Have you been to The Golden Monkey Lounge yet? If you haven’t, consider this a sign to head to South Street for a cocktail! We caught up with owners Gregg Singer and Larissa Ovitt to hear more about the inspiration for opening a lounge, what to expect from their menus, how things have been going so far, and more…
On Opening a Lounge
Gregg: Larissa and I went into business together about four years ago, building a portfolio of short term rentals. Being that Larissa is from the area, she happened to spot that this building was on the market, and we pounced on it. We knew we wanted to build out the upstairs for apartments, and our original plan was to rent out the retail space on the ground floor.
With all the momentum on South Street, we really wanted to take the city’s vision and further it. Knowing that the Market Center building is going up across the street, we realized that we didn’t want to let go of too much control with the retail space. We didn’t want it to go in a direction that wouldn’t work with the city’s vision, and the vision that we have for the building as a whole.
So one night, we just decided — we’re opening a bar! There are really no other lounge spaces in the area, so we thought that would be our niche. We want it to be a happy and safe space for people to have fun and socialize. There are no TVs, no pool tables, no dartboards, and there’s no craziness.
Larissa: We’re hoping to encourage conversation. Whether it’s with the people that you came with, or with other people that you meet throughout the night. Each one of the seating sections was structured for conversation, and it’s a versatile enough space to accommodate different size groups. Groups that grow as the night goes on! It’s like an extension of your own living room — but you don’t have to clean up after.
Gregg: We spent the last four months fixing, cleaning, and renovating the place. We added a partition wall, upgraded the lighting and audio, built out the back bar shelving. We really wanted the space to have an aesthetic that Larissa and I like personally.
Gregg Singer and Larissa Ovitt
On Specialty Drinks
Larissa: Being a cocktail lounge, specialty cocktails are our thing. Our menu consists of classic cocktails, reimagined. Taking things like scotch, gin, and rum, and turning them into drinks that are elevated. They’re familiar enough that it’s comfortable, but also encourages you to try something new. We also have mocktails — we’re not creating a separate mocktail menu, because we want people to be able to enjoy what we have on our regular cocktail menu without the alcohol.
For beer, we’re hoping to offer options that you won’t find anywhere else. We don’t offer domestic beer, and our focus is mainly on craft beer and seasonal ciders. We try to stay as local as possible, but not something that you can just run down the street and grab somewhere else. We have a great wine list too. We dove right into wine research and found the best one of each variety.
Our hope is to offer something that feels familiar, but pushes your palate just a bit to help you discover something that you didn’t even know you liked.
On The Food
Gregg: We currently have five or six small plate options on our menu, and we plan to keep building on that. The portions are shareable, but they aren’t entrees. This is a place where you can feel comfortable coming for a cocktail and an appetizer before your dinner reservation elsewhere downtown, and maybe come back to relax after dinner with another drink.
In keeping with our cocktails, we wanted to create options that feel comfortable, but with an elevated twist. For instance, we have a crostini, which many people are used to, but we did a whipped feta topping with wild mushrooms and a balsamic drizzle. We have a cheese platter that has spiced mango chutney, apples, pickled vegetables, and local cheeses. We have a curried hummus and a carrot harissa dip. My favorite is probably the deviled eggs. Who doesn’t love deviled eggs? We’re currently doing avocado and bacon, and we’ve also done a version spiced with Old Bay and filled with pickles and a shrimp on top.
We are trying to cater to everyone’s dietary preferences. We have gluten free options, vegetarian, and vegan.
On The Name
Larissa: We spent a long time racking our brains about a name. There was nothing that really stuck. We were trying to find something that was reflective of us as well as our vision for this space. A little playful, a little mischievous, but yet classy.
We ended up coming across the Golden Monkey — the species — online one night when we were together. They’re amazing. They’re a really pretty golden red color with a bright blue face. They’re an endangered species, and their territory has become very small. There are a couple of refuges — one in India and one in Africa, where their population numbers are coming back up. It feels like an opportunity for us to do something beyond the walls of this place. The name felt like it fit.
Gregg: We plan on trying to create some type of charity so that we can help them in some way.
On Being Eco Friendly
Larissa: There are a lot of eco friendly aspects to what we’ve created here as well, probably the most noticeable being our straws, which are actually ocean biodegradable. They break down within a couple of months. All of the disposables that we use are compostable and biodegradable as well.
Gregg: Our food is always brought out on ceramic plates, but we’ll also provide paper plates for sharing, which are biodegradable, and our cutlery is corn based, so it all breaks down. They are more expensive, but we don’t want to add waste.
Larissa: We try to stay conscious about all of our selections, including the different liquor companies that we carry. Who we support is important to us.
On The First Few Weeks
Larissa: We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response so far from the community. It’s been awesome.
Gregg: So many people have said that our community really needed a place like this. We’ve heard that from people age 21 all the way up to 75. A safe, comfortable, quiet place where you can talk to friends and hang out, without too much stimuli.
Larissa: There already seems to be a lot of additional foot traffic on South Street between our opening and the opening of Taco Kings Jalisco. On any given day, there are now a lot of cars on the street, especially in the evening, when it had been dead before. South Street has been an afterthought for a long time, and that time is over.
On Next Steps
Larissa: Our front garage door opens, which we’ll be able to take advantage of more in the spring, and that lends itself to people enjoying the energy happening on the street once the building across the street is complete and they start to hold events.
We also have a big, private patio out back, which will be the coolest space downtown. We’re planning on utilizing it a bit this winter, probably by having an ice bar at some point. The full design of the space will happen this spring, and that will be another incredible space to host events.
