Baby Jane
Happy New Year, BOB Massive! It’s not too late for one more toast to 2019, and we recommend raising your glass at Baby Jane. Sapphira Molina-Hill opened the Clinton Hill cocktail bar with co-owner (and WBLS radio host) Dahved Levy two years ago, ready for a change from her career in fashion marketing and music management. (Before owning a bar, she helped launch 50 Cent’s G-Unit line and Beyoncé’s House of Deréon, and most recently led marketing for Queen Bey at Parkwood Entertainment.)
With her husband Treis Hill already running the Fort Greene speakeasy Dick and Jane’s, opening a sister spot was a natural progression. “Baby Jane was born out of a desire for us to expand in the neighborhood bar business as a family,” Sapphira says. “We signed the lease when my son was about six months old, and this was the baby of our bars. The name Baby Jane immediately stuck.”
“With the lack of representation in ownership, I saw starting this business as something that could bring a change.”
Baby Jane has a subtly Caribbean feel, inspired by Sapphira’s Dominican roots and Dahved’s Bajan heritage. “We wanted to make it tropical and inviting — a little vacation away from the street outside,” she says. Although the bar is cozy, seating about 25, its minimalist yet playful atmosphere reads airy: high ceilings; a wall lined with large, sun-spilling windows; natural wood accents and leafy green plants. “It was my baby, so I did everything that needed to be done,” continues proud mama Sapphira, who designed the space herself. “I love that when the fans are going, there’s an hacienda feeling.”“With the lack of representation in ownership, I saw starting this business as something that could bring a change.”
Sade and Jeffrey have worked diligently to stock their shelves with hair oils, color and every product imaginable, but with the future of Jeffrey Beauty Supply in limbo, they’ve had to liquidate inventory. Everything in the store is now 30 percent off because, as Sade puts it: “It literally could be our last sale.”
The bar's creative cocktails change seasonally and are carefully crafted, with artful attention to detail. Try the Sunset Park (tequila, fresh lime, cranberry chipotle syrup and orange liqueur with a spice-salted rim) for a sweet-tart-spicy combo that’s basically summertime in a glass. We also recommend the Paper Jane (bourbon, caperitif, aperol and lemon), which is tougher than it looks with a deep smokiness contrasted with bright citrus, cut with bitters. For those of you doing Dry January (and for year-round teetotalers), they’ll concoct virgin drinks, and look out for the hot toddy special on especially frigid days. “We like to reflect the season,” says Sapphira, “In addition to keeping it tropical throughout the year.”
899 Fulton Street, 646-469-3333, Baby Jane on Instagram
