NIGHTLIFE

Norman K. Styer Richard Smith stands behind the bar at Night Shift Cocktails, the latest pop-up concept fi nding a permanent home on King Street.

The Night Shift Clocks In Downtown

BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ

It dubs itself an unapologeti c cocktail bar creati ng craft beverages while having a great ti me. Night Shift Cocktails made its debut in the downtown Leesburg nightlife scene last month. The cocktail bar is the brainchild of Richard Smith, concept founder and the manager of the establishment and formerly the manager at Sidebar Coff ee. Owned by Nils and Olivia Schnibbe, it joins the couple’s cadre of eati ng and drinking establishments, including Schmidt’s, Sidebar and Sidebar Coff ee in Leesburg, and More Bett er in Round Hill. At Night Shift , he said, you’ll fi nd “dim lighti ng, incredible cocktails and bourbons, fresh juices, fresh ingredients, curated interiors, beauti ful vermouths and aperiti fs, an atmosphere you wish you could bott le up and take home with you, ‘Can’t You Hear Me Knocking’ by The Rolling Stones just blasti ng, and a staff that’s having the best ti me while creati ng the best drinks around.” Inspirati on came pre-COVID for Smith, who took a fortuitously ti med trip to Charleston, SC, in February of last year. “I spent my ti me at every cocktail bar I could down there thinking ‘Why can’t we have this in Leesburg?’ So that’s what I decided to do, build out the cocktail bar that I knew was missing from downtown Leesburg,” he said. The cocktail lounge started as a concept in Sidebar Coff ee, and then ran out of Sidebar’s carriage house. Last spring, it was set to move into the upstairs space just as COVID hit. For the Schnibbes, it’s just another opportunity to grow their restaurant family. “We are always looking for unique opportuniti es to create spaces/experiences for our customers. We are very lucky to have such a creati ve team of amazing people around us. Never stop evolving,” Nils Schnibbe said.

Night Shift Cocktails, at 24 S. King St., is open from 4-11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 4 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays. Once COVID restricti ons are lift ed, Schnibbe said he expects to stay open unti l 2 a.m. on weekends.