Helping girlfriend open a bar is a ton of work, but it’s exciting to see everything come together. The bar was built today, along with new lights, new toilets, a new sink, mirrors, TVs were mounted, and signage. Busy busy. W’ll post more pics throughout the week, though not sure how many “in progress” I’ll get because I’m only able to help out after I finish work in the evening and on weekends. Made the menu on Canva today and met with the new bartender to come up with 3 specialty cocktails using Thai flavors. Named them “The Layover”, “Full Flight”, and “On The Way”. I’ll see if I can get some “promo” shots of them once we buy everything and get them tested. Aiming for a private party next Saturday to test out all the kinks. Company will come deep clean on Wednesday, furniture and pool table go in Thursday, and Wi-Fi, POS system, and liquor/beer will go in Friday. Exciting week ahead!

It’s a 3 story building. The first floor will have a bar, along with 6-7 bar stools and two 4-tops. Kitchen in the back, and a bathroom. Stairs have a big landing area, with a bathroom, and then we’ll have a pool table, 2 large painted oil drums for standing / placing drinks, a 3 seat table at the end, and a 4 seat (high) table running along with one of the walls. Upstairs has an office area, a bedroom with a bathroom, and a big balcony area. I think the plan is to reno that later and eventually get some tables/chairs up there. The rent is $600 a month, which is crazy because I was paying more than $800 in Beijing for a 1 bedroom condo.

Both bathrooms have mirrors and sinks (all new). The kitchen will be used for small bar food, but I’m hoping to do classic bar food with Thai flavors. Spicy/lemongrass chicken wings, maybe fried calamari with local flavors, spicy papaya salad, just quick bites, but full of flavor. It’s definitely a cool learning experience, and girlfriend is 100% owner. I’ve helped buy small things, did the designs, came up with drinks, helped paint, delegated to workers where I wanted street signs hung up (got a bunch of cool signs from airports at a second-hand store that we mounted to the walls), so this bar isn’t mine, and I’m not dependent on it to make money, but I hope it does. So far, it’s been a lot of work, but I have a feeling it’s just the start.

*Don’t judge the painting. We’re just trying to get the base layer in so we can paint the murals, and then we’ll go back and spot paint everything. The finished photos will look a lot better.