The owners of Blacksmith Bar on Broadway Street in Redwood City are opening a new venture directly across the street: The Nighthawk, which will serve coffee by day and cocktails by night.

The Nighthawk will open to the public at 2033 Broadway St. on Sunday, Sept. 16, said general manager Lauren Brown.


The newly opened Nighthawk in downtown Redwood City. Photo by Elena Kadvany.

Blackmith Bar husband-and-wife co-owners Michael Magalong and Seana Stockton acquired the space, Brown said, and then "started thinking about the way that they eat and drink at home, which is pretty simple — grab a baguette and some cheese, grab a bottle of wine or make a cocktail and just hang out and enjoy your evening."

They envision The Nighthawk as such: a neighborhood hangout with "good music, good food, good cocktails," Brown said.

During the day, The Nighthawk will serve Ritual Coffee Roasters coffee and espresso drinks as well as pastries from The Midwife and the Baker in Mountain View. In the evening, the space will become a bar with cocktails and small bites, such as charcuterie, pretzels and paninis.

The cocktail menu will focus on mezcal and specialty rums, Brown said, plus classic drinks. The bar will use local spirits; she said they're aiming to stay within a two-hour radius of San Francisco. There will also be a kombucha cocktail and nitro coffee on draft.

Stockton chose the name before realizing that the nighthawk is, fittingly, a nocturnal bird that's active early in the morning and late at night, Brown said.

The Nighthawk will be open from 6 a.m. to midnight, Sunday through Thursday, and until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Magalong and Seana opened Blacksmith together in 2015. The bar was inspired by Jean Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop tavern in New Orleans’ French Quarter.