Winner Best New Bar 2024
Words by DARRIEA CLARK
Photography by Jason B. James
Produced by MORRIGAN MAZA, GOOD CULTURE CREATIVE
WHEN I’M IN THE MOOD to go dancing under a disco ball — which is at least once a week — there’s only one place that comes top of mind: Das Box.
Located at 1006 E. Broad St., four blocks from Forsyth Park, the bar-club-restaurant-pool hall only opened in October 2023, yet it’s quickly become a staple among locals and earned a following for its regular DJ lineup, to the tune of sought-after Savannah favorites like Basik Lee and Maggie Hayes, also known as Miss Paradise.
“Our tagline is ‘Contain yourself,’ but we want the opposite,” says the bar’s proprietor, D.H. Bathon. “We want you to be who you are inside Das Box. Das Box is what you make of it, and who is inside of it.”
The avant-garde name started as joke among Bathon’s friends, when he was a student in Athens, Georgia. “The place I used to live in college was a cinderblock cube. When it would rain, it would flood,” he recalls. During one of the house parties, someone nicknamed the place Das Box, a play off the 1981 thriller “Das Boot” about a German submarine. When Bathon dropped out of school and started working at bars and restaurants, the name stuck.
The Das Box ethos carries over to chef Nicholas Chambliss’ menu, inspired by flavors of Southeast Asian and Japanese street food, like bulgoli bowls, tuna crudo, fried rice, spring rolls and pork skewers, all prepared fresh in the kitchen. Personally, I recommend the chicken wings tossed in miso ginger and the glass noodle salad (made with sweet potato noodles, carrots, red peppers, edamame, cilantro, peanuts, and sweet and sour vinaigrette). And you can complete your meal with sake, Damso Soju (a neutral spirit distilled from rice), one of the house cocktails, or a pick from a wine list created with help from Late Air’s Colin Breland.
Why do I like Das Box? Because my friends like it. Seriously, every time I walk through the doors, I see a familiar face. Truly, what makes Das Box different from other Savannah nightlife establishments right now is the people who show up — and its ability to be flexible. The international beats during Miss Paradise’s Palm Wine dance parties, held on the first Saturday of every month and sponsored by Sunboy, bring so many people that Bathon has to borrow stanchions from Starland Yard to form a line. “We are at capacity for her events,” he says.
The Sunday Spotlight Series is another crowd-pleaser. “It’s this wonderful, relaxed, almost like an ‘MTV Unplugged’ set, but obviously we’re still amplified,” he says. Bathon credits the concept, which has gained sponsorship from Miller High Life, to former bartender Gabi Laygo. “We’ve had country acts, we’ve had soul acts, we’ve had funk. It’s something you can have dinner to, sit and enjoy for the evening.”
He brought on Steve Baumgardener, formerly known for Hip Hop Night at The Jinx, as his booking agent, and the calendar has filled up quickly with familiar names like Mandy & Andy, Suzanna Kennedy, Western Funeral, Lylie Mae and Jake Menendez. “If it fits our vibe of having folks come here to have a good time and feel good about themselves, then that works for us,” Bathon says, summing up their approach to programming.
And whether your bar tab is $400 or $40 at the end of the night, Bathon wants you to feel safe and comfortable being yourself. “Any kind of person can be who they are at Das Box,” Bathon says.
Darriea Clark is an Atlanta native who moved to the Hostess City to be closer to the coast. Inspired by the town’s beauty, she spends most of her free time working on creative pursuits. When she’s not writing about Savannah innovators, she’s journaling about romance and growing up, making zines, performing at open mics, going to the beach or singing karaoke.
