Check Out North Park’s New Cocktail Supply Store

A new resource for amateur and professional bartenders has landed on El Cajon Boulevard. Cocktail supply store Collins & Coupe, which opened in North Park last weekend, is owned by Gary McIntire and Logan McIntire Mitchell who run local supper club Cellar Door; Logan cooks the multi-course dinners while Gary creates cocktail pairings for each dish.

Their 1,000-square-foot store has been carefully curated; it’s already stocked floor-to-ceiling with vintage glassware sets, a collection that ranges from sturdy tiki mugs to delicate stemware, with lots of new drinkware on the way. From barware to bitters and syrups to stirrers, Collins & Coupe is aiming to be a one-stop shop for the cocktail enthusiast; a freezer will stock all kinds of ice, including bar-quality clear ice cubes. Open every day except Tuesday and Wednesday, Collins & Coup will also offer educational classes for beginning drink-makers.

The proprietors are also part of a team behind Native Spirits, a long-simmering project combining a bottle shop, bar and restaurant that still intends to open just a few storefronts east when Awash Ethiopian Restaurant and Market eventually relocates into a larger building. Collins & Coupe will continue as a complement to the bottle shop; though it won’t serve or sell alcohol, McIntire says he’ll launch a crowd-funding campaign next year to build out a soda fountain that will enable him to serve bitters and soda water refreshers.