Heard it Here

Bar Piña, the only rooftop bar in downtown Winston Salem, has opened on 770 Liberty View Court, just above the Famous Toastery.

“We offer craft cocktails, a fun atmosphere to drink a slushy while watching the sunset and listen to some music,” Joel Borawski, a bar back at Bar Piña, said. “I mean what more could you want.”

It opened on the weekend of Sept. 22, a week later than expected. The space that hosts Bar Piña was formerly known as “District Roof Top Bar” which closed in May of 2015.

Jason Thiel, at the Downtown Partnership said that the bar is located in an area referred to as the entertainment district so he enjoyed seeing this bar open there.

Thiel said, “I think a rooftop experience gives you a nice view of the skyline, it’s something I think you see in many other cities so…I think people like to have the open air experience.”

Due to bad weather, Bar Piña’s rooftop was closed on a Saturday last month. Despite this bad weather, there was still a fair amount of people there to use the other spaces offered – like their outdoor patio.

Patrons conversed and sipped their drinks while listening to “September” by Earth Wind & Fire in dim lighting. Some sat or stood at the bar – the first thing that catches one’s eye upon entering Bar Piña- while others sat under the covered patio watching the rain drizzle down.

The bar offers a wide variety of drinks such as craft beers and cocktails and is particularly excited about its slushies’ served on the rooftop.

“The old rooftop bar, The District, got shut down so I was very happy to hear of this new bar opening that had a rooftop” said John Scott, a Wake Forest graduate on his second visit to Bar Piña.

According to Scott, the rooftop and the slushy options were major draws for him because he enjoys being outside. But, there was one drawback in his opinion.

“There are too many dogs, so the smell outside was really bad,” Scott said.

Bar Piña is a dog friendly environment and offers specials geared towards patrons dogs, according to a post on their Instagram account on Sept. 28.

Borawski, worked behind the bar cleaning up used glasses and collected glasses from some of the multiple seating options. Borawski has previously worked at Tate’s and the Honey Pot, but is looking forward to learning how to make some drinks too.

“I think the bar has been very well received, we’ve had maybe three complaints,” said Borawski.

“We’ve had a decent happy hour with a little bit of an older crowd, but lots of younger people as well,” Borawski said, commenting on the diverse range of ages that Bar Piña has drawn.

Borawski also said that many Wake Forest students wanted to rent out the space for events.

Aaron Rickett, the doorman for Bar Piña, said that he likes how Winston Salem is such a small area and how the community all knows one another. When asked by Beau Tate, the bar’s co-owner, to come and work he didn’t hesitate.

The music is another draw to the space, according to Rickett.

“We can go from Prince to Michael Jackson to Gucci Mane to Shakira to Ricky Martin all in the same night,” Rickett said. “I think it really helps set the mood and it definitely keeps me company when I’m sitting out here.”

Some other rooftop options in downtown Winston Salem include the Nissen Buildings rooftop pool and the Camel City BBQ Factory restaurant.