As planned, the coffee king is moving into cocktails.
When word emerged that The Coffee Class was opening a three-story flagship on South Water Street in Henderson, owner Kyle Cunningham revealed the building would house the coffee house, bakery and café on the ground floor; space for weekend brunch, seasonal gatherings and private events on rooftop Level 3; and a cocktail and whiskey bar on the second floor in between.
The coffee house opened in May, the sixth Las Vegas Valley coffee house for Cunningham across his Coffee Class and Almond & Oat brands. The third floor is currently being used for events (the heat might require more buildout to begin brunch service). In August, the second-floor bar — called Terminal 4 — is set to open, drawing inspiration from the speakeasies that have helped make Mexico City one of the world’s leading cocktail destinations.
“Terminal 4 draws from the ambition, technical discipline, warm hospitality, and sense of discovery found throughout that scene while establishing an identity created specifically for Henderson,” Cunningham said in a recent announcement.
Absent presence
Terminal 4, 37 S. Water St., also nods to Vegas aviation and to something that never was.
”Harry Reid International Airport only has a Terminal 1 and a Terminal 3. Terminal 2 was retired years ago, and Terminal 4 has never existed,” Cunningham said, “so Las Vegas has a gap where a fourth terminal should be. We decided to build it ourselves.
“Our bar is that missing terminal, a boarding gate for the senses where every pour is its own destination and every spirit carries a passport stamped with the culture, history, and character it comes from.”
On the menu
Servers, Cunningham said, would be trained to elicit customer spirit and flavor preferences to create cocktails that offer a story and sense of place. Aiding in that goal: advance-preparation techniques like clarification, infusion, extraction, fat washing and carbonation.
Cunningham previewed some of the global cocktails from Terminal 4.
A bright Tupac Sour (Peru) mingles Pisco grape spirit, habanada pepper (heatless habanero), citrus, fire bitters and soft foam. A savory Dua Lipa (Spain) shakes together olive oil-washed vodka, fino sherry, verjus (juice of unripe wine grapes), vanilla and a smoke bubble. Espresso and a banana peel liqueur with a base of aged rum join for the Musa (Ecuador).
Part of the mix
Henderson’s ongoing redevelopment plans for the Water Street District call for a mixed-use hub featuring new housing, lodging, independent retail, food and drink outlets, and entertainment venues. Terminal 4 arrives to take its place among the continuing revitalization. Cunningham described the bar as a test, of sorts, for the district.
“Terminal 4 is our opportunity to add something local that can stand beside respected cocktail bars in any major city. We want Henderson residents to feel that this belongs to them and that they helped prove a concept of this level can succeed here.”
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at [email protected]. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.