Part Time Lover Delivering Records, Coffee, and Cocktails to Former Bar Pink Space in North Park

Cued up for a late May release, Part Time Lover is bringing sweet sounds back to the 30th Street space where Bar Pink reigned for 13 years before shuttering in Fall 2020. Though live bands will no longer be featured, music will still be at the forefront of this new venture, a hi-fi listening bar and record store from CH Projects (J & Tony’s, Polite Provisions), who’ve tasked some notable names from the local industry to curate its soundtrack.

As listening bar culture was first popularized in Japan, Part Time Lover’s drinks will revolve around Japanese highballs — long, sessionable cocktails made with sparkling water carbonated on an in-house system like the In Kaiju, which will be tinged with Japanese vermouth, aquavit, and lemon. Coffee will also be served, along with some select pastry items.

Part Time Lover

The spare-no-expense design by CH Projects’ Taylor Leage and team combines Japanese aesthetics with North American architecture, particularly the clean lines and craftsman style associated with Frank Lloyd Wright. The bar and table lamps have been built for the space by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, which will also feature an Art Deco back bar, an oak-framed chandelier, and wallpaper custom designed by local tattoo artist Honkeykonger that pays tribute to Bar Pink. Former Bar Pink managing partner Dang Nguyen is also staying on to help run this new project.

Its listening bar will be centered around a custom hi-fi wheel-to-reel system that will pull from a library of recorded live music and DJ sets, but also allow local collectors to play their own albums. Part Time Lover has partnered with Folk Arts Rare Records to program its vinyl lineup and also tapped Casbah owner Tim Mays to bring in renowned musicians who will spin their own sets. At the rear of the space will be the retail store, stocked with a records featured in the bar.

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