Latest news with #StarBar
Scottish Sun
26-06-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
UK's cheapest pub famous for £4 three-course lunches SOLD in shock move
The new boss has already broken his silence on what he thinks of the cheap lunchtime deal 'LOVE THIS PLACE' UK's cheapest pub famous for £4 three-course lunches SOLD in shock move THE CHEAPEST pub in the UK, famous for its £4 three-course lunches, has been sold to new owners in a shock move. The Star Bar, where patrons get a free starter and dessert with each main, is located on Eglinton Street in Glasgow. Advertisement 2 The Star Bar has been bought over by new owners Credit: GOOGLE MAPS The beloved boozer has been serving the iconic three courses since the 1960s, giving patrons a cheap and filling meal for a knock-down price. The eatery's basic but much-loved menu includes Scotch broth, fish and chips, macaroni and cheese, meat and potatoes, creamed rice and ice cream. It has been serving bargain eats between 12pm and 2.30pm for more than 50 years. Locals and visitors alike have long flocked to the pub on the ground floor of a tenement which was built in 1892. Advertisement The traditional pub on the south side is one of the busiest in the city, with many considering it to be of legendary status. And it has now been bought over by new owners, according to The Herald. Customers can be rest assured that I have no plans to change its distinctive character – or its famous lunch offer David Low The boozer has been purchased by David Low, a businessman from Glasgow who helped Fergus McCann take over Celtic in 1994. But he has promised punters that he has "no plans" to change to pub's character or the famous lunch offer. Advertisement Mr Low said: "I've always had a keen interest in Glasgow's iconic bars, of which The Star Bar is a fine example, and there will be more to follow. "Customers can be rest assured that I have no plans to change its distinctive character – or its famous lunch offer.' Rangers-daft pub goes up for sale in Scots town It comes after the businessman sold The Arlington Bar in the west end of Glasgow in October last year. Customers have flocked to social media after hearing the news about the sale. Advertisement One person said: "Aw, hope it stays the same... love this place". Another added: "Great pub, good food and cheap beer compared to the city centre". Someone else wrote: "Beautiful old-fashioned friendly old place that has character about it, if they change it, it will never be the same". Advertisement While a fourth posted: "I just love The Star Bar". And a fifth chimed in: "Been a long time but a fabulous old boozer". The quirky diner has an impressive 4.5 stars out of five on Tripadvisor, with one glowing review branding it 'an excellent wee place'. Another reviewer wrote: 'Been on our 'tick list' for MANY years! Advertisement 'Finally got there! Lovely staff - very friendly. Great service! 'Soup like your granny made - macaroni with 'hot peas!' Then rice pudding with 'tinned' fruit. Loved it! 'Hubby had the pie which he said was spot on! Three courses - £4.00! You've got to go try it!' 2 The beloved boozer has been serving customers since the 1960s Credit: Alamy
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Businesses near Coors Field ready for a huge economic boost but there are concerns too
DENVER (KDVR) — The Colorado Rockies home opener marks a new season every year for both the team and the businesses near the ballpark. There is a lot of excitement around the Ball Park neighborhoods as businesses get ready for huge crowds to come their way for the Rockies home opener. 'Opening day is always the greatest day of the year. It's the one day when people in Denver all come down and let loose and celebrate,' Star Bar owner Justin Lloyd said. 2025 Colorado Rockies home opener could be one of the coldest in franchise history Business owners said baseball fans help generate profits that help keep them going, and they are ready for the games to begin. At the same time, people who live and work near the ballpark said there are improvements that are needed to help make the area safer and more profitable, but there are problems, too. 'We definitely need more of a police presence and support from the city,' Frank's Gentlemen's Salon owner Lisa Franz said. At the salon on Thursday, the Rockies' flag and décor were on hand for the big day. Franz said that while the Ball Park neighborhood is ready for baseball, they are also hoping the City of Denver will help take care of some of the issues when it comes to crime here. Many had hoped the mayor's recent announcement of the Downtown Safety Plan would benefit this neighborhood, but Franz and others said it would not. 