Bitter Social Taking Over Gallo Space

The cure for a boring night out: the new Bitter Social

A bar isn’t just a place to get a cocktail or grab a beer or glass of wine. It’s a gathering ground—a spot to pull up with your person or fly solo, yap with the bartender, and connect with strangers who turn into friends. … So, happy hour meets social hour, if you will. 

Embracing the social side is Bitter Social—as the name suggests, a new bar/social space from the team behind local faves Bittersweet and Johnson Street Yacht Club, Kim Hammer and Lewis Norton.

“I have always firmly believed that bars are community centers,” says Hammer. “I’d like to push that as far as I can with this concept. I want to have a place where everybody can come and meet new people… and you know you can drop by and there will be something going on.”

Slated to debut Downtown later this summer, the concept will take over the rooftop Gallo space, which wraps its run Cinco de Mayo, while downstairs restaurant Centro will remain open. It’s a bittersweet goodbye (pun intended) to the 2015-established mezcaleria—but a full-circle moment for the dynamic duo, who shared an early date and rehearsal dinner there. A fitting handoff rooted in friendship, shared memories and mutual vision, Gallo co-owner and building owner Angela Salamanca approached Hammer about doing something with the space after deciding the bar had lived out its purpose.

“It just felt really right to be able to pass the space on to somebody who I not just trust, love and have known for a long time, but respect the work they do within the community,” emphasizes Salamanca, whose Gateway Plaza Mala Pata and Peyote projects are expected to bow soon. “There’s some sadness, some grief, some struggles. But I think, at the end of the day, this is what we do. There’s beginnings, there’s endings… and everything happens exactly how it’s supposed to happen, the way it’s supposed to happen, in the way it’s meant to happen.”

Hammer promises the new concept will make Gallo proud with a fresh energy evoking if Bittersweet and Yacht Club had a baby. So, that trademark all-are-welcome vibe that sparks relationships in lieu of an hourslong Insta doomscroll.

In an effort to provide set programming, Bitter Social will host events on the daily—whether you want to participate or just sit back and watch. Essentially, “things we’re all doing anyway, but just doing them together,” maintains Hammer. 

Picture monthly smutty poetry and prose nights cohosted by Blackbird Books & Coffee, along with a monthly “trashy wine club” pairing vino with everything from potato chips to candy. Add in dance parties, the return of Bittersweet’s monthly gin club, a Dear Diary night for reading personal entries, a Grammy watch-party with a DJ spinning Grammy-nominated hits all day— even slow Sundays featuring movie showings or cookouts. So whether you spend your Sundays reading or crocheting, you can do it at Bitter Social “so you’re getting out into the world and existing in a space” with others.

“I’m really excited about slow Sundays because I feel like I’m that person,” she muses. “I don’t want to do anything big, but I like to be around people.” Hammer will also harken back to some “Bittersweet lore” by reviving unique activations from the cocktail/dessert lounge’s early days, like screening Dazed and Confused with a keg in the middle of the room, or “making cherry pie and watching Twin Peaks all day.”

To set the stage, Hammer will be revamping the Gallo space—keeping its beautiful bones a la wood-paneled walls, exposed brick and plants, with a glow-up that includes fresh paint, new loungey furniture and a tweaked layout. “I’m feeling a very 1970s conversation pit kind of vibe,” Hammer explains. “It’s just really important to me that it feels of all times for all people.”

A curated roster of drinks and snacks tailored to each event or theme night will round out the experiences—plus popular potables like whiskey sours and martinis (including the espresso martini), canned cocktails, beers, spirited and THC/CBD seltzers, mocktails, and coffee. And, who knows, a serendipitous collab with Salamanca could be in the cards as well.

“I’ve always been a believer that the communities we live in are a reflection of what we do,” says Salamanca. “For me, this feels really good because the collaboration with Kim and Lewis will yield some really fun stuff we are missing. I think it will be good for Downtown.” @bittersocialraleigh