Best Bar, Carytown

First place:

The Jasper

3113 W. Cary St.
jasperbarrva.com

Second place: Babe’s of Carytown
Third place: New York Deli
Honorable mention: Can Can Brasserie

This year started strong for the Jasper, the old school, artisanal cocktail bar in the heart of Carytown. In January, it was named one of the South’s best new bars by Garden & Gun magazine. Owners Mattias Hägglund, Thomas “T.” Leggett and Kevin Liu accomplished this reputation quickly, having opened just two years ago.

The pandemic started up a few weeks later and 2020 officially began to suck.

“Six feet of spacing inside doesn’t make much sense,” says Hägglund of the bar’s limited space. “Two weeks after they allowed us to start doing takeout, we figured out a way to do free delivery anywhere in the city.” The Jasper offers takeout through a sister business, Carytown Cupcakes. And it has also added a Charlie Brown-style lemonade stand outside the business. You should really try the nitro bourbon and ginger on draft, among many high-end cocktails in double-portion bottles. The owners even tried a little public re-branding as Jasperino’s, world famous sub and cocktail delivery service.

Hägglund says he’s been impressed with the “ability with which we’ve been able to pivot and generate new ideas and concepts on the fly.” When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade – if it’s hard lemonade, all the better.

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