By Kathy Chouteau
As a bar built for Richmond and its hardworking people, it’s no wonder voters selected The Factory Bar as the “Best Bar” with the “Best Cocktails” in the Richmond Chamber of Commerce’s “Best of Richmond 2024” competition.
Since opening in 2020, The Factory Bar—with its beautiful Victory Garden and Polka Dot Room for special events—stands with pride and purpose as the unofficial home of the Richmond Historical Society. Ok, that may be some cheekiness on the bar’s website, but it rings true when you walk through the door and spy an historical ode to the city everywhere you look.
But the bar expands beyond its gold medal standing as a go-to place for reveling in the wonders of everything Richmond while enjoying a tasty drink. It’s also a place to discover and celebrate.
Every week on Whiskey Wednesdays, patrons can check out the special menu of whiskey cocktails and receive special guided tastings and tutelage from 4-8 p.m. in the Whiskey Corner with bar co-owner Marcus Hibser. Guest distilleries, like Savage & Cooke and other, occasionally join in the mix, making it not only an excellent way to enter the land of whiskey, but also explore its bounty.
Peeps can take their whiskey love next-level by joining The Factory Bar’s Whiskey Club for $60, which features a different whiskey from its collection every Wednesday, along with some sweet swag like a special glass, brass pin, baseball cap and a “Let’s get Distilled at The Factory Bar” T-shirt.
The Polka Dot Room, the bar’s spot for special events, is also where it hosts its “Comedy at the Factory” events once a month, according to co-owner Tom Lyons. The showcase usually features about 6-8 top local comedians performing 10-12 minutes of their best material. Keep your eye on the calendar to see what’s coming up; get advance tickets on Eventbrite or purchase them at the door.
the elbow grease of co-owner Michelle Guest created ‘Victory Patio,’ lush with flowers, herbs, lemons and more.
The elbow grease of co-owner Michelle Guest created Victory Patio, a gorgeous and tabled space lush with flowers, herbs, lemons and more. Victory Patio offers an attractive space for communing, and can also can be rented for special events, often with a food truck parked alongside it. The bar uses lemons, herbs, mint, hops, etc. from its garden in its drinks, including the Victory Ale brewed for them by Origin Brewer’s Michelle Baker.
Bartender Nicole Gayles mixed this reporter up a delicious glass of the bar’s Wildcat ($14) drink, with Destilador tequila, watermelon shrub, lemon juice, pineapple sage-basil syrup and serrano tincture, which integrates some of the garden’s bounty. She also mixed me a sample of the bright-purple S.E.A. ($12) with Fid Street gin, pea flower tincture, lime juice, lychee syrup and simple syrup.
Both drinks were expertly crafted and simply delicious, with the Wildcat being this reporter’s personal favorite. Gayles revealed that the bar uses their lemons and limes fresh and she later dehydrates them to use in their drinks. Other evidence of The Factory Bar’s gold medal standards and commitment to excellence.
Find The Factory Bar at 12517 San Pablo Ave. in Richmond. Check out its other offerings online.
