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*this article first appeared on slate.com February 2026: full article here
It was once a specific, intentional space that focused on music as much as cocktails. But with every dive and pub adopting the label, the real thing risks getting lost in the noise.
This is part of Wet February, a series about America’s increasingly muddled relationship with drinking—and how to sip your way through it wisely and well.
When BierWax opened on Vanderbilt Avenue in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn in 2017, the concept of a “listening bar” was still somewhat foreign. That same year, Tokyo Record Bar opened in the West Village. Together, these two bars were rare destinations in New York City where one could get the experience of a kissa, the jazz vinyl listening bars of Japan.
The concept, which anyone who even occasionally visits bars is now likely familiar with, centers on playing records and encouraging guests to actually focus on the music rather than their drinks or checking their Hinge matches.
