ONLINE PRESS KIT
Welcome to online press kit for Banzarbar.
A NEW COCKTAIL EXPERIENCE LAUNCHES
BANZARBAR is a twenty seat cocktail bar on the second floor of Freemans Restaurant that opened in January 2018. The bar was inspired by early 20th Century explorers and the BANZARE Antarctic expeditions. BANZARBAR will bring exotic ingredients from world travels to a cozy retreat hidden away on New York’s Lower East Side. Freemans owners, Taavo Somer and William Tigertt, launched this concept to create a new elevated cocktail experience inside their classic New York City restaurant. Eryn Reece, formerly of Death & Co. and Mayahuel, helms the ship as Head Bartender. Chef Harold Villarosa, of Freemans, has created an original bar menu with a seafood emphasis.
LOW ABV COCKTAIL TASTING MENU
BANZARBAR features an a la carte cocktail menu, as well as a five-course low ABV cocktail menu, paired with seafood. This menu is a two-hour experience with five drinks and small appetizer pairings with each cocktail. It is built around low proof cocktails so that the entire menu can be experienced without overwhelming the guests with too much alcohol.
PHOTOGRAPHY INSTRUCTIONS
Please click on the link below each photo to open full resolution and then right click to "Save As" the image to your local computer. If you require higher resolutions photography or need a photo that isn't available below please email us: press@banzarbar.com
DOWNLOAD LOGO
BANZARBAR INTERIOR PHOTOGRAPHY
BANZARBAR COCKTAIL PHOTOGRAPHY
Deception Island
Photo Download
For Queen and County
BANZARBAR FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
Bay Scallop Crudo, Beet-Top Salsa Verde
The Kraken - Whole Octopus Being Prepared
Fried Chickpeas with Sage
The Kraken (whole tempura octopus with potatoes bravas and yogurt)
Banzarbar Bon-Bons
Oyster Service
BANZARBAR PEOPLE
ABOUT ERYN REECE, BANZARBAR HEAD BARTENDER
Originally from Portland, Oregon Eryn Reece moved east in 2007 to be part of the New York City cocktail scene. She has worked her way up the ranks behind the bar at Bar Milano and Mayahuel, followed by a four-year tenure as Head Bartender at world renowned Death & Company. Eryn is excited to raise awareness for female bartenders, and is a founding member and secretary of LUPEC NYC, and a Dames Hall of Fame Inductee by Tales of the Cocktail. Eryn is Speed Rack National champion and has been featured in numerous publications, including Imbibe, New York Times, and Cosmopolitan.
ABOUT HAROLD VILLAROSA, EXECUTIVE CHEF
Filipino born, and South Bronx raised, Chef Harold Villarosa received his earliest culinary and agricultural education in the bukid (rice paddies) of Iloilo. fifteen years later, Harold’s work ethic and training have allowed him to work at some of the most renowned restaurants in the world, including Rene Redzepi’s NOMA in Copenhagen, and Thomas Keller’s Per Se. Harold is also the Founder of the Insurgo Project which takes practical applications from the culinary industry and empowers communities to pursue food justice through economic development. Harold took over as Executive Chef for Freeman Restaurant in 2017 and is the US Culinary Ambassador to Denmark.
ABOUT FREEMANS RESTAURANT
In the fall of 2003, proprietors Taavo Somer and William Tigertt happened upon a perfect intimate space at the end of an unused alley off the Bowery while scouting for a Halloween party spot. The party was subsequently abandoned and Freemans Restaurant was born. The idea of the restaurant was to make a masculine, clandestine, colonial American tavern where the founding fathers could have conspired and caroused while making plans for the new nation. The cuisine was also imagined to be early American: simple, rustic, and inspired by the Old World traditions from which the colonies were formed. Freemans’ classic cocktail list – heavy on American Bourbon and Rye – round out the experience. The restaurant, opened in August 2004, was expanded in 2011 when the second level private dining rooms opened, with capacity for up to 150 people. In 2018, Banzarbar a 20-seat private cocktail bar opened on the second floor.