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Thursday, February 9, 2012

21 bottles of Dom on the wall
The Dom shelf at Hop Sing Laundromat.

As the Chinatown bar Hop Sing Laundromat draws to its opening date (which could be Feb. 29, or, for that matter, Feb. 30), its bar is being stocked.

Twenty-one bottles of Dom Perignon champagne - a quantity usually not seen outside of a rap video or NBA party - line a metal shelf. At $145 a bottle from the Liquor Control Board, that's steep inventory.

Why all the Dom? The operator, the single-named Le, explained that he'll use Dom in all sparkling drinks.
Posted by Michael Klein @ 4:45 PM  Permalink | File Under: TableTalk | 14 comments
14
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:25 PM, 02/09/2012
    "The operator, the single-named Le, explained that he'll use Dom in all sparkling drinks."

    The more I hear about this place, the worse it sounds.
    — BarryG
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:00 PM, 02/12/2012
    I think this place will be gone within 6 months...
    — SmercIsAConman
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:45 PM, 02/15/2012
    I wish him luck for his success, but wasting $145/bottle champagne in the sparkling drinks is wasteful at best and downright foolish for his liquor costs. That comes out to $5.70/ounce. If there's 3 or 4 ounces of Dom in each cocktail that makes *their* cost at least $17.12 just for the champagne, no less the other ingredients. Even at $15 per drink he's already losing money. Might as well pour it down the drain...

    Again, no hating. Wishing him the best of luck for his success. He'll need it.
    — Cellar Rat
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:25 PM, 02/16/2012
    Exactly. This looks like a rookie mistake to me...
    — SmercIsAConman
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:10 PM, 02/16/2012
    Not even a rookie mistake. Just doing things for the gimmickry of it regardless of cost and/or smart business practices. It worked out so well at Adsum, let's see how it works with drinks instead of food.
    — Cellar Rat
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:00 PM, 02/16/2012
    @Cellar Rat.
    Stop being such a hater. What the heck does Hop Sing Laundromat has to do with Levin & Adsum? Michael Klein didn't post the price anywhere so how do u know it would cost $15 per drink? The last time I check they are selling a glass of Dom for $45 anywhere in the city but you already know that since you are "obviously" in the business or pretend to be. I am with SamWeiss on this, instead of hating, why don't we just wish these people luck and welcome them since it is quiet obvious they have put in lots of hard works.

    @SmerclsAConman
    You are obviously a moron so please do us all a favor and stop commenting unless you have something to say which I sincerely doubt it.
    — InquirerPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:33 AM, 02/18/2012
    Again, I wish him the best of luck. No hate here. Just cold hard numbers. So many people forget this is a blue collar town. We can't/don't sustain bottle service joints (Denim and its predecessor closed, Swanky Bubbles closed, need I go on), or high falutin' "concept" restaurants, either in Queen Village or even in Rittenhouse. So if he isn't charging $15/drink (which seems to be the upper limit of tolerance here) then who the hell is paying $45 (or MORE to simply break even) per cocktail?? There are only so many sports stars and celebrities that might be the clientele he is targeting. What happens the other 364 days a year that Christina Aguilera isn't playing the Wells Fargo Center? I have absolutely no issue with hard work. I have an enormous amount of respect for it. When it's backed up with clueless business sense like calculating basic liquor or food costs for a menu, I start to question the sustainability of the project.

    You seem to either be Le himself or a paid shill. What's that about?
    — Cellar Rat
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:58 AM, 02/18/2012
    That should read, "...backed up with clueless business sense like NEGLECTING TO CALCULATE BASIC MENU COSTS..."

    Just to be clear.
    — Cellar Rat
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:00 PM, 02/18/2012
    @ Cellar Rat
    LOL!I wished I was Lee or paid shill. Like I said, I have no idea what they gonna charge for their cocktails since The Insider didn't state anything about price in his article. All I said was we should wish these people lucks as they are bringing business = tax money to the city and that's all.
    U seem like either a jealous competitor of this type of bars or just Mr. Know It All. What's that about?
    U seem like a jealous competitor of these
    — InquirerPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:00 PM, 02/18/2012
    @ Cellar RatLOL!I wished I was Lee or paid shill. Like I said, I have no idea what they gonna charge for their cocktails since The Insider didn't state anything about price in his article. All I said was we should wish these people lucks as they are bringing business = tax money to the city and that's all.U seem like either a jealous competitor of this type of bars or just Mr. Know It All. What's that about? U seem like a jealous competitor of these (HTML deleted)
    — InquirerPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:30 PM, 02/18/2012
    I'm employed by folks that know how to run a business, not a vanity project. I'm respected for what I bring to the table in terms of years of experience in cost control, customer service and creativity. Not jealous, just experienced. No one brings business/tax money into the city if they're setting themselves up for failure due to lack of common sense or basic business acumen. I'm not jealous, nor do I wish anyone ill will, just stating what seems to be the obvious. Nothing becomes a destination place until the locals accept it and flock there. No one survives as a "special occasion" destination. You need butts in the seats every night, and you need to be giving everyone what they want. My observation of this "business" model is that it seems to be aiming for a crowd that simply doesn't exist here, as evidenced by the long list of failures geared to the same target market that came before it. If they can fill the seats with "cream of the crop" folks with fat wallets they're willing to check at the door, more power to them. I remain skeptical, until proven otherwise. There's more than enough business to go around, as long as you haven't segregated *yourself* into a corner. That's all I'm saying. Again, wishing them all the luck in the world. Perhaps Hop Sing will be the one place in all of history to change the basic desires of the Philadelphia bar/restaurant consumer and the landscape of what succeeds here. Let me know how that works out...
    — Cellar Rat
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:36 AM, 02/19/2012
    @ Cellar Rat
    LOL again! So u r in the business after all! If u so well-respected by "wat u bring to the table" then may we all know where u work at please? That way, we mortals can enjoy the "best tables" in Philadelphia has to offer. If you dont want to give that up then we all know u r just a jealous fool and all talks, my friend. Jerk like u is the reason why this city gets nothing but a watered down version of some NYC "concepts". Thanks but no thanks.
    — InquirerPhilly


14 comments
About Michael Klein
Michael Klein, the editor/producer of philly.com/Food, writes about the local restaurant scene in his Inquirer column "Table Talk." Have a question? Email it! See his Inquirer work here.
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