At Foolproof in Williamsburg, the whiskey glows before you even walk in.
Through wide windows on Driggs Avenue, near the L train and McCarren Park, nearly 500 bottles shimmer on a backlit wall. It feels less like a bar display and more like an invitation.
The invitation comes from Andy Lock, a hospitality veteran who opened Foolproof after years working in some of New York’s most iconic dining rooms, including Gotham Bar & Grill and The Lobster Club. This time, he wanted to create something of his own: casual, thoughtful and fun.
And it’s not just about the drinks. Foolproof’s menu is built with spirits in mind, ranging from sashimi-grade tartare and house-cured meats to beet-and-burrata salad and French onion dip. A whiskey ice cream sandwich closes things on a sweet note. Each plate is crafted to complement the complex layers of the bottles behind the bar.
“There’s a lot of room for flavor play,” Lock told Brooklyn Paper. “A rich bourbon can elevate the fat in cured meats, while the brightness of a Japanese whiskey might cut through something creamy. And smoky Scotch? Perfect with something briny or grilled.”
The 900-square-foot space reflects Lock’s personal history as much as his professional chops.
Leather banquettes, terrazzo tile and wood accents throughout recall his childhood in central Pennsylvania.
“I grew up in a mid-century modern house,” he said. “We had terrazzo tiles on the floor, so we put terrazzo tiles in here too. For me, that’s a little bit of nostalgia.”
That nostalgia extends to the handcrafted woodwork. “My mom had a few uncles who did woodworking, so we had a lot of handmade wooden tables,” he added. “And you can see the back bar is all wood, the bar’s wood, all the tables are wood.”
Even the name, Foolproof, has personal meaning.
“Ruth, my fiancée, came up with it,” he said. “We wanted to show off a little bit of confidence behind the concept. You’re going to have to really try to go out of your way to have a bad time. It’s going to be a foolproof experience.”
Since opening July 12, the bar has quickly become a neighborhood fixture. Locals drop in after work, on weekends and often just to see what’s on the wall.
“A lot of people have been coming in, [saying] ‘Hey, we’ve been waiting for this place to open,’” Lock said. “A lot of local business owners have been really supportive too, giving me the run of the land around the neighborhood.”
But Lock’s ambitions go beyond the nightly crowd. He hopes to expand programming to include private tastings and monthly events with distillers and producers.
“I do want to do private events for [pairings],” Lock said. “I think it would be awesome to start doing either bimonthly or monthly tastings — whiskey flights, bringing in some distillers to talk about the product.”
He’s even dreaming up more irreverent gatherings — maybe even a meat raffle night.
“Hey, maybe you walk out of here with 20 pounds of fillet,” he laughed. “You just get a few hunks of meat, sell raffle tickets, have people sit around and enjoy some drinks and snacks.”
That’s the joy of Foolproof: expertly run, deeply stocked and welcoming people to new experiences.
“I want to make sure it’s a nice, relaxing place to hang out for people who live around here or are on the way home from the commute to work,” Lock said.
Foolproof is open Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., and on weekends from noon to 2 a.m., with brunch served from noon to 4 p.m.
