Stay in the Loop

Once you spot it, on a black brick wall in North Loop, between Monte Carlo and D.NOLO, you’ll want to slip in, trust us.

Behind the eye is Cobble Social House, a new project from brother-sister duo Joe and Veronica Clark (yes, Veronica Clark who owns the neighboring boutique D.NOLO). The tiny slip of a room used to be an InVision Distinctive Eyewear. Now, you walk into a 5-seater bar, with a few lounge chairs to the right. Climb a few stairs and you’re among a clutch of dining tables, climb a few more and you’re in a crow’s nest of sorts with a couch and a chair. The number of seats? 39. So it’s intimate, the vibe is very cool and the art is eye-catching, we can imagine the sultry lighting when evening hits. So, it’s a bar, but it’s really something more. And less.

What makes Cobble Social House so unique is that it dual-purposes as a retail shop. Well, sort of.

“It’s more like a gallery,” Joe Clark explained to us. The art and decor pieces that dress the small (but mighty) space—be it street art, open-weave pendant lights, or glassware—have all been chosen to create a global feel. And it’s all for sale.

“There’s a piece of art in the other room which has already been sold,” said Clark.

How does it work, exactly? Essentially you can come in and covet, then commit when your sip and snack sesh concludes. Just put in an order, and those blue barstools, ceramic bowls, and charming crystal-bee covered skull spotted in the glass case are yours.

The brother-sister duo plan to continuously rotate a selection of works by artists and designers from all over the country. Sold items will be swapped out at the end of each month to make room for the new, keeping the place fresh with a different look and feel each time you visit.

And, it’s still a bar. “But it’s not a wine bar, it’s not a cocktail bar, and it’s certainly not a restaurant,” Andrew Faudree told us, “It’s a social house.” He and his wife Brooke operate Quince Catering, and are the culinary force helping to bring Cobble to life. “We’ll have baller wines, great cocktails, and enough sharable foods to keep you going. Not full entrees, but everything up to, so snacks, appetizers, and boards. We really don’t want to be competing with Spoon, Bachelor Farmer, or any of the great restaurants in the North Loop. So we see this as a place to come before or after.”

Dip in, dip out. Small space, virtually no kitchen, it makes sense. If you peep at Quince photos, you’ll see some gorgeous boards. Brooke is the chef, and her style tends to be a mix of new California cuisine and rustic French. “Every plate should be a feast. Even if it’s a small plate, it should be generous and exciting.”

Beyond some of the big players, the wine list is well-stocked with small-producer wines, much from local distributors like Libation Project. And there’s a full cocktail menu. “Because Monte Carlo has been here such a long time, and has such a dedicated clientele, I wanted to make sure we had a classic side to our menu. Old Fashioned, Martini, Manhattan, Cosmo in classic glassware. And then there are original cocktails on the other side of the menu, something fresh and new, that no one has ever had before to balance that out.” Ideally, when they get up and running, they want each drink to have its own distinctive glass (which you might want to order for your home bar).

Are we all already predicting a rush on those 39 seats? Cobble Social House opens Friday, and their hours will run from 4-10 p.m. initially, 7 days a week. “We’ll make a push for lunch in a few weeks,” Clark mentioned, “Everyone seems to trek it to Whole Foods, so maybe we can get them in here.” But when those seats are full, the house is full. There are no reservations, and they’re not going to do standing room. “When we reach full capacity of seats, the door shuts. But we do have a paging system, so that you don’t have to stand here or hover. If you give us your name and number you can get on the list and go next door or anywhere in the neighborhood and we’ll call you when you should come back.” 219 N. 2nd St., Mpls., cobblempls.com