Stowe has a new spot for olive oil-washed dirty martinis, clarified spicy margaritas and Bloody Caesars. Whereabouts, a cocktail bar inside coworking space and social club Day Haus, opened on January 15 at 140 Cottage Club Road — the sprawling space most remembered as the 33-year home of Sunset Grille & Tap Room.
Day Haus founder and Stowe native Hannah Mitrani learned in the fall that the building she rented on Mountain Road was being sold, just as she was set to launch its bar. While the previous iteration of Whereabouts was tiny and billed as a speakeasy, its new 67-seat space, designed by stylist Molly Velte, has room to spread out — including a large outdoor area for hosting summer music and events.
“Sunset Grille was this iconic dive bar in Stowe,” Mitrani said. The space had been on the market since last March, after the closure of short-lived barbecue restaurant Nocturnal, when she went to check it out “just for fun.”
“When I walked in,” she continued, “I saw the future of Day Haus and Whereabouts. It felt like our forever home.”
The weekday coworking side of the business remains just for members, guests and day-pass purchasers. Mitrani had initially planned for Whereabouts to have its own membership program, but she soon decided to open the bar to all.
“The place really needed to be shared with the public,” she said. “The world needs more community now, not exclusive places.”
She called Whereabouts’ menu of “higher-end” cocktails “personal,” with drinks such as the Chinook — a hibiscus tequila cocktail named after her grandparents’ camper — and the Haus Caesar, a Bloody Mary riff made with her go-to Clamato juice.
Snacks include cheese, crackers, pâté, olives, tinned fish and caviar. With a full commercial kitchen, Whereabouts will soon host chefs from around Vermont for pop-ups.
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