A new intimate cocktail bar from hospitality industry veterans is set to open on Wednesday, April 29, in Midtown.
Called “Wet Picnic,” the owner/operated bar is from Allison Everitt and Jonathan Brill. Wet Picnic builds on the duo’s more than 30 years in the bar and hospitality industry in Detroit and elsewhere. Everitt and Brill are known in Detroit for their work at Milwaukee Junction’s Kiesling and the cocktail pop-up Fast Friends, recognized by StarChefs in a 2025 feature on Detroit.
In 2024, Everitt landed on Punch Magazine’s list of 10 Best New Bartenders.
On Second Avenue in Midtown, Wet Picnic is a small place, taking up the lower-level space in an old Victorian home, previously occupied by Castalia at Sfumato. After an eight-year run as a perfumery by day and cocktails, mocktails and snacks at night, Castalia closed at the end of last year.
Its name, “Wet Picnic,” Brill said, hails from a Los Angeles band with the same name, which his father was a part of in the 70s and 80s. The band was formed by Argentinian musician Gustavo Santaolalla.With compact space, Everitt and Brill expect to offer precision cocktails from a “tightly curated spirits selection.”
“The result will be an intimate space that encourages connection and a chance to let your guard down,” according to a news release.
While delivering deftly high-quality cocktails, Brill said the space will lean toward being more casual.
Expect cocktail bar menu classics of highballs, old-fashioneds, juiced-to-order Daiquiris, martinis and Negronis. Brill believes they take a “culinary approach to drinks.”
“There’s a lot of prep on the back end to ensure that our service is speedy,” Brill said.
Having a small space allows the owners to stay connected, with a focus on hospitality and their philosophy of “great drinks, no pressure, and an experience that feels genuine.”
“We are not trying to beat people over the head with knowledge,” Everitt said. “We want this to be a fun place to unwind, and we’re more focused on making drinks that are fun, flavorful but easy to enjoy. It’s not meant to feel intimidating or overly technical, but just like a really good drink that you want to come and have again.”
With a small footprint, Brill told the Free Press that there is no space for a large ice machine, so they’ll freeze and cut their own clear ice – a trendy hallmark of cocktail bars.
Inside, after some remodeling, Wet Picnic seats around 22 comfortably. During warmer months, there’s a larger outside area under a side pergola and plaza-style or stepped seating for 20 to 30 people.
“A bar should be a refuge from the 9-5 world,” Brill and Everitt said in a news release. “More and more bars feel like retail experiences − slick branding, heavy marketing. We’re interested in something simpler: hospitality and a room full of people.”
When it comes to food, expect light snacks to pair with deftly crafted cocktails.
“In this neighborhood, we are surrounded by food, so it’s taken the pressure off it a touch,” Everitt said.
Everitt said another aspect is they’ll offer a “quicker serve.”
“So, people that are on their way to dinner at one of the various restaurants that we’re surrounded by, they can stop in with only 15 minutes to grab a drink,” she said.
Wet Picnic, 3980 2nd Ave., in Midtown Detroit, hours are 6 p.m. -1 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday and 6 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, follow Wet Picnic on Instagram at @wetpicnic.
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SusanMariecooks. Subscribe to the Eat Drink Freep newsletter for insider scoops on food and dining in metro Detroit.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: New intimate cocktail bar Wet Picnic opens soon in Midtown Detroit
Reporting by Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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