Popular Sacramento bar and barbershop is changing ownership. Here’s what we know so far

Bottle and Barlow in Sacramento, where mixologists work alongside barbers, is changing ownership.

In a farewell post to customers on Jan. 26, former co-owner Anthony Giannotti announced he sold the business at 1120 R St. in Southside Park. The decision to step down from his decade-long venture wasn’t fueled by a financial hardship but rather an emotional one: He was no longer happy owning a bar.

Giannotti declined an interview with The Sacramento Bee and would not give the name of the new owner.

Liquor license records from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control show Bottle & Barlow, LLC, is still owned by Giannotti and his business partner Jayson Wilde. According to sources familiar with the sale who did not wish to be identified, the owners of Honey & The Trapcat in West Sacramento are taking over.

“This decision to sell wasn’t an easy one,” Giannotti wrote to his more than 130,000 Instagram followers. “I’m grappling with feeling like I’ve failed the place but I know we’ve handed it to great hands.”

Bottle & Barlow’s success didn’t come without hardship.

In 2018, Barlow’s entire barber staff of independent contractors quit as a result of Dynamex Operations West Inc. v. Superior Court. The state Supreme Court decision placed stricter guidelines on who can work as an independent contractor.

Giannotti was left to cut hair alone that day.

Now, images of Instagramable cocktails, laser-focused bartenders and satisfied customers line Bottle & Barlow’s social media pages.

“I just want to say that if you’re unhappy in a situation in life, it’s never too late to change course,” Giannotti wrote in a farewell post, hinting that “a lot of big things” are coming.

The Sacramento entrepreneur owns hair product line Victor Crown Barber Co. and Anthony’s Barbershop in Curtis Park.

The online drink menu includes both alcoholic and nonalcoholic options ranging from a $6 shot and beer combo to a $15 Farm to Fork You made with rum, lemongrass and Italian liqueur. Customers who can’t decide on a drink can ask the bartender for the “drink dice.”

Jayson Wilde tends bar at Bottle & Barlow on R Street.
Jayson Wilde tends bar at Bottle & Barlow on R Street.

Also available are cosmopolitans, martinis, and draft beers and wines.

Barbershop services range from a $18 beard trim and line-up to a $76 haircut and shave. The shop’s drink list features cocktails, beer and nonalcoholic options.

Anthony Giannotti cuts Brian Pattenaude’s hair five months ago at Anthony’s Barbershop. Giannotti is partnering with bartender Jayson Wilde to help launch Bottle & Barlow, where patrons can get haircuts and enjoy an alcoholic drink.
Anthony Giannotti cuts Brian Pattenaude’s hair five months ago at Anthony’s Barbershop. Giannotti is partnering with bartender Jayson Wilde to help launch Bottle & Barlow, where patrons can get haircuts and enjoy an alcoholic drink.

The bar is open seven days a week, according to its website. Business hours are from 4 p.m. to midnight, Monday through Thursday; 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays; noon to 2 a.m. on Saturdays; and noon to midnight on Sundays.

The barbershop is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

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