars.
Even the non-bartender names now draw headlines. Elizabeth Johnson, now the chef behind Pharm Desk, provided cold-press juice from her fledgling firm Crave. Steven Lee Moya, who supplied the soundtrack for a lot of Brooklynite nights, at present travels the globe. Pena jokes that he gave him “2013” pricing for the pop-up.
“I’m very happy with everybody who’s come by the door,” says Pena.
The pop-up, which begins at 7 pm, will function a quartet of The Brooklynite’s best hits. Whereas the fourth cocktail continues to be to be decided, revelers can anticipate the rummy Como La Flor, the gin-based Love Beat, and The Missionary, made with the previous bar’s well-known shrubs.
However the short-term revival isn’t about impressing visitors. For Peña, who now works at Spec’s, it is about reliving the camaraderie that when made the bar a necessary weekend cease.
“It was a good time, interval,” he says.
