A Water Closet by definition is a “flush toilet” or “a room containing a flush toilet”. When Louie’s Wine Dive opened its new location in Overland Park they choose a building previously housed by a gas station. Sitting on the corner of 119th street parallel to The Cheesecake Factory, Whole Foods and next door to Dunkin Donuts the space made sense. The bathrooms were, however, a different story. The previous tenant had a simple men’s room and women’s room.
There was nothing fancy about either but reconfiguring the bathrooms would prove to be somewhat of a chore, according to managing partner Tom Jordan.
Leaning on history, and the fact that the majority of their clientele is female, they choose to make each restroom unisex and label each “WC”. At first, especially if you aren’t familiar with the lingo, it is confusing.
“WC? Do I go in here? Is this where I..Is there a toilet in the closet?”
These are the questions on the mind of a new patron making the short voyage from bar top table to bathroom. Slowly opening the door to ensure it is, in fact, the bathroom, relief of a different kind occurs as you enter. Relieved that the room is in fact exactly where you want and need to be.
The décor is simple and functional. Each WC at Louie’s Wine comes with a lit candle, fantastic wall décor and has no reminiscence of a gas station.
