Ryan McKenzie (founding partner of hospitality agency Simmer) opened Patent Pending in 2018 inside the Radiowave Building on West 27th Street — the actual NoMad cellar where Nikola Tesla worked in the late 19th century — entered through a buzzer-locked door at the back of the Patent Coffee café up front. The cocktail program is staffed by Dead Rabbit and BlackTail alumni and runs Tesla-themed sections ("Energy, Frequency, Vibration", "Descent") with drinks named Hit by a Taxi, Currents & Coils, Radio Waves, AC/DC — the building's history earns the theme rather than the theme being a gimmick. A 2021 addition called The Lab nested a second speakeasy inside the existing room, making the venue a bar within a bar within a coffee shop. For a Tesla theme where the location IS the substance — a 34-seat NoMad cellar where the namesake actually worked.