{"id":78136,"date":"2023-10-01T07:15:05","date_gmt":"2023-10-01T14:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=78136"},"modified":"2023-10-01T07:18:39","modified_gmt":"2023-10-01T14:18:39","slug":"mocktail-bar-shirleys-temple-long-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/mocktail-bar-shirleys-temple-long-beach","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach area welcomes its 1st and only mocktail bar: Shirley\u2019s Temple"},"content":{"rendered":"

Essie Evans, a bartender by trade, knows how to craft a good cocktail. But over the years, she\u2019s taken note of a lack of spaces for people to enjoy an elegant, quality beverage under low lighting\u2014just, without the booze.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why she just opened the doors to Shirley\u2019s Temple in Signal Hill, the area\u2019s first and only mocktail bar.<\/p>\n

Though a growing number of establishments have added buzzless spirits and cocktails to their menus in recent years, Evans has long lamented the banality of non-alcoholic offerings at restaurants and bars.<\/p>\n

“Maybe there\u2019s like two options, and if you don\u2019t want one of those, you\u2019re kind of like, ‘Well I\u2019ll just take a water or a soda,'” she said. “But you deserve to have as many options as people who do<\/i> drink.”<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie
Stephanie “Essie” Evans, owner of Shirley’s Temple in Signal Hill, serves The Shirliest Temple on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. The drink is the restaurant’s twist on the classic mocktail. Photo by Maison Tran.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At Shirley\u2019s Temple, there are currently nine mocktails on the menu that range from spicy to caffeinated to bitter, sweet and everything in between.<\/p>\n

Cafe Noir (a mocktini) is made with four shots of espresso, coffee simple syrup and house-made Irish creme. The Retro Rose is mixed with floral notes of roses, lemon and a honey infusion topped with a splash of non-alcoholic prosecco and edible rose petals. And of course, there are a few versions of the classic Shirley Temple. La Spicy Shirley is a blood orange chili pepper margarita with non-alcoholic blanco agave tequila, topo chico, sweet blood orange, smoked ancho chiles, citrus notes and cayenne pepper. The list goes on<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to create a place where you can go and have as many options as you want in a variety of flavors,\u201d Evans said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd no pressure. I feel like sometimes when you go out, people are kind of looking at you funny like \u2018Why aren\u2019t you drinking? Is there something wrong?\u2019 And then you kind of have to explain, and I don\u2019t want people to feel that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evident from her menu, Evans envisions endless possibilities when it comes to creating non-alcoholic elixirs and she plans to switch up the bar\u2019s offerings with the seasons.<\/p>\n

\"Stephanie
Stephanie “Essie” Evans, owner of Shirley’s Temple in Signal Hill, makes the Vintage Violet mocktail on Sept. 25, 2023. Photo by Maison Tran.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI think when some people think about mocktails they\u2019re like \u2018Oh isn\u2019t that just juice?\u2019 No, there\u2019s so much more you can do than just juice in a cup. There are some drinks that have root plants \u2026 like kava. There\u2019s some that have CBD, but without the THC, so you\u2019re not getting high, you\u2019re just getting the relaxed feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bar has only been open since Sept. 8, but Evans says the most popular drink on her menu is The Vintage Violet, made with lemonade, violet, house-made coconut and butterfly pea foam, and a purple orchid garnish.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Vintage Violet at Shirley’s Temple in Signal Hill, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Within Evan\u2019s cozy space, there are photos of sober Hollywood stars and a large portrait of the late actor Shirley Temple, famous for the iconic roles she played as a child.<\/p>\n

As the story goes, a young Temple was pining<\/a> for an elegant drink like the old-fashioned her parents were sipping on one day at a restaurant. So, the bartender served her the sweet, scarlet-colored concoction that would later be dubbed the Shirley Temple.<\/p>\n

On the weekends and during evenings, Evans plans to turn the lights down low, turn the music up and have board games available. The bar also has a full food menu with everything from weekend brunch to sandwiches to charcuterie.<\/p>\n

\"\"
La Spicy Shirley drink at Shirley’s Temple in Signal Hill, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ultimately, Evans wants to make Shirley\u2019s Temple a social haven for the sober community or even just those who are pregnant or want to take a break from drinking alcohol.<\/p>\n

Evans herself drinks occasionally, but she says she saves her drinking for rare and special occasions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a requirement to have fun,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Shirliest Temple drink at Shirley’s Temple a deli and mocktail establishment in Signal Hill, Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Evans is also lending her space to the community to use for sober parties and events. Soon, she said a friend will be using it to celebrate 15 years of sobriety.<\/p>\n

And, so far, the concept has been well received.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen people on dates here,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople are saying that they really love it and haven\u2019t seen anything like it, it\u2019s unique. I think people are just excited about having something that’s brand new that they haven’t tried before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shirley\u2019s Temple is at 2420 E. 28th St., Signal Hill and is open Monday through Wednesday 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Thursday to Friday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday to Sunday from noon to 9 p.m.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

The bar doesn\u2019t have happy hour yet, but Evans is offering Sober Sundays <\/i>from 2 to 9 p.m. which is three mocktails to try for $30 and 20% off food.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The boozeless bar opened its doors on Sept. 8 and boasts everything from mocktinis to non-alcoholic spicy margaritas. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":77926,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[167,32254],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[9454],"class_list":["post-78136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hi-lo","tag-bars","tag-mocktail","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/302"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78136"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78142,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78136\/revisions\/78142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78136"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=78136"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=78136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}