Beverage manufacturer Pepsi announced in January that it plans to launch Kola House, the first experimental cola bar, restaurant, lounge, and event space to open in the US market.
This hospitality venture is set to open its doors this month, with its flagship location in New York City’s Meatpacking District.
“We wanted to create a modern hub for consumers to share social and immersive experiences that are anchored in the exploration of our cola’s artisanal craft and flavour,” says Pepsi North America’s chief marketing officer Seth Kaufman.
“Kola House represents a new space for the company to support its consumer-first approach to drive authenticity and innovation around our beverage offerings and ideals,” he explains.
Kola House’s experimental and elemental themes honouring the kola nut will be brought to life through resident cocktail curator, Alex Ott. His background in flavour chemistry and his knowledge of food and beverage pairings and global palates make him “the ideal mastermind” behind the development of Kola House’s cocktails and elixirs, Kaufman points out.
A full artisanal menu from a rising resident executive chef will also offer speciality plates inspired by the kola nut.
Further, the flagship location will serve as a transformative event space for pop culture moments in music, art, style, film, sports and more. Pepsi is leveraging its broad partnership with American entertainment company Live Nation to help build a special music series called Live at the Kola House, which will serve as tent-pole moments throughout its year-long programming. Each of the intimate, stripped down performances will bring fans up close to the artists, both visually and acoustically.
“Through curating and producing the live music series for Pepsi, guests at Kola House will enjoy distinctive engagements by not-to-be-missed artists,” said Live Nation media and sponsorship executive VP Darin Wolf.
To achieve the aesthetic, Pepsi Design led by Mauro Porcini, leveraged the creativity of an internal team and partnered with interior design firm Kravitz Design.
“Kravitz Design worked closely with the Pepsi team to create a space that brings the Kola House vision to life through a multifaceted culinary and culturally exciting experience,” says Kravitz Design president Lenny Kravitz.
Kola House will also include a modular series at key pop culture events that will replicate the experience of the flagship location, with local themes and ties woven into the food, beverage and designs.
The first of the modular locations opened as an exclusive VIP space in San Francisco during Super Bowl 50, at Pier 70, last month.