Johns Island resident and food and bev veteran Roderick Groetzinger is here for a good time. He loves refreshing cocktails and small (but delicious) food menus. So, he created a new bar and restaurant, Bar Copa, where diners could get all of his favorite things, on Johns Island, no less.
Located in the space formerly occupied by Groetzinger’s liquor store, Equal Parts, Bar Copa is, as Groetzinger described it, “a cocktail bar with unbelievable food.” He said that as a Johns Island resident — and a father to young kids — he noticed that there weren’t really any cocktail bars on the island.
“There are a lot of people in my demographic that want that downtown-caliber experience of food and drink and vibes and culture without having to leave the island,” Groetzinger said.
With more than 25 years of experience working in the food and beverage industry, Groetzinger has an idea about what types of bars and restaurants work, as well as the kinds of cuisines and drink cultures he’s interested in.
He cited his experience at two former restaurants — James Island’s Sermet’s Southernterranean Cuisine-Bar, and Folly Beach’s Wiki Wiki Sandbar — as having first fed his love of two popular drinking cultures: aperitivo and tiki.
In a 2020 issue, Punch magazine discussed the convergence of the two cocktail approaches. Brad Thomas Parsons wrote: “The rise of the spritz, and the aperitivo category, has run tandem with the revival of tiki, both in its original form and in new takes on the genre that seek to reckon with its complicated past. Enter ‘aperitiki.’ ”
On (Johns) Island time
Groetzinger said the apertiki movement subconsciously inspired Bar Copa, which features both spritzes and rum-forward drinks. Order from an inventive cocktail menu that includes concoctions like the Lost In Translation, made with Cimarron Blanco, Amaro Montenegro, Dolin Genepy and cucumber-lime cordial.
As for the food, Groetzinger said that he wanted to present fresh, flavorful dishes — more than just charcuterie options but less than, say, a full meat and side entree you’d find at a larger restaurant.
“If I’m going to spend $50 on food in a restaurant, I want to have three things that are $17 each and try all different kinds of [dishes],” he said.
Groetzinger wants folks to choose their own adventure at Bar Copa. “You can come in and spend a ton of money if you want, and you can also come in and get out of here for a reasonable price.”
Current food items include seasonal crudo, whipped feta, a crab roll and shrimp la plancha.
In addition to the food and drink, Groetzinger said people are showing up for the ambiance, too. “Everybody that looks at me [says], ‘Thank you, thank you for this,’” he said. Situated near a swath of residential neighborhoods, Bar Copa is the perfect landing place for people looking to walk (or golf cart) to happy hour.
“You can get a killer glass of wine and a couple of small plates and listen to some fun tunes and it’s a very welcoming, tropical [space],” he said. The bar and restaurant features tall ceilings, huge windows and lots of plants and colorful accents.
“We love you Johns Island and this is for y’all,” Groetzinger said. “Hospitality is a very, very important thing to me. I always say it’s like you’re having a house party, and all you want is for everybody to be impressed with the way it looks, the way it feels. It’s our home and you’re welcome.”
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