Future Bars Announces Three New Projects, Basically Is Taking Over Universe

It's hard to believe that the Future Bars empire was just two bars, Swig and Bourbon & Branch, as recently as five years ago. Since then, they've revamped Swig, added The Wilson to B&B, expanded in their home territory in the Tendernob (Tradition), brought liquor and cocktail supplies to the FiDi (Cask), installed cocktails in an old newspaper printing room (Local Edition), and are about to launch their first East Bay project (Tupper & Reed, in the former Beckett's in downtown Berkeley). But that's not all for Brian Sheehy and Doug Dalton: according to the SF Business Times, they have their eyes on opening another bar in North Beach, as well as two more locations of Cask.

The North Beach project is a planned takeover of the Jazz at Pearl's space on Columbus Avenue, right next door to the soon-to-reopen Tosca Cafe and a quick walk to four more outstanding drinking dens: Vesuvio, Specs, Comstock Saloon, and 15 Romolo. The plan is to offer tableside cocktail service and to take reservations, though the bar won't have a speakeasy vibe; if a Monday meeting with the neighborhood and local police officers goes well, they should be in line for a takeover.

Cask, the team's liquor store and cocktail-supply shop, is looking like it'll initiate two new locations. The first will be at the Rincon Center, and is almost through the permitting quagmire. It'll be double the size of the Third Street original, with a beefed-up wine program and, Sheehy hopes, a tasting room (pending city approval). The other location of Cask would be on Telegraph Avenue in Rockridge, but likely won't get much traction until the team gets the new SF location open.

As for Tupper & Reed, which is named for a previous tenant (a 1910s musical instrument shop), the duo plans to incorporate old photos and sheet music into the decor. They're also collaborating with UC Berkeley's music department to get some live acts playing '10s and '20s music in the space. It'll also serve as the East Bay hub for the Beverage Academy classes currently taught at Bourbon & Branch. No timeline has been given for any of the four projects, but the Future Bars team has a reputation for getting things done quickly, and it's likely that all (possibly excepting Cask Rockridge) might be online by the end of next year.

· Future Bars' Brian Sheehy eyes Pearl's in North Beach [SF Business Times]
· Bourbon and Branch Team Opening a Berkeley Bar [~ ESF ~]
· Swig Freshens Up with Slick New Remodel [~ ESF ~]