The Boom Boom Room, a long-awaited cocktail lounge, opens soon on 6th Ave

Five years in the making, The Boom Boom Room will open in early April at 3016 6th Ave. in Tacoma, replete with a cocktail apprenticeship program, “high-roller” drinks and an eclectic menu of mid-20th century dishes.

Co-owner Robert Stocker promises the bar and restaurant will look “like you walked back into Vegas in 1960.”

With a social media tagline that reads simply, “This is a mid-century vintage restaurant,” images of the interior reveal a custom red and gold engraved wall flanking a row of booths. The focal point, though, is the sleek wooden bar, the red-lit back bar showing off a high-end spirits collection.

Beverage manager Zack McIntire described the opening menu as a blend of spins on classic cocktails and originals, ranging from $10-$17. Bringing experience from just under five years occasionally behind the bar at 1022 South J, a neighborhood cocktail bar in Hilltop, McIntire also led the bar at Stack 571 and Wildfin at Point Ruston.

Under the “light and refreshing” category, he called out the Smokin’ in Pink — mezcal shaken with Aperol, lemon and a habanero-jalapeno tincture — as “deceptively dainty.” The Empress will feature gin, coconut and lavender bitters, the latter made in house with more on the way.

On the other side of the coin, the “big and bold” list includes a $17 Golden Manhattan: Michter’s rye stirred with Carpano Antica and Angostura, the vintage glassware flecked with edible “gold dust.” Order the Fly Me to the Moon for a unique tableside presentation, where the server pours the drink — Sazerac rye, Fernet Branca, green Chartreuse and bitters — over a flaming cinnamon stick.

Some drink names follow the theme of classic films or songs from the 1960s era that inspired the bar, said McIntire, while others stick with the cocktail that inspired them, such as the Boulevardi “Yay” and the Paper Plane, a modern classic — meaning invented not in the 20th century but more recently, during the cocktail renaissance of the aughts — of equal parts bourbon, amaro, Aperol and lemon juice.

To reflect its Vegas-worthiness, The Boom Boom Room will also boast a small handful of “high-roller” classic cocktails, each costing $69 and featuring hard-to-snag base spirits like Vermont’s WhistlePig 18-year rye in the Manhattan and Nolet’s Reserve Gin, a high-proof collector’s gin that doubles as the world’s most expensive.

“The point of these cocktails,” said McIntire, “is to let the spirits show themselves off.”

Six taps and a modest but thoughtful collection of wines round out the beverages, including four choices of bubbly by the glass and another six by the bottle.

The bar’s training program — inspired by prolific cocktail destinations like Employees Only in New York City — also promotes professional development, with McIntire and Matt Dorsett opening as “gold” bartenders who train their “silver” colleagues. Barbacks here don’t just clean glassware but learn the trade, working their way up the ranks. Guests will notice a difference in uniforms.

The eventual reward? Pitching their custom creation for menu placement.

THE BOOM BOOM ROOM OPEN AT LAST

Stocker and business partner Lewis Mageo first announced this concept several years ago, but it was delayed by permitting and attention paid to replacing Fish Fish Fish, which closed in 2019, with Beefy’s Burger Shack next door. The duo also operates Shake Shake Shake in the Stadium District.

“The pandemic’s been perfect,” said Stocker, “because there’s been no pressure to open up.”

They returned to serious planning last fall, pulling McIntire to develop the cocktails while Mageo honed the food menu, one primarily of shared plates they’re calling tapas — or in Stocker’s words, “a bougie menu that makes you wanna have a cocktail.”

A take on pork lumpia to dip in a chili-tamarind sauce, poke with ponzu, rum-soaked pineapple and “Singapore sausage” lean into the Polynesian bites that often accompany ‘60s-era tiki vibes. Peppadews stuffed with smoked salmon cream cheese and a mini chicken and waffles adds easy Americana, among other dishes to graze while enjoying a drink.

You can easily have a full dinner here, too, from a $20 pork chop or steak, to lamb tacos, a cheesesteak with an herb mayo, and a “fancy” tri-blend burger topped with deep-fried pork belly and pimento cheese ($14-$18).

“The cocktails, of course, are the mainstay,” said Stocker, “but we feel that the food will match the cocktails.”

The venue’s name mirrors that of a roisterous bar inside the mid-century Hotel Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, where Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. rubbed elbows with Jackie Gleason, and where “Goldfinger” was filmed. The hotel still exists today, albeit in different form.

Stocker was raised in a well-designed mid-century modern home, he said, and his dad — though an electrician by trade — “had a crazy eye for design.” Designed by family friend and Lakewood architect Dan Kinkella, the black walnut cabinets at The Boom Boom Room resemble those from his childhood, while the lighting fixture near the entrance hung in Stocker’s old house.

Nearly ready to open the doors, Stocker hopes the bar will blend into the evolution of Sixth Avenue, welcoming neighbors and visitors alike.

“It’s just a place to come to celebrate,” he said, though beware that lighting is minimal. “It’s gonna be really dark, a little darker than El Gaucho, very sultry — just light enough that when you sit at the table you look good.”

THE BOOM BOOM ROOM

▪ 3016 6th Ave., Tacoma, 253-227-1407, facebook.com, instagram.com/boomboomroomtacoma

▪ Details: open daily at 3:30 p.m., reservations available for parties of 4 or more at theboomboomroomtacoma.com

This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 5:00 AM.