How to Find and Recruit Qualified Bartenders (And Other Team Members)
“Where the hell are they hiding? Hobbit holes?”
For the third week in a row, a good friend and bar manager wasn’t getting a single hit from a qualified bartender for his open position. On top of working his own bar shifts each week as well as doing inventory and payroll, he’d been covering an extra two shifts, because it was only himself and two other bartenders who couldn’t cover those shifts. And he wasn’t alone in his frustration: I’ve lost track of how many hiring hospitality managers have asked me similar questions. It seems everyone wants to know how to find qualified bartenders and the right staff for their bars and restaurants.
As a natural networker, I listen to people day in-day out, and help connect them to opportunities. Especially because I work in hospitality, I tend to know if someone is getting ready to move around or is looking for a candidate. We hear a lot in this industry. It’s helped me learn how and where to find the people I need.
If you’re stuck trying to find a bartender or other team members, here are a few ways to find, recruit, and retain qualified candidates.
Finding Qualified Candidates
Getting Out On The Town
Many an owner and manager are already working 60+ hours a week. When you’re burning that energy so often, you don’t go out as much. Unfortunately, events geared toward hospitality like cocktail competitions, brand-sponsored rooftop events, tastings, etc: those are your prime events where many a potential candidate can be found.
The USBG (United States’ Bartender’s Guild) is a nationwide nonprofit connecting industry members all over the country (and really, the globe). They also sponsor many of these events. It behooves any hiring hospitality person to use their network to find a bartender.
Also, we all know there are always a few haunts that are notorious industry hangouts. If you don’t want to go big events, get your nighttime tipple at the industry joint and schmooze. You’re bound to overhear someone needing a job or talking about how they want something more. The rest of it is up to you.
Online Is A Hotline
Continuing with that train of thought about going to events, if you Google or Facebook search brands on the market and your location, you might find an event happening close by. Hospitality is notoriously low-tech, so you can’t be as reliant upon a more tech-heavy, classic recruiter search for bartenders.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be learning how to use technology to your advantage. While some of you may hate this, Facebook is going to be your new best friend in searching for bartenders. Hospitality is incredibly tight, and we network like it’s our business (because it is). All you need to do is check your friends and see who is commenting, and you’re guaranteed to find a bartender-at-large looking for their next opportunity. Or, as it happened for me, a mutual acquaintance updated his status letting his network know he needed a bartender—someone tagged my name and, a week later, I was in the door and hired.
Market It To Me
Job posting. It’s a thing. Get creative and get marketable. Whether it’s a “We’re Hiring” sign in the window or a posting sent through Craigslist, PoachedJobs, or Indeed, more and more people are responding to creative and easily accessible advertising. You can purchase ad space on Facebook, pay for certain keywords to show up attached to your business that make you pop out more in a search engine—your bartenders might not be using tech that often, but you’re going to have to dive in if just going to events isn’t enough. You have to change your outreach if you aren’t finding the people you need.
I know a handful of bartenders in the last few months who have landed jobs they found online. Is your restaurant marketing to the right websites and audience? What kind of bartenders do you want? Once you know, design your marketing around that kind of candidate and put it on blast at the places they are likely to frequent and the websites they use.
Recruiting Team Members
Money Talks
The number one complaint I’ve heard from people in hospitality is the issue around money. Tipped hourly wages are all over the place, and where tips aren’t cutting the mustard, neither will the staff—it’s why hospitality has a reputation for cutting and running, nobody wants to be poor.
To be competitive, you have to have enough financial stability or promise of such to bring on and hold service members. Sometimes, that means you offer above the minimum tipped hourly wage. (Boston’s is a dismal $3.75—we’re incredibly reliant on tips.) Maybe you have an automatic service charge that helps pay for insurance benefits for your staff. Regardless of things, if you’re looking to hire, you know that money is a big part of what matters to anyone. Nobody wants to be worrying about making their rent or living paycheck to paycheck. Be ready to be upfront and transparent about money as you post jobs and network with people.
We’re All In This Together
Finally, it’s not just about finding people, but working on your team culture as you people search as well as when you aren’t looking. Nobody joins a job for money alone—there has to be some kind of relatable exchange. People sign up when they feel like the team culture and morale are comfortable and worthwhile, even if the money isn’t the best. You don’t have to think alike in every aspect, but a team that likes and respects one another tends to also draw in those candidates too. Do your employees feel safe and heard? Have you checked in with them to hear their thoughts on why it might be a struggle to retain staff? Be prepared to just listen and work with your employees to further your culture. It won’t matter how good a new hire is if your team isn’t doing well.
No one approach or strategy is going to solve all staffing issues, but a combination of these has helped me find and keep bartenders. It can be tough to teach yourself new approaches and technology, but it’s worth the effort: there are brilliant candidates looking for you too.
Questions, concerns, successful tips of your own? Let us know in the comment section below.
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Standout Bartending Personality: What’s Yours?
How does your own unique personality play into your bartending style?
