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Feb 26, 2013 2 min read

The Expanding Empires of Dennis Leary and the AQ Team

The Expanding Empires of Dennis Leary and the AQ Team
RJ’s Sports Bar; photo via City-Data.com.
Table of Contents

Liquor license activity revealed Dennis Leary (Canteen, Sentinel, Golden West, House of Shields) is taking over TenderNob spot RJ’s Sports Bar with Eric Passetti, the bar manager at House of Shields. Scoop learns they will be following a similar path as they did at HoS: create a good-looking space that serves uncomplicated drinks. The designers are Jack Dakin and Slivia Zofio of New York, and it looks like we’re getting a break from our speakeasy design rut. 701 Geary St. at Leavenworth.

A second Leary project in the works (because the man simply isn’t busy enough) is CAFE TERMINUS, which Scoop says is opening in the Financial District. Look for takeout sandwiches and a nighttime scene (pending the acquisition of a full liquor license). The two-level space has a mezzanine and 1,000 square feet. This project, like the RJ’s location, is four to six months out. 10 California St. at Drumm.

Congrats, gents: ~AQ~’s Matt Semmelhack and Mark Liberman are going to be opening a restaurant in the Twitter building on Market (you can view a rendering video and more of the Market Square building), which Scoop says will be “a street-level, all-day brasserie and bar named BON MARCHÉ.” There will be 7,300 square feet, 125 seats, a raw bar, a full bar, and AQ’s beverage director Kristen Capella is gunning to create the country’s largest sparkling wine collection (I can cosign that goal). The project will be at least 18-24 months out, so we’ll follow up on this one in-depth later. For now, the team is focused on opening their other project, TBD (yup, that’s it’s name). 1355 Market St. at 10th St.

RJ’s Sports Bar; photo via City-Data.com.

aq-chefscounter.jpg
The chef’s counter at AQ. Photo: © tablehopper.com.
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