The photo shown above is a candid shot of Lady, the official mascot of 5Bar. The friendly dog appears to be telling 5Bar owner Levi Andersen the secret to making a perfect Manhattan.
5Bar, located at 530 East Grand Ave., opened in October of 2020 and beholds lots of surprises.
The photo shown above is a candid shot of Lady, the official mascot of 5Bar. The friendly dog appears to be telling 5Bar owner Levi Andersen the secret to making a perfect Manhattan.
5Bar, located at 530 East Grand Ave., opened in October of 2020 and beholds lots of surprises.
BELOIT—Liquid Chef magician Levi Andersen serves up transformative experiences in a glass.
“The name 5Bar began as a typo,” Andersen explains while petting Lady Corgi, his adorable 14-month-old bar pup. “I had been joking with a friend about buying a dive bar. The phrase kept auto correcting to 5Bar. I wanted a place that would feel like a house party in a bar.”
5Bar, located in downtown Beloit at 530 E. Grand Ave., opened in October of 2020. The bar has quickly become a destination for those “in the know” despite opening during the time everyone was staying home and couldn’t travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Being a bar owner was not something Andersen dreamed about as a youngster. In fact, he was a straight-edge kid. Raised out west near Seattle in a religious family, owning a bar was not on his horizon. Today being a bar owner is in perfect alignment with Andersen’s passions and life experiences having formerly worked as a barista, a musician, an electrician, and a roofer.
“Your barista by day is often your bartender by night,” says Andersen as he rolls up his pant legs to show the matching tattoos on the back of each of his calves. His right calf sports a coffee mug, his left, a cocktail glass. “Beverage—it’s a medium,” he says.
Deciding to buy and open a bar during the pandemic makes Andersen a little nutty or a genius, or a combination of both. He is a genius at putting together the weirdest combination of tastes and flavors coming up with outstanding cocktails.
5Bar opened in October of 2020 after four and a half months of extensive remodeling. Andersen’s dad, Dan came to the Midwest from Washington state to help with the work. Andersen spent most weekends of his childhood helping his dad with woodworking projects; dad was the local woodshop teacher. All those years doing construction together were an asset as the father and son team stripped out years of former remodeling and began the transformation into Five Bar’s funky aesthetic of today. Beginning at the front of the building the pair ripped out the drop ceiling exposing the beautiful original pressed tin ceiling. It’s been restored. Interior walls came down, exposing the brickwork underneath.
The atmosphere is sort of mid-century modern meets 50s retro funk. It works. The space is slightly divided, suggesting “rooms.” Furnished with comfy couches, chairs, hand-crocheted afghans, low tables, fun lighting, great music, and a growing collection of vintage art on the walls. There is always a Lady at the bar, Lady Corgi, the adorable dog.
The more Andersen thought about it, he decided he liked “Five” in the name. Five is central to the theme of the bar. Andersen has seen to it that all five senses are engaged: touch, taste, smell, sound, and sight. He creates amazingly original cocktails around the five tastes as well: five tastes, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. Soy sauce, ripe tomatoes and miso are examples of foods rich in umami components.
Initially, a job at Kerry Foods in Beloit brought Andersen to Beloit. For seven years and a half years, Andersen worked on many products, favorites include the syrup brand DaVinci Gourmet and the smoothie base, Island Oasis. Beginning in an entry-level position, Andersen’s skills were recognized, and his job shifted. He was sent all over the world for Kerry making crazy wild drinks. When asked why Kerry Foods sent him on a world tour? “It was part of the job,” was Andersen’s’ reply.
Andersen’s sense of joy, fun, and his relish for puns abounds in 5Bar’s funky atmosphere. Each month Andersen chooses a theme, then creates five unique cocktails around that theme. Back to the number five, one cocktail is always priced at $5. “You can come here on a date night for just $10,” he says.
A corkboard holds many past menus featuring the inventive monthly theme and the five original drinks. In Andersen’s words, “ We drink to celebrate. We drink to connect with friends, old and new. We drink to discover.”
“We have a quote for you,” friends Holly Bauscher and Amy Foss nod in agreement. “5Bar is a feast for the eyes with a cool vintage aesthetic vibe.” The two were enjoying their evening together, chatting, laughing, and sampling the imaginative Five Love Languages cocktail menu created for February. They include receiving “gifts, words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, and physical touch.”
Each of the five Love Language cocktails are a mix of the oddest ingredients one would never think to put together. Andersen’s superpower really is his ability to mix crazy disparate flavors devising the most memorable liquid experiences. This is the write-up for Physical Touch: vodka, ginger beer, pop rocks, and honey. Garnished with Pop rocks, it’s both repulsive and explosive, also clingy due to the honey rim.
5Bar has a weekly schedule of events including but by no means limited to yoga on Mondays, Trivia Tuesdays, Corgi-karoki on Wednesdays, dance, and house music by DJ Emu on Fridays and Saturdays. With a small stage in the backroom, the space is available for private parties. Imaginative new weekly and monthly special events are ever-changing and worth checking out.
In a space where bartenders dance and guests become the entertainment, 5Bar is a warm, inviting inclusive, safe space for all.
For more information visit www.5bar.co.
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