COASTSIDE / This + That

New lounge comes to downtown

Sacrilege Brewery is expanding into the location next door on Main Street in Half Moon Bay and opening the Velvet Hippo Lounge. Owner Joe Pacini received approval from the city to open a bar in the former Ark Grill location at 724 Main St. The Ark Grill closed last spring. Pacini plans to open the new lounge sometime late winter or early spring. Although both locations will share certain synergies and resources, the Velvet Hippo Lounge will be more of an adult lounge featuring high-end cocktails. Where Sacrilege Brewery is bright with big windows, the Velvet Hippo Lounge will be low-key and softly lit for night. Think rock 'n' roll for the vibe at Sacrilege, where the Velvet Hippo will be more of a quiet jazz establishment. In the first few months of opening, the Velvet Hippo plans to start slow, operating from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday, and potentially work toward later hours on special occasions, and perhaps even some live music. No outdoor seating is planned, but Pacini says they hope to utilize the front porch space when possible. The lounge received their hard liquor license so they’ll be able sell distilled spirits — think martinis and Manhattans — not just beer and wine, and any food served will be resourced from Sacrilege Brewery but will be ancillary to cocktails. Pacini says to look for more snack-type options like charcuterie boards to complement the cocktails served. velvetlhippolounge.com

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Cooking series Gourmet Appliance announced its upcoming cooking series with Chef Amiee D’maris. D’maris and her husband, Chef Peter Alan, recently settled on the Coastside after years of owning and operating a wine country catering company — Amiee D'maris Events — and an organic farm. She has worked in the industry for more than 25 years as a chef, kitchen manager, recipe developer and food innovator, and is excited to share her experience through the cooking class series. As part of the Gourmet Appliance team, find D’maris at the shop Thursday-Sunday to answer any cooking questions and help guide shoppers looking for great gourmet cooking products. gourmetkitchenusa.com

Oil paintings Juno’s Little Mercantile in downtown Half Moon Bay is featuring a new exhibition of the oil painting work of Joseph Altwer. Altwer, along with Aina Clotas owns Nuance Fine Art in La Piazza downtown where they both paint and show their paintings as well as offer weekly classes and workshops. Altwer studied classical painting in Florence, Italy, and taught at an art academy in Barcelona, Spain, for five years. He paints interiors, still life and landscapes of the California coast and surroundings. The exhibit will be up through the end of February. junosmercantile.com