'It feels like we are being left out again, and we would like to work very closely with the city and Denver Police to bring some of those services this way,' Franz said. Justin Lloyd, who owns the Star Bar, agrees. 'This neighborhood is continuously forgotten about. This neighborhood is continuously put on the outside of any those plans,' Lloyd said. The Ball Park neighborhood is home to many small businesses like Billy's Gourmet Hot Dogs. The owner, Bill Feid, said more must be done to attract more people to the area year-round. 'The Rockies home opener, that's a great event. A lot of people will come down for that. But I think we need to do more than rely on baseball games on opening day. We could have other activities,' Feid said. Timing, totals and impacts of Thursday through Saturday snowstorms Feid said businesses are still struggling with the economic challenges of the pandemic. He, like many others, is hoping for a winning season for both themselves and the Rockies. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Japan Times
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
The cold complexity of 'pure' Japanese cocktail ice
In the dim light of Ginza's Star Bar, a Negroni seems to radiate an amber glow. The cocktail all but conceals a large cube of ice carved to fit the rocks glass exactly. No effort has been spared in its creation: Moments before pouring the cocktail, the bartender diligently fans the crystalline cube to warm its surface to minimize the risk of it cracking when liquid is added. Seen from above, the ice, which the bar calls 'ninja ice,' frames the Star Bar logo printed on the coaster. Viewed directly from the side, however, the cuboid ice mysteriously vanishes, earning its moniker. Ninja ice is actually hard to find (no pun intended) in Japanese bars. Instead, the majority of ice is known as 'junpyō' (pure ice), which is made by removing impurities as water freezes. This is then shipped in blocks to be carved up as each bar or restaurant desires. The so-called "ninja ice" at Star Bar appears to vanish in the glass. | PHOEBE AMOROSO High-quality ice is readily available in Japan, says Kyuma Mogi, assistant manager at Mizunara: In Tokyo, a bar that serves a range of cocktails, whiskies and shōchū (a distilled Japanese spirit) in the heart of Tokyo's Kagurazaka neighborhood. 'We're part of the Shinjuku district so we use the locally supplied (ice manufacturer) Shinjuku Seihyo,' he says. 'The quality is undisputed, and we can secure quick restocking. If we order the night before, we have no problem receiving it the next day.' Bartenders widely agree that a well-made drink depends on the rate of dilution of the ice. 'Ultimately, it's all about controlling the amount of water that melts from the ice,' says Hidetsugu Ueno, bartender-owner of Ginza's High Five, who has earned global recognition for his ice-carving skills. 'So the size, shape and temperature (of the ice) will affect the taste and aroma of the cocktail.' None of this is possible, however, without exceptional ice — and for that, top-quality water is paramount. Mogi says that impurities not only risk cloudiness but also impact the way the ice cracks when being broken down to size for use in drinks. 'We take a knife and sort of tap the ice,' he explains. 'The impact of the blade should result in a clean split, but if there are impurities, the split will be less clean and (result in) angles you're not exactly looking for.' The "junpyō" (pure ice) made by Kuramoto Ice is slowly frozen to release impurities that can affect the final look. | KURAMOTO ICE Another key element is how the water is frozen, which impacts the hardness of the ice. This is crucial for cocktails that involve shaking, says Mogi. If the ice is too soft and crushes too much, it not only affects the rate of melting, diluting the cocktail, but it also limits how long or hard a drink can be shaken. This impacts the aeration — the amount of air worked into the ingredients —- and the resultant drink. 'Alcohol reacts differently based on the aeration,' he says. 