Cocktail bar Pink Room will open in May in the space attached to Metzger Bar & Butchery at 801 N. 23rd St. (Photo courtesy Pink Room)
A concept promising pink martinis, postmodern flair and a no-holds-barred menu that changes weekly is on the horizon in Richmond. Stay tuned for Pink Room, an 18-seat cocktail bar from restaurateur Brittanny Anderson and Beverage Director Steve Yang, coming this spring to Union Hill.
Aiming for a May debut, Anderson, who owns Brenner Pass and Black Lodge in Scott’s Addition and Metzger Bar & Butchery in Union Hill, says, “My design notes were, I want it to feel like Paris Hilton’s birthday party in 1982 in Venice, just over-the-top ridiculousness. We want it to kind of feel like a sexy party at your house.”
Restaurateur Brittanny Anderson of Brenner Pass, Black Lodge, and Metzger Bar & Butchery and Beverage Director Steve Yang (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
Connected to Metzger Bar & Butchery on North 23rd Street, the space had been sitting empty. A few years ago on a whim, Anderson painted it pink. “That front room we just haven’t used,” she says. “We thought maybe it’ll be a studio or demo space. … We just always called it the pink room.”
Described as free from rules and ever changing, Pink Room marks a rare opportunity for the tenured pair. Without a specific theme other than vibes abounding, the possibilities are infinite and the pressure somewhat lifted. Both Anderson and Yang have spent their careers pursuing European-centric concepts, whether French, German, Austrian or Italian, so this venture will be a step outside the box.
“I think this is why the Pink Room is going to be really fun, because right now, as far as we can tell, there’s no rules, we can do whatever,” Yang says. “I could bring in sake; I would never bring in sake to Brenner. I’m excited to do something different and be able to do a little more untethered, I guess, little less constrained, but also creating new constraints.”
Yang relocated to Richmond from Charlottesville four years ago. While his parents owned restaurants when he was growing up, Yang got his start in the beverage world at Beer Run, followed by stints at Bebedero, Tavola Restaurant & Wine Bar, and The Alley Light. After moving to Richmond, he joined the crew at Brenner Pass and has since been expanding the beverage program there. A veteran of the competitive mixology circuit, he recently advanced to the United States Bartenders’ Guild World Class Top 30 and will compete this summer in Denver.
Pink Room plans to offer a core lineup of six plates and six beverages (two natural wines, two beers, two cocktails). Upon opening, Yang and Anderson plan to operate as a duo, performing their respective duties in the kitchen and behind the bar and filling in where needed.
While menu items can be ordered a la carte, their goal is to create food-and-drink pairings that should be enjoyed together. “I really wanted it to be that the food and drink menu are more planned side by side, drinks are designed to specifically pair with a dish or the opposite. I think that would be really cool and also think it’s something that isn’t being done in the area at all,” Yang says.
Guests can also just pop in for a nightcap. “We want to give you a lot of options and different abilities but also want you to just come in and have a cocktail if you want and sit with your girlfriends,” Anderson says. “I think for both of us, the idea of doing something weekly is kind of fun, too, it’s like, ‘Oh, we didn’t love that, let’s do something different,’ and … I think you find magic sometimes.”
And yes, there will be pink drinks. Imbibers can expect a signature frozen pink cosmo. They are also riffing on a Gibson cocktail, a red wine mignonette-inspired rendition using oyster shells from women-owned Matheson Oyster Co. in Gloucester.
“This bar wants you to drink a martini, it calls for stemware in your hand; I think we’ll have a little focus on that,” Anderson says, noting that a Gibson is one of her favorite drinks. As for food, she says, “It’ll be like something cold, an oyster, a fish, a meat, another snacky and something sweetish, sweet or cheese, so if you did order it all it would make sense.”
Pink Room’s petite size is a plus in terms of design. Anderson jokes that ordering has been slightly comical, with the business only needing a few of certain items. But because it’s not the main revenue generator, and more of a playful counterpart to Metzger Bar & Butchery, its mutability is refreshing.
“We can just do this really fun, special party Thursday, Friday, Saturday, because we already rent the space and it’s already a part of what we have,” she says. “We just wanted to utilize it better, and also, I kind of miss cooking like that. No matter what, it’s a really great chance to hone our skills and put out good stuff, and me and Steve love working together, and I think it’ll be fun to do, and it’s just gravy you know, like icing, and that’s what I’m excited about. I think it will be a cool space.”
The minimal amount of space — four seats at the bar, three two-tops, two four-tops — will house a maximalist design. Anderson has hired Studio Tarea to help her achieve the vision that includes lots of chrome, pops of pink and orange, beaded curtains, and a campy Southern-food-inspired ceiling installation by a friend who is a painter and a professor of art at Virginia Commonwealth University.
“Because it’s so small, we can kind of do some cool stuff with it that is exciting and a little out of our wheelhouse,” Anderson says. “It’s such a collaborative experience and space, and I think that is fueling the creativity of it as well. We don’t want to put a lot of rules on people, we want it to be fun. The whole space is meant [for guests] to have a good time, feel excited, inspired, and every time you come there is something different.”
Pink Room will be open Thursday to Saturday with hours tentatively set for 5 p.m. to midnight in the space attached to Metzger Bar & Butchery at 801 N. 23rd St.
