There's really nothing else like The Sidecar in south Minneapolis.
âIf I even knew how many times people asked me, âWhen is The Sidecar opening?ââ says Shelly Larson, manager of Town Hall Tap. âI feel like the neighborhood is super excited.âÂ
Seizing on 2018âs reworked neighborhood liquor laws, Town Hall Tap spent years reimagining the adjoining Adrianâs Tavern into the type of craft cocktail lounge youâd expect to see downtown. The Sidecar soft-launched two weeks ago and, based on neighborhood buzz, itâs fitting right in at 48th and Chicago. Â
âI find, personally, that cocktail lounges can be a little pretentious; sometimes I find myself in an atmosphere that I donât particularly like,â says Peter Rifakes, founder of Town Hall Brewing. âI was trying to get away from that, so I wanted it to be a little more laid back.âÂ
The process wasnât easy or cheap.Â
In early 2019, Rifakes purchased Adrianâs from retiring owner Jim Pratt, thus giving him side-by-side properties and an eventual blank slate. Adrianâs was a charming throwback dive bar with carpeted floors, fluorescent lighting, and a wobbly basement toiletâa total gut job. Rifakes considered tearing the building down to maximize patio space, but his ambitions got the best of him. Instead, the Town Hall team embarked on a frustratingly long project that would endure construction delays, licensing and permit disputes with the city, and a global pandemic. Rifakes estimates the three-year remodel cost almost three times what he paid for the property. Donât worry: Brand-new, ground-level bathrooms were part of the equation.Â
Long before the grand opening, which is slated for later this month, Rifakes & Co. had to figure out... how to create and operate a 50-seat craft cocktail lounge.Â
âWeâre really good at setting up [brewpubs], and we didnât have the expertise at putting a drink program together,â Rifakes says. âI certainly didnât want to open and have someone come in and taste average drinksâI wanted them to say itâs fantastic.âÂ
The Town Hall team started with 40 recipes, and whittled that list down to around 20 that appear on the menu.Â
âWe spent a ton of time on the drinks,â Rifakes says.Â
âItâs a fun job,â Larson adds with a laugh.
Thereâs the $15 signature Sidecar, of course, with its Pierre Ferrand cognac and curacao, wildflower honey, lemon, and orange foam. A bargain at $10, the Barrel-Aged Old Fashioned sticks the landing, packing bourbon and rye punch alongside house bitters. Rifakes calls the $13 Triple Brown DerbyâEagle Rare bourbon, buckwheat honey, grapefruitâthe best cocktail he's ever tasted. Town Hallâs full line of house beers is also available, as is a scaled-down and evolving menu of scratch bar food.Â
âI donât think weâre going to sell a lot of beer here,â Rifakes says. âI think people are going to specifically come in for cocktails.â (Larson confirms that has been the case.)Â
Several kinks have been ironed-out during the soft launch phase, Rifakes reports, including tweaking table heights, experimenting with dĂ©cor, and finding expert staff who know their way around a cocktail shaker. âItâs about letting the bartenders learn, and not get pummeled right off the bat,â Larson says.Â
Another, equally exciting part of The Sidecar saga probably wonât be available until spring. Out back, Rifakes constructed a gorgeous 50-seat alley patio thatâs totally unique to the neighborhood. A new bar, window-service kitchen, and more gleaming bathrooms are all taking form in an outdoor space thatâs accessible from Town Hall Tap and The Sidecar.Â
You can visit The Sidecar during its soft-open phase from Wednesday through Saturday, 4 p.m. to close.