4 SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Caption: Rolo’s, located at 853 Onderdonk Ave. in Ridgewood, opened its bar for the fi rst time. Photos courtesy of Rolo’s
Rolo’s in Ridgewood opens 12-seat bar
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Rolo’s in Ridgewood has opened its 12-seat bar
for the fi rst time aft er pivoting during the
pandemic and using that space as a market.
Rolo’s, located at 853 Onderdonk Ave., opened
in January of this year. The partner and beverage
director at Rolo’s, Ben Howell, said like many other
businesses during the pandemic, they had to reimagine
how they could use their space to make a profi t.
“Like so many other restaurants, we pivoted to
survive, and, in the process, temporarily turned
the bar into a market where we could sell prepared
foods, provisions and drinks,” Howell said.
Howell said the pandemic hit the Rolo’s team hard
as it did with every business in the hospitality industry,
but they feel lucky to have made it through.
“We have suff ered through the same struggles
— a very small labor pool, seating limitations, everchanging
regulations and a very rainy summer,”
Howell said. “Overall, we have been extremely
lucky. Our staff is excellent, our customers are
amazing, and our community has generally been
hugely accepting. We’re fi nally starting to feel like
the neighborhood bar and grill that we set out to be!”
As COVID-19 restrictions in the city relaxed, Rolo’s
returned to indoor dining and is now making use of
the bar as originally planned. The bar area features
high-top tables and red leather banquette seating.
Howell and the head bartender, Tony Milici,
craft ed their own versions of classic cocktails with
a focus on martinis and tiki drinks.
The cocktail menu includes the following:
• The Martini Italian: Made with Amalfi lemon gin,
bordiga extra dry and blanc vermouths, and Aperol
• The Zombie: Made with house-made rum blend,
cinnamon, grapefruit and lime juice, grenadine and
absinthe
• The Spicy Pineapple Margarita: Made with
chili-infused Blanco tequila, pineapple, lime juice,
agave and salt rim
• The Blood Orange Cobbler: Made with amontillado
and manzanilla sherry, Amara Rossa di Sicilia,
blood orange and lemon juice
• The Rum Punch: Changes every week, featuring
a house rum blend with rotating juices and fl avor
(off -menu)
Rolo’s bar is open Wednesday through Sunday,
from 5 p.m. to midnight, with a happy hour off ered
until 7 p.m. Happy hour includes house white and
red wine for $7, mini martini and rum punch for $7
and a shot and beer for $8.
Dinner is off ered both outdoors and indoors on
Wednesday through Sunday, from 5 to 10 p.m., and
brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.
The Zombie is a mix of Rolo’s house-made rum
blend, cinnamon, grapefruit juice, lime juice,
grenadine and absinthe.