Occupying Republik’s first floor foyer is Happy Stan, a saloon that serves both coffee and cocktails from morning till late. Inspired by the story of how Irish Coffee was introduced to the Americans, hipster coffee joint VCR and Karl Too from award-winning speakeasy bar Omakase + Appreciate collaborated in opening this latest hangout in Damansara Heights.

Ascending the winding staircase from the courtyard of the ivory white building, visitors are welcomed by Happy Stan’s front workstation. The open space bar is designed with mid-century modern classic and futuristic American style interior, bringing guests back to Buena Vista Café in San Francisco where more than 30 million Irish Coffees were served over time. Lose yourself among pastel colour furniture, rattan chairs, dark wood cabinets and geometric shaped glassware and lighting or while people-watching.

Irish Coffee

Irish Coffee is a warm drink created for weary passengers by Chef Joe Sheridan working at Foynes Airport near Limerick, Ireland. The drink became such a hit and a signature of the airport that American travel writer Stanton Delaplane convinced the owners of Buena Vista Café to serve the drink. Delaplane and the owners, Jack Koeppler and George Freeberg worked tirelessly in perfecting the foam on top of the alcoholic coffee cocktail, at one point the writer almost passed out from sampling too many of the drink itself.

Happy Stan’s menu showcases a list of coffee cocktails, Aperitifs which are great for afternoons and Empirical Signature Serves using spirits that don’t belong to any particular category. There are also craft beers, espresso based coffee and kombucha for the happy campers.

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