Page 29 - 03_April-2025

warm lighting and a hi-fi, straight-from-the-’70s sound system.
“We’re not trying to be an experimental
cocktail bar that people visit three times a year,”
Staley says. “We want to be the kind of place
you can come to three times a week.” Staley
observes that, in Edmonton, when something
is thoughtful and well-crafted, it often gets
labelled by audiences as “fancy.”
“We want to eliminate that, because it can
be a deterrent for some,” he says. “You should
be able to get a great cocktail, but if all you
want is a beer and a shot, we’ll do that for
you, too.”
Staley designed a 1970s-inspired room with
vintage furniture, warm lighting and a hi-fi,
straight-from-the-’70s sound system. “We’re not
calling ourselves a listening bar, but we wanted
the sound to be incredible.”
The drink menu at Next of Kin is streamlined
and precise. You can go in and order “a red” or
“a lager” because there’s only one choice for each
type of wine and beer.
“My internal motto (for the bar) is: less, but
better,” Staley says.
Staley says he developed each cocktail with
a chef’s mindset, focused on ingredients.
“I was messing around one day and made a
distillate that tasted like bread,” Staley says.
“So we thought, why not do a croissant
drink? There’s kind of a food theme to the
drink menu.”
Keeping with the accessible neighbourhood bar
philosophy, the drink menu also has an “... and
Coke” section. “‘Everything is presented in a fun
and kind of whimsical way,” Staley says.
29