And the place is authentic because the proprietor is. Gianmarco Colannino worked in the industry, got cancer, beat it and, after returning to work (for a beer company), took a step back—priorities fully in place—and decided to open a bar like the ones he loved in other cities but could never find here: small, with a casual atmosphere and a hard focus on the work side, where neighbourhood folk could hang out, listen to good music and shoot the shit. He essentially built the place himself using a handsaw, because he didn’t have the scratch for an electric one, let alone a professional contractor. The early days—where the food was more front and centre—were tough, with overflow from neighbour Bistro Wagon Rouge providing a thin lifeline. But Colannino streamlined the menu radically: one burger, one steak, one side. He brought in bartender Dave Beck when Merchant’s Oyster Bar closed, and the two started to craft a cocktail program that is near-perfect in its construction: a page of classic cocktails, a page of originals, a small rotating selection of craft beer and a cool selection of wines at “market price,” which Colannino mistakenly thinks is a 100-percent markup—insanely low.