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Once Chimbas Sports Bar, the space has been wholly transformed from its former aesthetic. When Mercouffer, who calls herself a \u201creal estate foster mom,\u201d first saw the property, she immediately suspected there may be some magic lurking beneath its divey dust.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me it looked like a cottage in the woods, like Hansel and Gretel,\u201d she said. \u201cWe just thought of fairy tales.\u201d<\/p>\n
After coming across an illustration of a feminized wolf by storyboard artist Angelina \u201cSpikie\u201d Ricardo, the story around the wolf of Wrigley started to unfold. That whimsical concept isn\u2019t likely to be lost on those who wander in to see dangling vines above velvet Victorian sofas and a large illustration of the wolf herself above the bar.<\/p>\n
Ricardo\u2019s wolf isn\u2019t the sleuth villain of Red Riding Hood or The Three Little Pigs. Instead, the illustration presented a \u201cfeminine force,\u201d Mercouffer said.<\/p>\n
\u201c[We\u2019re] reclaiming the wolf idea from that lecherous male to the empowering female,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n So, Mercouffer purchased the rights to Ricardo\u2019s piece and started foraging platforms like Craigslist for charming furniture pieces fit for a Victorian wolf\u2019s living room, she said.<\/p>\n Ahead of opening day, Mercouffer says she\u2019s been overwhelmed with positive feedback from Wrigley residents and Long Beachers curious about the new cocktail lounge.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re starting to call it the Long Beach effect,\u201d Mercouffer said. \u201cPeople are not just friendly, they\u2019re connected.\u201d<\/p>\n For the grand opening on Wednesday, Mercouffer said she received an astonishing amount of RSVPs, about 600, so she\u2019s been scrambling to break folks into time blocks for the opening evening, which will kick off for the public at 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n Beyond the bar, beer, wine and the usual spirits you\u2019d expect will be offered, there are fabled elixirs like absinthe and a lineup of cocktails with names like \u201cGinderella,\u201d \u201cPoison Lips\u201d and \u201cOnce Upon A Lime.\u201d<\/p>\n But The Wicked Wolf\u2019s cocktail menu also includes an equally extensive roster of mocktails, non-alcoholic wine and beer. The mocktails all include zero proof spirits, to give those who wish to abstain from alcohol the \u201csame bite\u201d that a traditional cocktail has, Mercouffer says.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not really a drinker, but I thought if I could create a community space and an art space, then I\u2019m OK with running a bar that has a really strong mocktail menu for people like me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Mercouffer admits she doesn\u2019t know a whole lot about alcohol, which is why she recruited Warren, co-owner of Melody Bar in Los Angeles, to help create the Wolf\u2019s cocktail menu.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a fun journey for me to really feel the place, the energy and the vibe,\u201d Warren said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a lot of cocktails or classic cocktails done our way, as well as fresh fruit-forward cocktails and martinis.\u201d<\/p>\n LGBTQ-centric events, poetry nights, DJs, art galleries, play readings, live jazz bands, swing dancing, what have you\u2014Mercouffer\u2019s motive from the beginning was to conjure up something of an intimate melting pot for creatives.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/04\/WW_portrait.jpg\")
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