Bartenders: you already know that style, personality, and unique quirks make you memorable to clients and help to cultivate a following of loyal regulars. Often when a very beloved bartender leaves one establishment, their fanbase follows them to whichever new venue they end up at—but care must also be taken to ensure that their personal brand doesn’t clash with the vibe of the new spot.
It pays to be part trendsetter and also part chameleon—able to play up positive personality traits, but also able to adapt. The question is—how do you go about walking that fine line successfully?
The Cult of Personality
In our modern reality TV age, people become famous for having striking, unique, and larger-than-life personalities on-screen, including chefs, bartenders, and other industry professionals. While your job is probably not in front of a camera, and TV can be overly dramatic for ratings, you can still stand out from the crowd through showcasing who you individually are in the best possible light.
The best thing you can do is to play up your natural interests and personality traits while still being cognizant of how you’re coming across to other people. Willa of Little Bitte Cocktails is known throughout the Providence bar scene by patrons and fellow professionals alike because she made the most of her farmhouse upbringing by regularly bringing her own freshly picked herbs, flowers, berries, and self-concocted bitters to incorporate into the cocktails she makes: whichever ingredients are in-season and inspire her creatively, and her regulars couldn’t get enough of it.
My fellow contributor Loren, who relocated to Boston from Portland, OR last year, has been carving out a name for himself “from helping people (as opposed to cocktail competitions and fame),” he says. “I’m slowly infiltrating Boston for just being a friendly person. That’s how I get things done; I’m a networker. I connect people and offer insight and advocacy on healthcare and employees’ rights in the service industry. I assist in hospitality industry education and awareness.”
Steeping Both Your Establishment and Your Personality Into Your Bartending
For a more in-depth example of someone who has navigated the personality-professionality dichotomy with subtlety and panache, I interviewed Clairessa Chaput of Highball Lounge, who has bartended for 12 years and lived in Boston for just over 10 of them.
She describes her style as “a little bit sassy behind the bar. I worked in the South End for a really long time, mostly in what were predominantly known for being gay bars, and to keep up with them, I had a bit of a sassy attitude and I’ve always kept that with me—it works even at straight bars. I’ve also always been pretty fast behind the bar, I love working with high volume and keeping up with everybody there.” She brings a pretty jaw-dropping spectacle to Highball: blowing fire behind the lounge bar. “Obviously only on weekends,” she clarifies. “I was the first girl there to blow fire.”
When I ask how much of her unique brand is her organic personality versus other factors, she says, “I would say the majority of it is organic, and the smaller amount comes from the culture of the bar you’re working at. You take in what type of bar it is, what the manager is looking for from you, and the demographic, and you kind of evolve into that”–although Clairessa notes that she’s been fortunate in that she’s “always worked for managers who want your personality and who you are to shine through more than the robot thing,” and that may not apply to all environments. If you find yourself in a place that is uncomfortably stifling and controlling, you may want to seek a better fit elsewhere.
“I’ve always let my personality shine through, for better or worse,” says Clairessa. “You let the culture of the bar give you a backbone and something to rely on. Know what your limits are, and go from there.”
More Soft Skill Inspirations
T.V. isn’t the only media channel where bartender personalities are claiming the spotlight. Onthebar is an app you may already be familiar with that provides users with “real-time updates from your favorite bar staff” and offers bartenders the chance to create a profile and upload their own creative recipes.
An on-screen persona is obviously very different from an in-person one, but I perused several profiles to pinpoint some areas where users were standing out from the crowd and which should also correspond to in-person attitudes. Aside from creativity in drink making, I noticed:
- A great sense of humor goes a long way. Some bartenders used funny nicknames, wrote poems, or had offbeat responses to questions. Just be careful if it’s not your strong suit, because jokes falling flat is usually worse than not making them at all.
- Other traits you can emphasize are professionalism, attention to detail, and finding ways to portray your love for the craft and emphasis on skilled technique; longevity and experience often help in this area, but are not necessarily required.
- Style can be a big deal, with some individuals showcasing chic or unique fashion sense, whether it’s hipster, retro, cutting-edge, tailored, or something totally your own.
- If you’ve won any awards for speed racks or other contests, whether local or national, those can also boost your impact, as can mentions in publications or rankings.
- For those who are newer to the profession and still earning their stripes, demonstrating genuine enthusiasm and passion for the craft can be very appealing. Those who hadn’t won awards sometimes joked that they’d won “#1 bartender in my mom’s eyes” or “best backrub award.”
These are just some ideas on ways to play up your own innate strengths and individual characteristics, but it shouldn’t feel like a chore. In Clairessa’s words, “Always be yourself, but in a positive light. Everybody has their bad days—try to leave that at the door, but let all of the positive parts about you shine. People are people, and when they’re going out with friends, they’re looking to laugh and have fun. Don’t be shy, but always consider the kind of bar you work in and understand those limits.”
What is your unique behind-the-bar style, and how did it develop? Let us know in the comments.
