A new bar opened in New York City over the weekend called Coup, as in coup d’etat designed for resisting the Trump regime.
All of the bar’s profits will be donated to various organizations fighting or being defunded by Trump. Owner Ravi DeRossi and his partners Sother Teague and Max Green have placed six jars around the establishment representing different non-profits for patrons to drop tokens into after purchasing a drink.
In the first two nights, Coup reportedly sold $20,000 worth of drinks that the donations
will be drawn from. Planned Parenthood saw the most donations, which could be due to recent defunding efforts, or that it was easier to get to their jar. The ACLU was second.
I got the chance to chat with Ravi on Friday night and the parallel motivations behind Coup and this blog were clear, to take something you know how to do well and use it to fight to make things better.
Coup has received some very good coverage from The New York Times, Food & Wine, and Saveur, among others. There was a nice opening weekend video interview with DeRossi here. And definitely keep an eye on coupnyc.com for the list of guest
bartenders.
The place was intimate and comfortable, and drinking for a cause is likely to make everyone that much more friendly. Opening weekend staff made it difficult to tell they really hadn’t worked together before (at least from my side of the bar), and Coup has a no tipping policy.
If you’re in New York, regularly or just visiting, Coup is a must for your cocktail itinerary. Located at 64
Cooper Square, it is very close to the Astor Place subway. (It is also very close to Amor y Amargo and Death & Co.)
Have a cocktail — the Dark and Stormy was both tasty and fitting for the times — and discuss the resistance. I’ll likely see you there.
Cheers!
Gin & Bitters 