Two veteran bartenders who worked places like Bestia, Low Boy, and Bar Flores have reopened Spring Street Bar in Downtown LA as of mid-September. Alexander Vaughan-Ruiz and Brandon Richard took six years to find a location for their concept and then another four months to convert the former Historic Core sports bar into a welcoming place for thoughtful cocktails.

“We always wanted to be in the Historic Core,” says Vaughan-Ruiz. “But now we get to work with cool spirits and craft cocktails at an affordable price. Times are tough for many people, so we’ll keep all our cocktails capped at $16.”

After signing the lease in May, Vaughan-Ruiz and Richard fully gutted the room, refinished the original bar top, and then installed walnut columns and tabletops to emphasize the nearly 100-year-old building’s legacy. The original name remains as an homage to the deep history tied to the space.

The main part of the menu touts accessible classics like espresso martinis, white Negronis, and crowd-friendly milk punches made with Diplomatico rum. For more esoteric imbibers, they created El Centro, which uses Amaras Espadin Reposado, vermouth, amaro, and bitters. They cover just about every kind of spirit, including Peru’s grape brandy pisco that goes into the Grape Escape, shaken with Capurro Pisco, Xila Licor de Agave mezcal, grapes, lemon, and pink peppercorns. Beers include hefeweizen, IPAs, and Boomtown’s Bad Hombre with a shot of Mestizo Mezcal Espadin. Glasses of Austrian pinot noir, Portuguese vino verde, Chiaretto from Veneto, or Cava will run an approachable $12.

Spring Street has some events planned as well. Though many bars reserve Mondays for hospitality industry night, Vaughan-Ruiz says Spring Street Bar will up the ante every third Monday with free trainings on various spirits. On Tuesdays, they’ll offer Japanese whiskey or tequila tastings, and on Wednesdays, expect various pop-ups serving food.

The Historic Core’s redevelopment can be traced back to 1999 when players like Downtown’s Central City Association, Cedd Moses, and Andrew Meieran took advantage of the city’s Adaptive Reuse Ordinance. The regulation change incentivized developers to convert historic or abandoned commercial buildings into residential projects and helped open places like Golden Gopher, Seven Grand, and the Edison. Those bars gave way to an entire generation of cocktail destinations across the area, including the Varnish, which closed earlier this year after a 15-year run, and Pacific Seas, which just reopened as part of the Clifton’s Republic relaunch earlier this year.

Spring Street Bar is open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. at 626 S. Spring Street B, Los Angeles, CA, 90014.

Spring Street Bar

Spring Street Bar