'While it very much depends on the ingredients, sometimes cocktails might become mellower or more rounded with more aeration — they might have less of a harsh edge. Then there's texture. To give you an easy example, if you have a dairy product like cream or milk and shake it well, you get a very foamy top.' Slow and chill A lot of Japan's water is soft water, making it ideal for quality ice production, says Kazuhiko Kuramoto, the fifth-generation owner of Kanazawa-based ice manufacturer Kuramoto Ice. Yet beyond the raw material, a careful and lengthy production process is necessary. Kuramoto Ice freezes water slowly for over 72 hours at around minus 10 degrees Celsius, a process that ensures only the pure components of water are frozen and impurities are left behind. The water is also agitated to remove micro air bubbles, resulting in a crystal clear ice that is structurally sound. Kuramoto Ice freezes its ice very slowly for over 72 hours at around minus 10 degrees Celsius. | KURAMOTO ICE Founded in 1923, Kuramoto Ice, initially bought ice from manufacturers and processed it before selling it to bars and restaurants. However, decline in the ice production industry over the past decade prompted it to pivot to making junpyō in 2015. 'Ice businesses nationwide were starting to go out of business, so we felt that we had to do it ourselves,' explains Kuramoto. 'The other thing was we wanted to create a brand for ice and then to freely make the ice we wanted.' It's a move that has paid off. In 2019, Kuramoto became the first Japanese ice company to export ice to bars and restaurants in the United States. The company was contacted by Naoto Yonezawa, who was working in product development for an importer and distributor in Los Angeles. Disappointed by what he found to be low-quality ice in the U.S., he had looked into making it locally but found much of the water too hard to be suitable. Labor costs meant that it was more economical to import high-quality junpyō from Japan instead. In 2024, Kuramoto Ice exported 323 metric tons of its purified ice to the U.S. | KURAMOTO ICE After researching various suppliers, he contacted Kuramoto Ice. Convinced by their shared vision of introducing quality ice to the U.S., he left his job in 2020 and established Kuramoto Ice's North American operations. Exports from Japan initially began small, with a trial shipment of just 7 metric tons to the U.S. in 2019, but soared to 323 metric tons in 2024. This overseas demand has helped push Kuramoto Ice's profit to a record high of ¥300 million in 2024. It's now shipping to Australia and Singapore and aims to expand into Mexico and Canada. Praising its 'exceptional purity, clarity and structural integrity,' Shintaro Eleazar Tozzo, head chef at Bar Moga, a Japanese-style bar in New York City, is delighted to be able to source Kuramoto Ice. 'Their meticulous 72-hour freezing process removes impurities and air bubbles, resulting in ultradense ice that melts slowly without overdiluting drinks,' Tozzo says in an email. 'Compared with locally available ice, Kuramoto Ice provides a level of consistency and craftsmanship that aligns with our dedication to quality.' The mountain's gift Elsewhere, the sourcing of ice is being taken to new heights — quite literally. Star Bar's 'ninja ice' is not made of junpyō at all but rather natural ice harvested from the snowy slopes of Nagano Prefecture's Mount Tateshina. Hisashi Kishi, Star Bar owner and Japan's Cocktail Culture Foundation chairman, harvests his own natural ice from a mountain in Nagano Prefecture. | STAR BAR Hisashi Kishi, owner of Star Bar and chairman of Japan's Cocktail Culture Foundation, claims to be the first person in more than 100 years to obtain a license to harvest natural ice in Japan. Searching for a suitable harvesting location, he analyzed data on water cleanliness in areas where the temperature stays around minus 10 C for 23 weeks of the year. He eventually settled on Tateshina as a candidate site and set about building the trust of the local government and people to gain permission for his venture 'At first, everyone was a bit suspicious, asking who that strange guy was,' Kishi says. 'But gradually people began to support me.' Kishi is now in his fifth year of harvesting ice and third year of offering natural ice on Star Bar's menu. Star Bar has been making cocktails with naturally harvested ice for three years. | PHOEBE AMOROSO 'Junpyō makes the alcohol taste a little stronger, but it's not that it's bad,' Kishi says. 'Natural ice, by comparison, makes cocktails taste more refreshing.' Science aside, one thing is crystal clear: A lot of the charm of Japanese ice lies in its aesthetics. Kachiwari ice — blocks of junpyō broken into smaller, irregular pieces — is commonly used throughout bars in Japan and has become Kuramoto Ice's most popular product, though the company notes this stands at odds with minimizing ice's surface area to reduce dilution. It's far from the only delicious contradiction in the world of high-quality Japanese ice — for Star Bar's ninja ice, so much care and effort behind a vanishing trick in the glass.
