You’ve heard the rumors and we’re happy to confirm they’re true: A new bar is opening in Evil Duck’s old space. How soon? Preparations are already underway.
A group of F&B veterans have swooped in and joined forces to keep the spirit of Shuiwei village alive. The group behind the project include Adam Gottschalk, Thomas Ekstrand and Ray Han.
Gottschalk and Ekstrand combined have more than thirty years of bar and restaurant experience, spanning everything from dive bars to Michelin-starred restaurants. Han is also an industry veteran, with experience in private dining and at a well-known upscale Shenzhen restaurant.
The new bar is called Keg Room, a space blending a new creative vision with the already-intact artfully constructed beer system. The Keg Room concept focuses on “really cool breweries and microbreweries from within China,” says Gottschalk. The trio has sourced top craft beer from exciting and innovative domestic breweries, including several that are not typically available in South China. The beer will be frequently rotated, with new taps going on the list every month.
Sign going up! Image via Keg Room
The inspiration behind the project was spurred from a trip Gottschalk and Ekstrand took over the Christmas holiday to Guiyang. Gottschalk recounts, “It was pretty amazing, one of the coolest beer cultures we’ve seen. It reminded us what we loved about the beer bars back in Beijing, and in our home countries.”
As for food, they’re really excited about the prospect of taking bar food classics and elevating them by sourcing ingredients locally or within China. They’re not trying to reinvent the wheel but will focus on a burger-based concept and bar food staples. “We’re extremely proud of what we’re serving,” Ekstrand says. “Ideally, even though it is a beer bar, we hope our customers will come to view this as a restaurant first and foremost.”
Gottschalk first lived in Shuiwei in 2010 and considers it a place he truly calls home. “We hang out at the bars, eat at the restaurants, [Shuiwei] is at least a kind of home for all the partners. For all of us one of our big priorities is not to come in and compete, but be part of the awesome community.”
Keg Room is planning a soft launch during the New Year holiday. The doors will be open, music will be on and they’ll be ready to serve, though the first days of service will likely open without an official announcement. If you’re in town, definitely go check out this new project.
[Cover image via Keg Room]
0 User Comments