Old Paribar gives way to Gaspar, new bar in SP – 04/27/2023 – Bars and night

Many people have already sat under the green and white awning of property number 42 in Praça Dom José Gaspar, in República, in the center of São Paulo, since a space called Paribar opened its doors
there for the first time in 1949.

That end of the 1940s would begin a trajectory of seven more decades —the second and last version of the place closed its doors last year— that are intertwined with the history of the city itself. Due to its proximity to the Mário de Andrade Library, for example, the bar received names such as Tarsila do Amaral, Oswald de Andrade and Paulo Mendes da Rocha at its pioneering tables on the sidewalk.

Years later, Paribar would stir up a movement to open houses in the vicinity of Copan, resuming the bohemian reputation of the area. Now, on the 6th, the space comes to life again, this time called Gaspar Bar & Praça —the awning is a thing of the past. The intention is to write new stories from the place that inspired its name.

Commanded by Felipe Giacon, João Branco and Gilberto Malva Filho, the new bar was born from an old desire to create a meeting point. And also the idea of ​​resuming the agitation that the area saw in other times to transform it again into a creative and cultural hub, a movement that has already been happening
at the nearby Metrópole Gallery.

“For a long time we looked for a space in the centers, and one day we saw the sad news that Paribar was going to close. At the time we said ‘holy shit, that’s it’. it’s exactly the kind of space we wanted for our project”, says Giacon. “And then we saw that we had a big challenge to create something new.”

In conversations with friends, the trio of partners understood that the trump card of that space was the Dom José Gaspar square itself, and they decided to treat it as a protagonist. From this idea came the name, the project of the environment, the menu and the musical program.

“Open spaces in São Paulo are very rich because they are not common and we couldn’t miss that”, says Giacon. “We made some architectural changes so that the space coexisted more with the outside. [balcão do] bar for the entrance and behind it we set up a wall that reflects the square, as if they were a single thing.”

Another Gaspar bet, the ten signature cocktails were designed by Adriana Pino, who signs the recipes at Flora bar, in Jardins. “We use fruits found in squares and elements such as basil. The names themselves are little jokes with things that happened in the square and its surroundings”, says the partner.

Examples on the menu are Bicudo, made with vodka, cambuci nectar, lemon and basil, sold at R$34, and Comprido (R$30), with cachaça, blackberry syrup and honey syrup with cinnamon and lemon.

Former Casa Híbrida Benício Freitas, who runs the bar counter, adds to the menu with classics like Fitzgerald (R$37). The menu even offers faster options, such as gin and tonic, Aperol spritz and negroni, which will come out of a “beak of drinks”.

For the gastronomic part, chef Francine Orlovicin, who has worked at places like Fasano and Drosophyla, made a mix of options for sitting down, such as the spicy chicken curry (R$ 42), and eating standing up, if necessary. termite dumplings with Canasta cheese (R$33) —another strategy to encourage customers to circulate around the square. The menu also includes fruit ice cream, which will cost R$8, and brunch options.

To rescue the spirit of the old space, Gaspar proposes to bring music to the square with a program that can range from chorinho to electronic music. The DJs will be curated by Yuri Zero and Millos Kaiser, one of the owners of Caracol and creator of Selvagem —a party that had its first edition in Paribar, in 2012.

The booth where the sets will come from was called the bandstand —a place that usually concentrates the sound of the squares— and, below it, the partners will reactivate a hall that operated for a period in what was then Paribar as the Downtown speakeasy. “We joked that under the gazebo we can do anything”, says Giacon. “It’s a joker space, which we’re going to use for parties, birthdays, whatever.”

Gaspar will operate from Wednesday to Sunday. During the week it works more like a bar, with tables. On Friday, the idea is to bring DJs and, on Saturday, during lunch, the partners want it to be more relaxed, with piano or chorinho auditions. “Later, the idea is to remove some tables and make a little dance floor with DJs until closing. And then, on some Sundays, our idea is to have a party all day long, which was already a tradition in the square”, says partner João White.

Diversity was a concern of the partners in the music area and in setting up the bar. “We want the music curatorship to have women, black people and other names that don’t have space to play in places the size of Gaspar”, says Giacon.

Another point they say they discussed was insecurity in the central region of the city.
—one of the reasons why the old bar has closed its doors and the area has seen its traffic slow down in recent years.

Giacon says that there is an articulation of spaces in the center to maintain a dialogue with public bodies about security and actions such as
the increase in lighting.

More than that, the relationship with places like Galeria Metrópole itself, Mário de Andrade and Cineclube Cortina strengthens the movement to make the region active again.

“The whole city is dangerous, but we believe that occupying spaces is also a way to make them safer”, says the partner.