Erick Williams’s Virtue Team Unveils Plans For a Mexican Cocktail Bar

Tequila is the top-selling liquor at Virtue, the Hyde Park restaurant from award winners Erick Williams and Damarr Brown, says General Manager Jesus Garcia. The fact that the agave-based spirit beat out rum and bourbon surprised the team, as Virtue celebrates Black American culture.

The data reiterated the thirst for cocktails in Hyde Park, and Garcia says staff regularly turns away customers who just want to come in and have a drink. Virtue is food-focused, showcasing a gamut of southern culinary traditions. But the demand for tequila reveals an opportunity that Williams and Garcia hope to capitalize on when they open their new bar this fall, just around the corner from Virtue.

The newly named Cantina Rosa will focus on the beverage side, taking Virtue’s approach to Black culture, “leading with kindness and hospitality” and applying that to Mexican culture. Garcia grew up in Rogers Park but was born in Mexico. He arrived in America when he was 3, his family is from Puebla, Mexico. They returned to Mexico after about a decade before once more settling in Chicago. While Garcia lacks memories of Mexico as a young child, he vividly remembers his second stint in Mexico as a teen. The bar won’t focus on a particular region or spirit. Garcia is happy to show that Mexico is about more than agave and he wants to showcase bourbon and Charanda — a rum from Michoacan, Mexico.

Garcia sees a chance to fill a niche in Hyde Park, and while he doesn’t mind expanding customers’ tastes, introducing them to Mexican flavors they haven’t experienced, he doesn’t want to be heavy-handed.

“We are mindful that before it’s a Mexican bar, it’s going to a bar,” Garcia says. “If somebody comes in and orders an Old Fashioned, we’re going to be able to make that.”

This philosophy also tracks with the bar’s name. Williams and Garcia wanted to pick something English speakers could gravitate toward, something personal, yet easy to pronounce. It’s not exactly the “Martha” moment from Batman v Superman, but Garcia’s mother is named Rosa, and Williams’s grandmother is Rose.

They’re still orchestrating the bar bites menu, offering tacos and more. The drink menu is already finalized. They worked with celebrated barman Paul McGee on the beverage list and the bar’s layout. While Williams and Garcia are confident in operating a restaurant — they met while working at Mk The Restaurant — they brought in McGee, seeing how he helped make Lost Lake in Logan Square a successful tropical drink destination.

Garcia began his restaurant career at 15 as a busser at Chef’s Station, a since-shuttered restaurant in Evanston. He held several positions at Mk before delving into wine and serving as the restaurant’s general manager. He remembers meeting Williams and noting that he “came across as very genuine and intense.” The two bonded over strong work ethics and Williams credits Garcia’s leadership at Virtue in making the restaurant successful.

The space, a former laundromat, will be redecorated with local art, pottery, and seating options for big and small groups. Stay tuned for more information about Cantina Rosa as fall approaches.

Cantina Rosa, 5230 S. Harper Avenue, planned for a fall opening.