The Buildout

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.

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Death & Co: https://www.instagram.com/deathandcompany
David Kaplan: https://www.instagram.com/dkproprietors
Alex Day: https://www.instagram.com/apday

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair
Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter
Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 can’t stop coming back to.

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Attaboy: https://www.instagram.com/attaboy134
Sam Ross: https://www.instagram.com/samueljoelross
Michael McIlroy: https://www.instagram.com/attaboy_mcilroy

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair
Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter
Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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/buildoutpodcast

Joaquin Simo: https://www.instagram.com/simojoaquin

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair
Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter
Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 craftsmanship.

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Shinji's: https://www.instagram.com/shinjisbar
Jonathan Adler: https://www.instagram.com/jonservesdrinks

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair
Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter
Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Adam Teeter sits down with owners Julie Reiner, Susan Fedroff, and Christine Williams to hear the full story behind building one of Brooklyn’s most influential bars.

Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcast

Clover Club: https://www.instagram.com/cloverclubny

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair
Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter
Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.