Andrew Bohrer is a bartending purist who’s done enough research to know that a Hemingway Dacquiri is nothing without the oft-forgotten ingredient of Marschimo liqueur.

When it comes to mixing drinks, he sticks to the classic recipes and treats his work as an art form.

“I’m a stuffy, leather-bound-books kind of guy,” Bohrer said. “I see drinks made the wrong way and I want to make them right.”

Bohrer represents just one of the changes at Bellevue’s Chantanee Thai Restaurant, which started catering to cocktail nerds after moving from its old location near Northeast Second Street to a site behind the Key Center on 108th Avenue Northeast. The new business has transformed from a homey family establishment to a hip bistro with happy hour specials.

“A lot of people who love our food just discovered that we have a bar,” said Chantanee owner Julie Chantanee. “Most don’t instantly think ‘happy hour’ with us.”

The new restaurant is difficult to find if you’re not traveling on foot, as it doesn’t face the street. It’s tucked away along the walkway that runs between 108th Avenue Northeast and 110th – near the Bellevue Transit Center.

“We had plenty of parking before, and tons of takeout,” said owner Julie Chantanee.

The restaurant has lost most of that business, but sit-down dining has picked up due to the foot traffic.