The Buildout

Stepping into Shinji’s feels a bit like tumbling down the rabbit hole.

Drinks arrive inside hollowed-out oranges. A Ramos Gin Fizz appears in seconds instead of minutes. Plumes of dry ice drift across the bar. It’s playful, theatrical, and a little surreal—yet somehow everything still tastes incredible.

The creative force behind it all is Jonathan Adler. On this episode of The Buildout, Adler joins host Adam Teeter to share the story of how Shinji’s came to life and how he designs cocktails that are equal parts spectacle and serious craftsmanship.

Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcast

Shinji's: https://www.instagram.com/shinjisbar
Jonathan Adler: https://www.instagram.com/jonservesdrinks

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair
Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter
Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The original idea behind Clover Club was simple: open a great bar closer to home.

What wasn’t simple was the execution. When the bar debuted, no one had yet brought a Manhattan-caliber cocktail experience to Brownstone Brooklyn. Clover Club set out to change that—and in the process helped redefine what a neighborhood bar could be.

Today, Clover Club is an industry icon. But getting there meant years of challenges, from navigating a split with a business partner to surviving a global pandemic.

On this episode of The Buildout, host Adam Teeter sits down with owners Julie Reiner, Susan Fedroff, and Christine Williams to hear the full story behind building one of Brooklyn’s most influential bars.

Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcast

Clover Club: https://www.instagram.com/cloverclubny

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair
Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter
Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Perched high above the clouds, Overstory is unlike anything else in Manhattan.

Launching a refined, high-end cocktail bar in the heart of the Financial District was a bold bet. The neighborhood has long been defined by dive bars, happy hours, and big screens—not destination drinking. Yet Overstory has defied expectations, becoming one of the most celebrated bars in the country.

Co-founder Harrison Ginsberg joins Adam Teeter on The Buildout to share how the idea was born, how the team brought it to life, and why taking a risk on an unconventional location paid off.

Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcast

Overstory: https://www.instagram.com/overstory
Harrison Ginsberg: https://www.instagram.com/harrison.ginsberg

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair
Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter
Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Takuma Watanabe left Angel’s Share, he wasn’t just moving on — he was chasing a vision: to build the ultimate Japanese-style cocktail bar in New York City. The result is Martiny’s.

Takuma sits down with Adam to talk about what it took to make the leap from acclaimed bartender to owner, the principles and details that define Martiny’s, and how he translated Japanese craft and hospitality into a bar that already feels like a modern classic.

Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcast

Martiny's: https://www.instagram.com/martinys_nyc
Takuma Watanabe: https://www.instagram.com/takuma0w

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair
Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter
Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why would one of the most celebrated restaurants in the world — Eleven Madison Park — open a cocktail bar? Turns out the answer isn’t “because they can.”

In this episode, Adam sits down with EMP Beverage Director Sebastian Tollius to unpack the story behind Clemente Bar: how it came to life, what it means to build a bar through a three–Michelin-star lens, and the standards that carry over from the dining room to the glass. They also get into the relationship Tollius developed with Chef Daniel Humm — and how that partnership ultimately made the bar possible.

Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/buildoutpodcast

Clemente Bar: https://www.instagram.com/theclementebar
Sebastian Tollius: https://www.instagram.com/tollius_

VinePair: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair
Hosted by VinePair Co-Founder: https://www.instagram.com/adamteeter
Produced and edited by: https://www.instagram.com/dolldoctor
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.