THE LOCAL GUIDE

Drinks on Central Avenue: choose downtown, EDGE, or Grand Central

Three stretches of Central Avenue, three different plans: cocktails and wine downtown, mixed drinks in EDGE, or coffee and beer in Grand Central.

By SipStPete · September 28, 2026 · Based on published venue sources

Choose one stretch before choosing stops

Central Avenue is a useful way to organize a drinks outing, but the venues in this guide are spread across different blocks and districts. Start with a downtown evening, an EDGE District afternoon, or a Grand Central daytime visit. Keep the plan to one or two places you actually want to spend time in.

Downtown: cocktails or a wine-led dinner

The Mandarin Hide at 231 Central Avenue North and Sauvignon at 241 Central Avenue sit in the downtown cluster. They serve different purposes: one is a cocktail bar with a late schedule, the other a wine-focused restaurant. Decide whether the evening needs a dinner reservation or a cocktail stop before choosing. Check the day of the week, especially Monday.

EDGE: juice, coffee, and a brewery nearby

Pure Green at 1041 Central and Intermezzo at 1111 Central provide juice and café options on the avenue. Green Bench is nearby on Baum Avenue rather than on Central itself. This cluster supports an afternoon where one person wants a smoothie and another wants coffee or beer, without implying that all drinks are available inside one venue.

Grand Central: make the café the early stop

Grand Central Brewhouse is at 2340 Central, Bandit at 2662 Central, and Hawthorne at 2927 Central. Bandit’s daytime hours make it a sensible first anchor if coffee and food are part of the plan. The brewery and bottle shop then offer different later choices: house brewing and a garden at one, wine and craft-beer selection at the other.

Two simple ways to use the guide

For a daytime plan, choose Bandit and then one Grand Central venue after checking opening hours. For an EDGE plan, choose Pure Green or Intermezzo as the first stop, then decide whether the brewery is part of the outing. These are planning suggestions based on location and published offerings, not timed tours or tested walking itineraries.

Check the route rather than guessing from the street name

Enter the actual addresses in your map before heading out. Central Avenue connects the districts, but sharing a street does not mean two venues are next door. Build in travel time, and arrange your return trip in advance when drinking alcohol. Venue links below give you the current menu and visiting information.

Questions before you go

Are Bandit and Pure Green next to each other?

No. Bandit is in Grand Central at 2662 Central; Pure Green is in EDGE at 1041 Central.

Is Green Bench on Central Avenue?

Its address is 1133 Baum Avenue North in the EDGE District.

Which part of Central works for a wine-led dinner?

The downtown cluster includes Sauvignon at 241 Central Avenue. Grand Central’s Hawthorne is a different bottle-shop format.

Sources & updates

Published venue information reviewed September 28, 2026. Planning suggestions are our interpretation of those details, not firsthand visit reports. Menus, hours, and policies can change.

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