This Dude Sounds Kind of Awesome

I don’t do a lot of food and drink stuff on here, but I do like to share when I find interesting people. And this guy sounds pretty interesting. He is known simply as Lêe, and he’s opening a bar on 10th and Race soon called the Hop Sing Laundromat (named after a characer on Bonanza). The whole thing seems to be shrouded in mystery. It was supposed to open like a year ago, and it still doesn’t have an opening date. There are thousands of pennies on the floor, and thousands of nickels on the bar, there will be complimentary shoe shines at the door, and there will be over 1,000 types if liquor available. Here are a few choice lines from an interview Lêe recently did with Philly Eater.

…we’ve moved the bar from one side of the room to the other in the middle of the night because we thought the employees should have a better view of the room…If Hop Sing Laundromat lives up to the expectation of our guests and the media, then it is just pure luck. And, if this whole thing goes south, then I and I alone will be the biggest idiot in town for trying, and rightly so…My biggest fear, actually, is dying before I get to open Hop Sing Laundromat. Honestly…Your time spent here should remain private and not end up on a website. There are no recording devices of any kind allowed in the main room, and that includes cellphone cameras…To point your phone camera at someone not in their best light is demeaning at best. Privacy is a privilege and not a right in 2012, which is really strange. I believe in those values. I understand there are people who need to be updated instantly on what’s going on in their world at all times, but they won’t be doing it at Hop Sing Laundromat..What I’ve learned on my research trip, driving 33,000 miles in 70 days through 48 states, is that every cocktail bar thinks their version of a classic cocktail is the best version ever made. They all stock their establishments with a limited selection of spirits to make their own versions of these cocktails. That’s a mistake. Our guest’s version of any cocktail is and always will be the best version of them all. The perfect drink.