New Year's Eve at 98 Bottles

Join us this Saturday for our first annual New Year's Eve Bash!

Enjoy live music the from the Latin fusion sounds of Los Gatos Blancos and the classic jazz Rat Pack-inspired Jack Stiteler Jazztet, a midnight countdown and live feed of worldwide celebrations, and a specialty menu and champagne toast!

Tickets are $20 with advance reservation, $25 at the door. Book online at www.98bottlessd.com or by calling (619) 255-7885.

Take one down, toast it around!

THE HAPPIEST OF HOLIDAYS

We’ve been so engrossed with starting this business that time has flown by at warp speed! So it is with total disbelief that we realize that today is Christmas Eve. Our hectic day-to-day schedule of running this business has left little time for blogging much less for laundry, house cleaning, cooking or pretty much anything other than 98 Bottles.  We live, eat and breathe it. But after almost five years of planning and dreaming, we’re grateful for the inevitable exhaustion.  Now it’s time to take a moment to reflect on the miracle that is 98 Bottles.  Somehow we have managed to materialize something that for many years was just a vision, a dream.  The result has been, not only rewarding but truly miraculous.  We still have a long way to go, but the obstacles we’ve overcome, the lessons we’ve learned, the challenges we’ve faced, the tears we’ve shed and the laughter we’ve shared will be cherished gifts for a lifetime.  The most precious of those gifts are the people we’ve met, the new friendships we’ve forged, the neighbors who’ve welcomed us with open arms and the customers who have ventured off the beaten path to find their way to our door.  To all of you, we wish a very happy holiday and a prosperous and joyous new year!

Blank Walls NO MORE!

98 Bottles is now literally teaming with art!  Native San Diego oil painter David Tyrone Villa is the first to exhibit in our Lower Lounge.  Villa paints local San Diego scenes with vivid color and an intense expression of dimension and emotion.  His work will be up through the middle of December.  Many thanks to our wonderful curator Nicole Waszak who is truly a life saver!  She facilitated the installation and is handling all the details.  She will bring us wonderful new artists every other month.  

Also today, in the Back Room, photographer Drew Wyeth installed a collection of his work in preparation for his Creators of Habit exhibit scheduled for tomorrow night.

Going Where Our Business Takes Us

We've just finished our 4th week of being open.  We've slipped up, gotten down, hit some things right on, worked our butts off, kept our frustrations in, laughed out loud and learned A LOT.   Lots of seeds have been planted, business is growing and so today we made a decision to go where our business takes us.  We've learned that 98 Bottles is a great gathering place.  People come to have business meetings, celebrate their birthdays, "meet-up" for happy hour, enjoy date night, hang with friends or just curl up on the couches and talk.  It's exactly what we had hoped for :) All kinds of folks have come for events from tap classes to food pairings, scary movies and live music. Every day people are asking about hosting events at 98 Bottles, either in the front lounge or in the private BACK ROOM.  So it's time for us to focus on that.  To give us time to do so, starting this week, we will open at 4pm.  This means we won't be serving lunch, but no worries...eat a late breakfast and join us for happy hour.

We read once about an architect who built a large condo complex.  When the landscaper asked where he wanted to put the sidewalks he said "plant grass everywhere." So they planted grass everywhere and after a while, when it was clear where people WANTED to walk, that's where they built the sidewalks.  It's time for us to begin building our sidewalks.  Thanks to all of you for your feedback, love and support.

Blank Walls

Some would say staring at a blank wall is a sign of boredom, we see staring at our blank walls at 98 Bottles as an amazing opportunity to exhibit an endless array of fabulous work done by San Diego artists.  We've put out a clarion call to all the artists in our neighborhood, and to all artists everywhere in San Diego, to paint, sculpt, photograph, compose, construct, paste, glue, sew, staple, nail (or any other creative verb you can think of) to create pieces of art that depict "bottles" in any medium...oils, water colors, metal, pen & ink, pencil, collage, fabric, stone, clay or any other material from which you can produce fabulous art.  We will exhibit these pieces with great love and care and with proper credit to the artists who create them (and we will put them for sale if the invidual artist so desires).  So, if you are a local artist or you know someone who is, please help us spread the word. Help us get some art up in this place!

Spinning Round in Circles

Our heads have been spinning with all that's going on.  There is a RIDICULOUS amount of things that need to get done and the hours fly by every day without us seeming to make a dent.  No matter how much we plan, things happen every hour of every day that zap away the hours.  We meet with vendors and PR people, CPA's and customers, run to the bank,  tweet and facebook, order stuff, plan stuff and try to figure out stuff.  Tonight the beer cooler went on the fritz (for the second time) thank god it's new and under warranty.  But the deli cooler also went out and it is NOT new and NOT under warrantee.  But despite it all, we do seem to be making some progress.  Our sign goes up tomorrow and we have a full calendar of events for October, check it out:
http://www.98bottlessd.com/backroom/calendar.php

If you've been following us and wondering what all this craziness is about, stop by and check it out for yourself.  Through it all, the best part has been the people we've met and the friends we've made, we sure hope you're the next.

Week 1 & 2

As of today we’ve  been open for two weeks and it’s been exciting, exhilarating, inspiring, scary, fun and frustrating.  How’s that for a psychotic emotional rollercoaster ride?  We started the first four days with just being open for happy hour until close, then added lunch last Tuesday.  In our first week we had an awesome jazz quintet perform in THE BACK ROOM, our first Kettner Nights and a total blackout.  Not bad for a first week.  We’ve been delighted to serve all of those who have been so supportive and to meet new neighbors.  There is still tons to do, but at least we are FINALLY OPEN FOR BUSINESS!  We’re planning to open the retail store in the next couple of weeks and we have a full October event calendar planned:

Tap on Tap – 7pm Tuesday night $10 for a glass and a class-yes beginning tap dancing taught by Broadway dancer Steve Anthony and draught beer

Humpday Horror – 7PM Wednesday night classic B & W scary movies

Tasty Thursdays – Thursdays 7pm (Oct 6, 13, 20, 27)
Each week a different brewery or vineyard expert will lead an entertaining presentation and educational evening featuring a different beer, wine or sake. 

Friday/Saturday – live music TBA

Thanks for following us on our path to opening...come see us soon