\nWhat is it like running a makeshift bar from a luncheonette?
\n<\/b>IT: <\/b>S&P is a monster on its own. They have people prepping and behind the counter all day. It\u2019s like a ship. People have their own way of doing things, for years. We come in and you have to be conscious and respectful of this space\u2014who are we to even be in there?<\/p>\n
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We prep in a back room in the basement during the day: [For the Ants on a Log cocktail, which is inspired by the snack,] Skrewball peanut butter whiskey is sous vide with celery seed and raisin, and the raisins are then blended with xanthan gum to create the crisp garnish. Jack Daniels bonded rye is fat-washed with Taylor ham [for a pork roll-infused cocktail]. Lime oleo saccharum is always in the works for lime cordial. And then, we\u2019re batching everything.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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They start to shut down for the day starting at 5. There\u2019s one green trolley cart that goes into the basement. And we\u2019re carrying our bar tools up. We\u2019ve built makeshift wells in milk crates. We\u2019re moving their presses down to a second shelf. It\u2019s crazy. We have to run out because they sweep the dirt and oil off the floor and we put our bar mats down. It\u2019s all happening at the same time. I imagine it\u2019s like a Beethoven symphony.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n
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![\"Pancakes](\"https:\/\/punchdrink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Inline-2-Pancakes-Pop-Up-SP-NYC.jpg\")
<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n\nHow are things working with the drinks?
\n<\/b>IT: <\/b>We had thought it out. We were lucky enough to have done a lot of pop-ups. When I was thinking about the menu, [I knew that] nothing could be more than a three-bottle pickup. We have said every day in pre-shift: This is a pop-up. It\u2019s not a bar; there will be times things are slower than we want them to be or messier than we want them to be.<\/span><\/p>\n
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[For example,] we\u2019re using ice that we wouldn\u2019t normally use; there are no glass-chillers. It takes longer to get drinks to the right temperature. It\u2019s a lot of figuring out as we go but making sure things are up to the standard we want.<\/span><\/p>\n
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Wait, what kind of ice are you using?
\n<\/b>IT:<\/b> At a craft cocktail bar, you\u2019d have a Kold-Draft machine, at a minimum. We have what I call \u201cluncheonette ice,\u201d almost chip ice, that comes out of the machines. It\u2019s absolutely not meant for a perfectly diluted cocktail; it\u2019s meant for a fountain soda.<\/span><\/p>\n
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Behind the counter, we have this giant cooler. In every corner we have two bags of spear ice and two bags of 2-by-2 cubes. And we dump all the luncheonette ice on top of it. We prep the drinks on the luncheonette ice but serve the drinks on the purchased ice. Our shakes have to be quicker because the ice melts faster. We\u2019re learning the tricks of the luncheonette ice every day.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n
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![\"Pancakes](\"https:\/\/punchdrink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Inline-4-Pancakes-Pop-Up-SP-NYC.jpg\")
<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n\nWhy start with a pop-up, and not a traditional brick-and-mortar space?
\n<\/b>IT: <\/b>As weird as it might seem, I have a ton of anxiety. D is a fairly cautious person. We know that about ourselves. Taking a huge leap, especially in this state of our country right now, at this particular moment in the world and the U.S., compounded with who we are as people\u2014taking that gigantic step for us into a brick-and-mortar and signing a lease felt really big and terrifying. So we managed to take a smaller bite.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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DDB:<\/b> This was a good way to dispel our fears and say, <\/span>Can we actually do this?<\/span><\/i> I\u2019ve been an AGM, but I\u2019ve never run a spot myself. I said, <\/span>Let\u2019s see if we can do it.<\/span><\/i> And it turns out, we can!<\/span><\/p>\n
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What has the reception been like? How are people responding so far?
\n<\/b>IT:<\/b> People have seemed to really love it. There\u2019s something special about being allowed into a New York institution after-hours and we really wanted to make sure Pancakes [did] justice to that experience. So far it seems like we\u2019re doing okay!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
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You described turning around the space to open. What\u2019s it like at midnight, when you close?
\n<\/b>IT: <\/b>The end of the night, the staff has a Margarita or a glass of wine in their hand. D\u2019s mopping the floor. We\u2019re carrying dump buckets. It\u2019s down and it\u2019s dirty after you\u2019ve served people. It\u2019s a five-hour shift: You\u2019ve given your whole heart for five hours, but the best and worst part is breaking it down every night. And then you clean up what you\u2019ve done, so [S&P] can come in and do their service the next day. It\u2019s really humbling.<\/span><\/p>\n
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DDB: <\/b>It\u2019s this ephemeral thing. It\u2019s like, it could have never really been here. But the lights were purple when they came in this morning.<\/span>
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/punchdrink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Pre-Shift-300.jpg\")
<\/a>This month, Izzy Tulloch and Danielle \u201cD\u201d De Block, formerly of the New York bar <\/span>Milady\u2019s<\/span><\/a>, are running their makeshift bar, <\/span>A Pop-Up Called Pancakes<\/span><\/a>, within <\/span>S&P<\/span><\/a>, a luncheonette from the team behind Court Street Grocers. The venue is a nearly century-old diner in Manhattan\u2019s Flatiron District, a long, narrow space that the new owners, Eric Finkelstein and Matt Ross, left more or less intact. That is great for NYC history buffs\u2014but how does that translate into a cocktail bar?<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Pancakes](\"https:\/\/punchdrink.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Inline-3-Pancakes-Pop-Up-SP-NYC.jpg\")
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