Downtown’s bar scene is about to get a tropical twist thanks to the founders of Be Kind & Rewind.
The minds behind the nostalgic pop culture-themed drinkery will launch their second bar — tiki spot Paradise Unknown — on Friday, April 16, at 238 Losoya St. And, yes, that’s also the first day of Fiesta.
In a statement, concept creator and co-owner Alex Amaro said Paradise Unknown will have the same sense of immersive “escapism” Be Kind & Rewind is known for, albeit with a distinct tropical theme. Photos shared of Paradise Unknown show it bathed in eye-catching red and yellow lights and awash in kitschy nautical decor from the Trader Vic’s era.
The owners haven’t released the drink menu yet, but the food will be supplied by chef Jaime Gonzalez of the Wok Wey mobile kitchen, a fixture of nearby El Camino Food Truck Park & Bar. That means guests can expect bar bites in Gonzalez’s signature style — Mexican-Chinese fusion.
“We wanted to create a space where people can walk in from the middle of downtown and feel like they’ve been transported somewhere completely different and a little bit mysterious,” Amaro said in the statement. “Somewhere between the music, the cocktails and the glow of a hidden world, guests might find themselves wondering how they got there and why they don’t want to leave.”
Amaro launched Be Kind & Rewind in 2022 with co-owners Davis Phillips and David Strainge. The bar was an instant hit, drawing in crowds eager to indulge in ’80s, ’90s and early 2010s nostalgia.
Featuring two levels, a dance floor, pinball machine and a full menu of themed drinks, Be Kind & Rewind eagerly threw people back to the pre-iPhone days and hasn’t looked back. Unless, of course, you count its new counterpart’s backward glance at the tiki era of the ’40s through the mid-’60s.
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