Spirits and espresso: Inside Johnson County’s glitzy new cocktail lounge, coffee shop

Belly Vang places a lemon wedge on the outside of a cocktail glass and pushes the lavender-colored liquid to the edge of the bar.

The Water Lily (gin, dry curacao and creme de violette) is one of his most popular drinks. On the other side of his marbled bar, customers sip their drinks under the glow of a lighted glass sculpture that stretches across one side of the room.

A few months ago, he showed The Star renderings for his bar, Entity Lounge. Now that it’s complete, he’s content with how the space looks: the mood lighting, the sleek black booths, the brass accents.

“To me, it turned out just like it should be,” he said.

Entity Lounge opened a couple of weeks ago at 11216 Switzer Road in Overland Park, below the Apex at CityPlace apartments. It’s Vang’s first bar, but he aimed to emulate some of the upscale bars he’s visited while traveling around the world.

The upscale lounge is called “Entity” because it’s designed to be a bar to simply exist in. The concept of “being” inspired its name.

But cocktails are only part of Entity’s business. The other half is the domain of espresso-loving Patricia Ghavami.

Ghavami had been wanting to open a coffee shop for a while. So, she reached out to her friend Kirt Rithmixay, who is also a partner at Entity and owns the nail salon a few doors down. From there, Rithmixay and Vang had the idea to let Ghavami to run a coffee shop in the space during mornings and early afternoons, when patrons wouldn’t be imbibing alcohol.

From 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Ghavami serves lattes, cold brews, Americanos and other coffee drinks. From 4 p.m. to midnight, Vang takes over and serves mixed drinks.

When customers walk in, they’re greeted by a twisted velvet curtain and neon sign. Bundles of red roses adorn the seating area.

Vang recalled being flattered when one customer asked if he also owned glitzy, sky-high bar The Mercury Room in the Crossroads. (He doesn’t.)

“Thank you for the compliment,” he said, laughing.

Other specialty cocktails on Vang’s menu include El Diablo (repo tequila, creme cassis), Paper Planes (bourbon, aperol, amaro nonino) and Vieux Carre (rye whiskey, cognac, sweet vermouth and benedictine).

He also offers a selection of wine and beer.

On Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, he offers some food items: chicken avocado tostadas, pinwheel clubs, bahn mi and charcuterie boards.

Vang’s favorite part of running Entity is, without a doubt, connecting with customers. He recalled one evening where he spent three hours talking with a customer who came down from his apartment and sat at the bar for a few hours simply because he needed someone to talk to.

“People sit at a bar, and sometimes they just wanna be asked, ‘Hey, how’s your day?’” Vang said.

He’s always happy to chat.