The team at Double Dragon is opening a new bar on Division Street, taking over the space formerly occupied by Richmond Bar.
Double Dragon’s owner, Daniel Casto, purchased Richmond Bar and took over the lease in November 2025. The new, yet-to-be-named bar is set to open at the end of March.
Casto has worked at Double Dragon, a Vietnamese restaurant and bar, for the past 14 years, becoming one of its co-owners 12 years ago. He has been the sole owner for the last five years, but has yet to open a location of his own.
“The to-do list is pretty long and can be pretty intimidating,” Casto says. “It’s also a pretty incredible opportunity to flex in a different creative way, and a great opportunity to continue having an imprint on a neighborhood that I am a part of, and that I love.”
While Double Dragon’s cocktails are bright and punchy, the drinks at this new bar will be, “a little tighter and a little more refined,” Casto says. The cocktail menu will offer interpretations on classic drinks, so customers looking for something familiar will find what they’re looking for, and then some.
“I think there’s a big disconnect for a lot of customers when they’re looking to order a drink, where you look at a drink menu, you see a bunch of ingredients, some of which you know, some of which you don’t,” Casto says. Instead of trying to piece together in your mind’s eye what a combination of ingredients might taste like, the menu is structured so you can order something familiar, while still trying something something new. Casto says their structure draws inspiration from The Normandie Club in Los Angeles, which starts its cocktail menu off with the phrase, “It’s sorta like a…”
However, the big question on everybody’s mind is how this new bar will fit into the surrounding community — of which Casto himself is a member — replacing a well-loved neighborhood spot in Richmond Bar. “I went there on the night they opened, actually,” Casto recalls. He purchased the bar to bring a new energy into the space, hoping to serve its neighborhood and reach beyond its immediate surroundings, but only just so.
“I feel incredibly lucky to be given the opportunity to be the steward of a historic and well-loved space,” Casto says. “If you enjoyed [Richmond Bar], and you enjoyed what it had to offer, we don’t plan to deviate dramatically from that.”
