Starting a business is a lot of work, but opening a bar or restaurant, in my opinion, is much more difficult. Places, where you eat and drink, have to make you feel a certain way and that has everything to do with details. Everything from location to the type of glassware used will enable you to make a judgment. Judgment is exactly what it is. No one wants to be judged, but at the end of the day, either consumer like or dislike your product or service. That comes through a series of assessments, or judgement, based on basic sensory experiences.

Choosing a location or a partner in your business venture predetermines a lot of what your final experience will feel like to your guests. So having a space that feels like a natural extension of you is important.

When Mike and Neff came together to take over the space that would become The Cottonmouth the conversation of ‘can we make it work’ had to happen.