I live in Michigan, so I searched high and low for something native to Michigan. I knew that I wanted something 4 inches thick with raw, live edges and around 12 ft. long. I was originally searching for black walnut, but I couldn't find anything of this size that was ready for finishing. A slab of this size needs to naturally cure in a dry place. I did an online search for slabs and came across redwood slabs in northern California. Since my dad has a cedar swamp filled with red cedar and I was using red cedar for my mantle, trim pieces, etc., I decided that redwood was a perfect match.
I was dealing with a company call redwoodburl.com, but they turned out to be a bunch of crooks that advertise an "unlimited selection", but couldn't provide me with pictures of anything suitable. Evidently they have a history of promising folks one thing and then delivering something else. Luckily, my online search took me to Jim Parodi at
www.artisanburlwood.com. He told me that he had the perfect slab for me and not only provided me with pictures, but he also rough and finish sanded the thing before taking the pictures. The bartop was also reasonably priced compared to the other places, so I ordered the countertop for the cabinets behind the bar as well. He was awesome to deal with! He had just started using a new product for his bartops called conversion varnish as opposed to the two step epoxy that gives the thick glossy finish. He offered to do 5 coats of the conversion varnish, which is supposedly as strong of a finish (redwood is pretty soft) as the epoxy for another $200. In all I spent $1600 for the two pieces, which included the finishing and $275 freight shipping. The jacka$$ at redwood burl wanted almost that much for one unfinished slab that he couldn't provide me pictures of.
If you are looking for anything similar, start with Jim at
www.artisanburlwood.com before you look anywhere else.
Can I ask where you got the bar top?