Champagne Problems is behind Just the Chip, the world's only dedicated potato chip shop, at 207 Bowery in the Lower East Side. You find the entrance by pressing the correct chip on the wall display, which is the kind of mechanism that reads as gimmick until you're inside and realize the rest of the bar actually backs it up.

The interior goes big: a life-size giraffe, a giant champagne bottle, a champagne glass you can climb into, a ball pit, and enough photo opportunities that the room could sustain a full social media career. The cocktails are creative and well-executed despite the surrounding spectacle. The P.A.N.D.A. comes in a panda mug, and there's a drink served in a Doritos bag. Lo mein and fried chicken bao buns cover the kitchen side. DJs start at nine on weekends.

The bar opened in 2024 and positioned itself as the new hot spot immediately, which typically precedes a steep decline. Whether Champagne Problems has the staying power to match its launch moment is a question the next few years will answer.