‘Emersa,’ an observatory-inspired cocktail bar to debut in Buckeye

BUCKEYE, AZ — Buckeye will be home to ‘Emersa,’ an observatory-inspired cocktail bar opening at Verrado Marketplace. The venue aims to offer an “ever-changing environment” through the use of mixed-use projectors and 4K VR displays.

House of Form

In an interview with ABC15, Josh Katz, founder and managing partner of Emersa, explained that VR screens will be installed throughout the bar, primarily on the sides, which will function as virtual windows. These screens create the illusion of looking out into different environments that are being simulated. Additionally, projectors will be used to depict sky elements, complemented by a sky dome to enhance the immersive experience.

“The idea is to really be able to change the bar in the atmosphere. So, you might come in one experience, and you we might be an observatory on Mars, looking out into the planets and into space. And the next time you come in, we might be an observatory on the bottom of the Pacific, looking up through the ocean and all the fish and plant life. The idea and the goal is to really be able to simulate and change the environment periodically to create a much different experience each time people come,” said Katz.

House of Form

Katz shared with ABC15’s Nicole Gutierrez that there’s quite a team involved to bring the observatory-inspired cocktail bar into reality.

“We’re working with a creative technologist, and he’s got some experience working with Netflix and Disney Imagineering, and so he’s kind of on the tech side, and he’s the one that’s kind of developing all the projectors and the software for the VR screens, and then of course we’ve got an IT company on the hardware side,” said the Katz. “Immersive bars is really [about] storytelling […] just being able to tell that story from the second the guest walks in the door, [to] the time when they leave, and being able to curate that story all the way through.”

House of Form

Emersa is anticipated to feature over a dozen specialty cocktails, including six to eight that are theme-related.

Katz told ABC15 that reservations for the 90-minute experience “hopefully” will open within the next few months, and they are “shooting for the end of the year” for the debut.

House of Form

For Katz, this won’t be the first project that involves creating an immersive cocktail bar as he is the owner of 36 Below, that’s near 36th Street in Indian School. It’s inside of Sip Coffee and Beer, and they use VR screens to simulate different environments.

Emersa will open at 1503 N Verrado Way, Suite 101, in Buckeye.