RANCHO CUCAMONGA - Karim Webb, whose family owns many restaurant franchises around the Inland Valley, is attempting to bring a new restaurant and cocktail lounge to the Inland Empire called Ra Pour.Ra Pour, Webb said, will be something he thinks the Inland Empire lacks - an upscale place where people can socialize and sample crafted cocktails.
"It will be one of the only, if not the only, place where you can have the custom cocktail experience," Webb said.
That kind of remark may well be a challenge to the bartenders who are already mixing drinks for Inland Empire patrons. Webb expects to open in October, so there are a few months for him, his associates and the 90 employees he plans to hire prepare for living up to that statement.
In the meantime, Ra Pour is still a work in progress at Victoria Gardens. The project is taking shape in the southeast section of the shopping center, adjacent to a T.G.I. Friday's in a space previously set aside for a Mexican restaurant that never arrived, Webb said.

That means big changes for what's inside the future Ra Pour site. The bright yellow paint, not to mention one of the walls, has to go, said Webb and consultant Bee Nguyen, who is CEO of a Hollywood-based marketing firm called Grand Tactics.
Webb and Nguyen plan to replace what would have been a cantina-like aesthetic with elevated VIP seating, an open kitchen and features like a waterfall and blown glass.
"The experienceyou're going to have here should equal, if not trump, Las Vegas or Hollywood," Nguyen said.
Webb lives in Los Angeles but has ties to the Inland Empire through Webb Family Enterprises.

The Ontario-based family business, separate from Ra Pour itself, owns 16 Inland Empire McDonald's and Buffalo Wild Wings franchises, he said.
With Ra Pour, however, Webb is betting that people living in and around Rancho Cucamonga do not only want to eat, drink and socialize at well- known chains.
"We know that there are thousands, thousands of people who are traveling to south Orange County, Pasadena or Los Angeles to get an upscale dining experience," Webb said.
"Businesses can really make a splash when you're filling a void," he said later.