The Beginning
Why 2b?
The name came before the bar. "2b" — a place "to be." Not a checkpoint between somewhere else, but a destination in its own right. Co-founders Dhenzell Lao, Shaydell Lao, and Ella Lee started from a shared frustration: too many bars in the city felt transactional. They wanted to build something that felt like staying.
Shaydell, trained at Le Cordon Bleu, brought the culinary precision that shaped the small bites program. Ella Lee, with a background in Seoul's bar scene, brought a Korean-Filipino sensibility that runs through everything — from the shiso in the Strawberry cocktail to the tablea in the Barley drink. Bar Manager Nico Adolfo, formerly of The Spirits Library and Yardstick Coffee, developed a cocktail program rooted in a single guiding question.
What happens when a familiar flavor gets taken somewhere unexpected? The Apple & Parmesan Milk Punch, the Corn & Miso tequila, the Tablea & Barley cacao drink — each one begins with something you recognize, then transforms through technique, texture, or an unexpected pairing you didn't see coming.
