A traditional Japanese convenience store that leads to a Tokyo-style speakeasy is popping up in NYC

A Tokyo-style convenience store is popping up on the Lower East Side—but don’t expect it to stay quiet for long.

On March 27, Japanese canned cocktail brand -196 Vodka Seltzer (pronounced “Minus One Nine Six”) is transforming a Bowery address into a neon-drenched tribute to Tokyo nightlife with a one-night-only immersive experience called the Konbini Backroom.

Positioned as the ultimate kickoff to seltzer season, the event taps into the viral fascination with Japan’s convenience store culture—where late-night snack runs often double as social rituals and surprisingly good food is available at all hours. Guests will begin their night in a meticulously designed konbini, the Japanese term for convenience store, stocked with some of Japan’s most iconic grab-and-go snacks alongside refrigerators filled with cans of -196’s fruit-forward vodka seltzers.

But the real surprise is hidden behind a secret door.

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Step through it and the quiet store transforms into a neon-lit nightclub inspired by Tokyo’s late-night party scene. The hidden backroom is designed to evoke the feeling of stumbling into an underground dance floor after what started as a simple snack run, a transition that feels perfectly at home in the nightlife-heavy streets of the Lower East Side.

Providing the soundtrack for the night is viral pop star turned DJ Rebecca Black. Fresh off major festival stages, a sold-out tour and her Boiler Room debut, Black will spin a high-energy set of remixes aimed squarely at the dance floor.

The drinks will revolve around -196’s signature vodka seltzers, available in Lemon, Strawberry, Peach and Grapefruit. The brand takes its name from a Japanese technique in which whole fruit is flash-frozen at -196 degrees Celsius before being crushed and infused with alcohol, an approach designed to capture brighter, more intense fruit flavor in every can.

The Konbini Backroom pop-up takes place Friday, March 27 from 7 to 11pm at 169 Bowery. Entry is limited to guests 21 and over with a valid ID.

If the concept works as intended, the night will follow a distinctly Tokyo rhythm: start in a convenience store aisle, follow a secret door and end up dancing under neon lights until closing time.

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