We Got Company is a subtly music-themed bar in the trend-forward neighborhood of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York.
The founders, Jify Shah, Ian Everall, and Paul Ramirez met when working at the Cameo Gallery, a beloved music venue in Williamsburg owned by Shah that closed in 2015. They opened We Got Company four years later, and Ramirez, who had tended bar at Cameo and elsewhere, ended up as the head bartender.
The cocktails are almost all named after a song, but not necessarily a well-known or popular one. Instead, they’re often inspired by the songs of bands that the owners or friends of theirs played in.
There are other unusual aspects to the bar. It’s a seated-only venue — no standing around and jostling for the bartender’s attention — and the cocktails are generally made without heating any of the elements. Instead, Ramirez stirs them a lot, sometimes for hours during shifts. The result, however, is distinctive-tasting drinks that can’t be had elsewhere.
Listen as Ramirez discusses We Got Company and his approach to cocktail making.
Menu Talk is a collaboration between Restaurant Business Senior Menu Editor Pat Cobe and Bret Thorn, senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News. You can subscribe to it wherever you listen to podcasts.
