Downtown Wilmington’s Sip Tiki Bar is gearing up for a busy summer season. 

The family-run business already has a loyal following among its neighboring Water Street businesses and River Place residents and has seen a steady increase in customers since opening in March.

The bar is owned and operated by partners Sherri and Mickey Fasano, their daughter Blair Lacik and her husband Nick Lacik. It’s a 50-50 business partnership, according to Sherri Fasano.

“We work half of the week and they work half of the week,” she said. “Sometimes you’ll find all four of us here on the weekends when we’re busy.”

Fasano credits Blair and Nick as being the masterminds behind the tiki concept.

“They have done a lot of traveling to the tropics, really immersing themselves in different cultures, particularly in Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Hawaii,” Fasano said. “They’ve spent a lot of time among the locals to really understand what goes into making authentic cocktails from each region.”

Sip Tiki Bar features a wide variety of tropical drinks, both frozen and on the rocks. Each drink can also be prepared without alcohol. Some of the most popular menu items include the Sundowner from Jamaica, the key lime margarita, the pina colada and the strawberry and banana daiquiris.

“You really can’t find these kinds of drinks prepared with fresh fruit juices at other places downtown,” Fasano said.

In addition to freshly squeezed and all-natural juices, Sip uses coconut water and reverse osmosis-filtered water. And if you’re not in a tropical drink kind of mood, there’s a full bar, six local brews on tap and a variety of canned and bottled beers, which can be consumed on-site or purchased for carryout.

While the space occupies a small footprint, it has large windows and doors that open onto an outdoor patio overlooking the river and they also have plenty of fans to keep everyone cool.

“We love creating a fun, outdoorsy vibe,” Fasano said. “We play reggae and island music and our goal is to make people think that they're on an island or a small vacation. If it’s for thirty minutes or an hour and thirty minutes, people can feel like they’re on vacation and it just sort of takes their worries away for a while.” 

Sip is located at 214 N. Water St. and will be open seven days a week through the summer months. The bar is open from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from noon to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday, with extended hours for concerts and holidays.