Craft cocktail bar and speakeasy, Foundation, coming to the Works in September

Expect a classy atmosphere with small plates and ornate drinks

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Peychaud’s Flower with gin, lemon, simple syrup, Peychaud’s bitters, absinthe, and Champagne

Photo by Drew Fancher

Located on the Westside, the Works has barbecue, beer, ax throwing, a food hall, and more. But it doesn’t have a dedicated cocktail bar—yet. Drew and Brittany Fancher, owners of the Aero Bar Atlanta mobile cocktail company, are opening their first brick-and-mortar bar there in September. Called Foundation, it will reside near Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q and Dr. Scofflaw’s and serve complex cocktails, beer, and wine, along with charcuterie and small plates.

“You’re coming in for an entire experience,” Drew Fancher says. “It’s visual, olfactory, your taste buds, the way the garnishes are presented, and how the glass feels in your hands.”

Signature Old Fashioned with bitters, simple syrup, Tillen Farms bourbon cherry juice, and rye whiskey

This experience starts when you walk through the steel French doors at the entrance, note the concrete floors, deconstructed brick walls, candle-burning fireplace, and make your way to the 22-foot mahogany and marble bar. These aspects of the decor—along with the dark color scheme, arches, and distressed mirrors—are designed to conjure images of older estates, built on strong foundations. Hence the name.

What’s Up Lovers with gin, lime juice, and elderflower liquor, topped with rose

Photo by Drew Fancher

Bourbon sour

Photo by Drew Fancher

Cocktail waitresses greet guests where they are, be it a booth, couch, or patio. The beverage list ranges from classic to complex, featuring an old fashioned, Moscow mule, Manhattan, and other Prohibition-style drinks. Unique options include Liquid Love (Guinness reduction simple syrup, lemon juice, honey simple syrup, Jameson, and mint) and a honey thyme martini. There will be six to 10 uncommon, high-end wines and four local beers on tap. Bourbon flights will be available, too.

“My favorite thing is putting cocktails in people’s hands and seeing their smiles when they taste them,” Fancher says.

A concise food menu will primarily feature small plates, such as meatballs, flatbreads, pimento cheese sliders, barbecue salmon, and shrimp and grits. Customizable charcuterie boards will come in three sizes.

The 3,000-square-foot space includes an intimate, reservation-only speakeasy with an upscale vibe. Fancher describes it as “an entirely different experience” from the cocktail bar. “It’s modern and alive with color,” he says.

The 30-seat space will offer a membership that incudes access to special events, like wine tastings and cocktail classes. There, mixologists will create “bespoke cocktails based on the preferences of the customers,” Fancher says. A business casual dress code will be enforced.

Blackberry jam cocktail

Photo by Drew Fancher

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