JB Percival Co. Cocktail Lounge
Photo Cred: Paola Benedetto
Calling it a bar would be doing this lovely space a disservice. Of course, it serves up spirits and there is a bar where patrons can be seated to drink them, but J.B. Percival Co. is not just a typical bar: it’s a charming get-away, with low lights, comfortable leather seating, no television over the bar – just an atmosphere evocative of earlier times when life was good and drinks were elegant: cocktails, aperitifs, bubbly, and cordials.
Tucked into an unassuming shopfront on Donnelly Lane, J. B. Percival offers classic cocktails, fine wine, and an admirable selection of craft beers, as well as distinctive and original drink creations like the spiced maple daiquiri at Thanksgiving or the pomegranate French 75 on Valentines Day, paired with a raspberry Veuve Cliquot chocolate from BE Chocolatiers in Greenfield Hill.
Owners Amy and Bill O’Shea take their responsibilities seriously here. They worked together to create this homage to a different time in Fairfield's history. "Most of this," Amy, who is a real estate lawyer, gestures at the light fixtures and the ceiling, "was salvaged from old factories around here. This space right here was a factory. They made novelty bags. Look." She pointed at the floor which had been sanded down to the concrete. "You can see where the machines were bolted down."
At the end of the bar, Bill is looking at his own work.
“And this,” he added, smoothing a hand over the glossy surface of the bar, “is a recycled bowling alley.”
A builder by trade, he was the one who did most of the heavy lifting—and hammering and measuring and putting together—and the result is a classy interior with the solid feel of a warehouse and the welcoming feel of a living room.
Photo Cred: Paola Benedetto
It's been a challenge since the Coronavirus, but the O'Sheas were up for it. Buoyed by their initial success last winter, they did what had to be done to make J.B. Percival pandemic friendly. They installed CDC-recommended air filters and a medical-grade air purifier, put up Plexiglas dividers to make social distancing easy, and set out outdoor seating. The result is a place where you can feel safe, comfortable, and happy. Come for a drink before dinner or when you simply need to get out of the house. Order a glamorous cocktail or a festive glass of bubbly in the late afternoon.
Or, as Bill suggests, when it's Date Night for husband and wife, they've finished dinner, the kids are asleep, but the babysitter is still awake,
“And it just isn’t time for the night to end yet.”
J.B. Percival is the perfect place for a nightcap.