The Buildout

Ask anyone in the cocktail world where the energy is on the West Coast right now, and one name keeps coming up: True Laurel.On this episode of The Buildout, Adam sits down with Nicolas Torres to talk about how the San Francisco bar went from beloved neighborhood spot to one of the most talked-about cocktail destinations in the country. While the techniques Nicolas and his team are using may feel perfectly suited to this current moment in drinks, many have been part of True Laurel’s DNA since it opened in 2017.Nicolas re...

What does it mean to mourn a bar? When a place becomes more than a business — a home for its staff, a gathering place for its regulars, and a defining chapter in a city’s cocktail culture — how do you come to terms with closing the door for good?On this episode of The Buildout, Adam sits down with Ivy Mix, co-founder of the beloved Brooklyn bar Leyenda, to talk about the full arc of the venue: how it began, what made it matter, and the difficult decision to ultimately close it. Ivy reflects on the grief...

At a time when many new cocktail bars are chasing acclaim with high-tech techniques and elaborate presentations, Jen Murphy went in the opposite direction: perfectly poured Guinness, ice-cold martinis, and the kind of easy hospitality that makes a bar feel instantly essential. The result is Banshee, a true East Village neighborhood bar built on simplicity, precision, and a very clear point of view. On this episode of The Buildout, Jen joins Adam to talk about why New York needed a bar like Banshee, how she found her business partner, and why the perfect pint is anything but simple.<...

Amor y Amargo was only supposed to be a six-month pop-up. Instead, it became one of the most influential bars of the modern era—a place with a distinct philosophy, a fiercely loyal audience, and a legacy that still matters.On this episode of The Buildout, Sother Teague joins Adam to tell the story of Amor y Amargo, explain why the drinks are always stirred and never shaken, and reflect on legacy, longevity, and why it still feels important for the bar to exist today.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcast<br...

Jeff Bell may be best known for PDT, but as much as the bar reflects his influence, it wasn’t something he built from the ground up. That bar is Kees. A deeply personal project, Kees gave Jeff the chance to create something entirely his own—and to do it under the weight of expectations that come with being so closely associated with one of the most famous bars in the world.On this episode of The Buildout, Jeff joins Adam to talk about his second act, the pressure of opening a new bar when your name...

People come up with bar names and cocktail ideas in all kinds of ways, but for Josh Harris, inspiration often comes from memory, art, and whatever happens to spark something bigger. That creative instinct helped turn Trick Dog into one of the most influential bars of its generation. But Josh wasn’t always sure the bar—or even his place in the industry—would work out that way.On this episode of The Buildout, Josh joins Adam to talk about what it really takes to build a great bar, how to create a team culture that encour...

When Kenta Goto left Pegu Club to open his own place on the Lower East Side, he was stepping into unfamiliar territory. He knew how to run a great bar program — but building a business from the ground up was something else entirely. So he did what came naturally: he studied. Kenta read everything he could about owning and operating a business, and that preparation paid off. From day one, Bar Goto clicked, eventually growing into one of the city’s most beloved bars and expanding with a second location in Brooklyn.On this episode of The...

When Cure opened, Neal Bodenheimer had a simple goal: create a great neighborhood bar. He did that—and then some. Over the years, Cure has grown into one of the country’s most celebrated drinking destinations, a New Orleans modern classic, and a must-visit for anyone in search of an exceptional Sazerac.On this episode of The Buildout, Neal joins Adam to share the story behind Cure, why he returned to New Orleans to open it, and how the bar became an institution far beyond its neighborhood.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buil...

What makes Yacht Club one of the most fun bars in America? A lot of it comes down to the energy behind it: owners Mary and McLain are clearly having a blast. On this episode of The Buildout, Adam sits down with the duo to talk about how two Southerners ended up in Denver, why they traded the music business for the bar business, and how they built one of the country’s most joyful places to drink.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcastYacht Club: https://www.instagram.com/yachtclubbar...

The founders of De Vie met while working at Paris’s legendary Little Red Door, where they began to imagine a bar of their own—one that carried forward everything they’d learned there, but stripped away some of the operational headaches that come with running a bar that has lines that form before the doors even open. The result is De Vie, one of the most exciting new openings in Paris. On today’s episode of The Buildout, Adam sits down with the founders to talk about what it takes to open a bar in Europe, why Paris felt lik...

