New York City Now Has A Resistance-Themed Bar

If you’re anything like me, the 2016 election, the inauguration, and the subsequent quick succession of executive orders that seemed aimed at destroying everything I love about America have driven you nuts more than once in the past few months. Well, if you live in New York City, you can now put that despair to good use. Ravi DeRossi, Sother Teague, and Max Green of DeRossi Global — which owns of some of the hippest, most famous bars in New York City — have opened a “non-profit cocktail bar.”

The bar is called Coup, and they’ll be donating all profits (after costs are taken out for labor, liquor, and other expenses) to organizations like Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, Human Rights Watch, and anyone else who’s being targeted or facing funding cuts from the current administration. DeRossi tells Bustle that the intent is to change the organizations every month, but that if somethings happens — like, say, the Republicans succeed in cutting Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood — then that organization will be highlighted. He also has plans to fly guest bartenders in from around the world and they’ll be able to choose who they want to support during their time at the bar.

"We all should be able to be given the chance to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. And the current administration is making it really hard for people to do that."

Bar patrons not only know that that they’re drinking for a cause, but can actually determined where their individual donation goes. When you buy a drink in Coup, it comes with a token that you put in the jar of the cause you want to support. At the end of the month, the number of tokens collected for each group determines how much of the money they get.

The idea for Coup — which is short for coup d’état — came from DeRossi’s partner Sother Teague. The son of Indian immigrants, DeRossi found himself “obsessively reading the news” in the days after Trump’s inauguration — and, like so many of us, he felt powerless. So when Teague mentioned Houston, Texas, bar called Okra that donates all of their profits to local organizations, DeRossi grabbed on to the idea. That was in January and by mid-April the first Resistance-themed bar in American opened its doors.

“In my core I truly believe in the equality of everyone,” DeRossi says. “We all should be able to be given the chance to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. And the current administration is making it really hard for people to do that.”

Despite being open for less than a month, DeRossi says the response to Coup has been extremely positive. So positive, in fact, that they had to change their opening from six to five after a solid week of lines at the door. Part of that, of course, can be attributed to its location in lower Manhattan. “In New York City, roughly 90 percent voted for this bar — and against this administration,” DeRossi says. The real number is 79 percent, but the premise still holds: New York is famous for being one of the most liberal cities in the country.

And while some people might balk at the idea of being surrounded by artist’s renditions of protest signs when they just want to chill, anyone who cares passionately about the current state of politics will probably welcome it. Personally, I can’t seem to get through any social event without bringing up the latest political news — and I also wouldn’t be able to date someone who voted for Trump or didn’t like talking about politics. For people like me, Coup is a great date spot or even just a place to hang out with like-minded friends. So next time you're in New York, head down to 64 Cooper Square and drink for the Resistance.