Shingo Gokan and Steve Schneider may not seem like an obvious bartending duo at first—but that’s exactly why they work so well together. Shingo is rooted in the precise, classic style of Japanese bartending, while Steve comes from the high-energy, hospitality-driven world of Employees Only. After years of friendship and collaboration, the two joined forces to open Sip & Guzzle in New York’s West Village. On today’s episode of The Buildout, Adam Teeter talks with both bartenders about the dynamic that makes their partnership click, how their different styles sharpen each other, and how one of the city...

What started as a bar opened by some of Mexico City’s most famous party promoters has become one of the world’s great cocktail institutions. On today’s episode of The Buildout, Adam sits down with Limantour founding bartender José Luis to tell the story of the bar’s rise—and to explore how Mexico City became one of the premier cocktail destinations anywhere in the world.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcastLimantour: https://www.instagram.com/limantourmxJosé Luis Leon: https://www.instagram.com/joseluisleonVinePair...

Death & Company is one of the most influential bars of the modern cocktail era. It helped establish the East Village as a true cocktail destination, launched the careers of many of today’s best-known bartenders, and evolved into an internationally recognized brand with locations beyond New York. On today’s episode, Adam sits down with the founders to talk about how it all started.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcastDeath & Co: https://www.instagram.com/deathandcompanyDavid Kaplan: https://www.instagram.com/dkproprietorsAlex Day: https://www.inst...

How do you inherit a room as legendary as Milk & Honey—and still make it unmistakably yours? On this episode of The Buildout, Adam sits down with Sam Ross and Michael McIlroy to unpack the pivotal moment when they persuaded Sasha Petraske to let them hold onto the space as he prepared to move on. They talk through the philosophy behind Attaboy—what it carried forward, what it deliberately changed, and how it became its own institution. Plus: expanding into new markets, and why the “magic of the room” might be the most important ingredient in building a bar people c...

On this episode of The Buildout, Adam sits down with acclaimed bartender Joaquin Simo to tell the full story of Pouring Ribbons—from the early buildout days and opening buzz to the hard realities of running a modern cocktail bar. Together they unpack what made the place special, what ultimately led Joaquin to close its doors for good, and why he’s not sure he’ll ever open another bar again.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcastJoaquin Simo: https://www.instagram.com/simojoaquinVinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepa...

Stepping into Shinji’s feels a bit like tumbling down the rabbit hole.Drinks arrive inside hollowed-out oranges. A Ramos Gin Fizz appears in seconds instead of minutes. Plumes of dry ice drift across the bar. It’s playful, theatrical, and a little surreal—yet somehow everything still tastes incredible.The creative force behind it all is Jonathan Adler. On this episode of The Buildout, Adler joins host Adam Teeter to share the story of how Shinji’s came to life and how he designs cocktails that are equal parts spectacle and serious craftsma...

The original idea behind Clover Club was simple: open a great bar closer to home.What wasn’t simple was the execution. When the bar debuted, no one had yet brought a Manhattan-caliber cocktail experience to Brownstone Brooklyn. Clover Club set out to change that—and in the process helped redefine what a neighborhood bar could be.Today, Clover Club is an industry icon. But getting there meant years of challenges, from navigating a split with a business partner to surviving a global pandemic.On this episode of The Buildout, host...

Perched high above the clouds, Overstory is unlike anything else in Manhattan.Launching a refined, high-end cocktail bar in the heart of the Financial District was a bold bet. The neighborhood has long been defined by dive bars, happy hours, and big screens—not destination drinking. Yet Overstory has defied expectations, becoming one of the most celebrated bars in the country.Co-founder Harrison Ginsberg joins Adam Teeter on The Buildout to share how the idea was born, how the team brought it to life, and why taking a risk on an unconventional location pa...

When Takuma Watanabe left Angel’s Share, he wasn’t just moving on — he was chasing a vision: to build the ultimate Japanese-style cocktail bar in New York City. The result is Martiny’s.Takuma sits down with Adam to talk about what it took to make the leap from acclaimed bartender to owner, the principles and details that define Martiny’s, and how he translated Japanese craft and hospitality into a bar that already feels like a modern classic.Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcastMartiny's: https://www.instagram...

Why would one of the most celebrated restaurants in the world — Eleven Madison Park — open a cocktail bar? Turns out the answer isn’t “because they can.”In this episode, Adam sits down with EMP Beverage Director Sebastian Tollius to unpack the story behind Clemente Bar: how it came to life, what it means to build a bar through a three–Michelin-star lens, and the standards that carry over from the dining room to the glass. They also get into the relationship Tollius developed with Chef Daniel Humm — and how that partnership ultimately made the bar possible.<...