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4 Tips for Building a Better Beer Program From the Ground Up
There aren’t any shortcuts, but there are certain considerations to be aware of.
There are more than 5,000 craft breweries operating in the United States today that together have created a seemingly endless galaxy of different brands. As such, building a reputable beer program from the ground up can be a daunting task, as bars and restaurants beginning to explore their burgeoning interest in craft beer must navigate myriad difficult questions in the search for their own identity.
Perhaps paramount among them: How is a publican supposed to curate a unique, interesting program that stands out from the crowd while still giving drinkers the experiences they’ve come to expect? There are no definitive answers to this question, or indeed any of the other questions restaurateurs are likely to encounter in their individual quests to establish the foundations of their beer programs. But that doesn’t mean they’re doomed to travel without a map. In fact, there are a few guiding principles they can adhere to that will help the process along.
First, think in terms of stocking style over recognizable brand names.
As mentioned above, there are innumerable brand options at any given bar’s disposal. And those in the rudimentary stages of building a higher-end program aren’t likely to secure the types of highly-vaunted small-batch offerings flowing through the draft lines at more well-established bars.
So instead, they’d be wise to view their own program through the lens of broader market trends. For instance, the IPA is far and away the most popular style in the United States. Therefore, everyone needs an IPA (or, ideally, several). But go for diversity pending the number of draft lines and amount of fridge space available. Seasonal offerings, Belgian wits, pale ales, stouts, and lagers are all important, too.
That doesn’t mean bars can’t be selective or completely ignore specific brands in total fealty to style.
Definitely seek out names. Need a primer? Consult the Brewers Association’s list of the top 50 craft breweries by volume in the United States. There, one will find the likes of Boston Beer, Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, Stone, Oskar Blues, Dogfish Head, and many others—otherwise known as a whole bunch of reputable, recognized independent craft breweries whose beer is available throughout the vast majority of the country (though each brewery on the list has different distribution footprints).
Go local too though. Seek out breweries in the region, the state, and on down to the immediate community and work with them to create a balanced program. This way, a bar can offer craft staples like Firestone Walker’s celebrated Union Jack to bring in the masses and have them stay for hometown beer that might be harder to find elsewhere. It’s always a good thing, too, to collaborate with local brewers on hosting events and tap takeovers to build buzz as a noteworthy beer bar.
Try to offer appropriate alternatives to the so-called “macro” brands.
It’s of course a noble goal to diversify a beer program, but many consumers frankly don’t know what they don’t know. One may ask for a Blue Moon, not realizing the brand is in fact owned and produced by MillerCoors. That’s not at all a demerit on the product itself.
But, if the consumer wants a true “craft” beer, and indeed the bar’s focus is to build a program around this kind of beer, it would be helpful to offer a similar option like, say, Allagash White. Find stylistic counterparts to the Bud Lights and Coronas of the world and steer consumers toward them when they ask for the big brands. There are plenty of options out there.
Don’t be afraid to take chances.
As the old adage goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. So patience, and a willingness to take chances, and likely miss the mark on occasion, is vital. As Row 34 beer director Suzanne Hayes told BevSpot earlier this summer, “[Bars] want the Cantillons of the world. They want Pliny the Elder. They want those big hitters. After a while, you can only get so much of that. I think that taking risks is really something that not a lot of people are comfortable in doing and I think that’s really where some fall short.”
So what does this mean practically speaking? Simply put: add in a style that might not be as on trend as the IPA. Bars don’t need to go nuts and devote all their draft lines to rauchbiers or anything. But keep a line or two open to something that excites the staff that maybe the rest of the world isn’t quite privy to yet. It’s a matter of trial and error that will benefit any program in the long run.
Now, this is by no means a comprehensive field guide.
Take all this as a means of narrowing the road some, rather than a pure directive, because different things work in different places. There’s a whole lot of ground that can still be covered on this subject. So tell us: What has worked—and perhaps equally importantly, what hasn’t worked—for you?
The Mystery and Allure Behind the Speakeasy: Zack Labadie on Big In Japan
ZACK IS A WEB DESIGNER WHO’S BEEN WITH BEVSPOT FOR OVER A YEAR. HE STARTED AS A DESIGN CO-OP FROM NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY AND SINCE TOOK ON A FULL-TIME ROLE AT BEVSPOT. HE RECENTLY LEFT BEVSPOT TO RETURN TO SCHOOL IN THE COMING FALL AND WILL BE MISSED BY THE ENTIRE TEAM.
So, what is a memorable experience you’ve had at a restaurant or bar?
One that’s really memorable to me is going to Big In Japan Bar in Montreal.
How did you find this place?
I’ll start with some context. This was a few years ago. I was with my girlfriend. We were both actually 20 (years old), so we were underage in America when we were in Montreal. We were very inexperienced with bars and all that. We didn’t know what we were looking for. We thought it would be fun to check out a speakeasy that we had heard about but never actually been to ourselves, being so young.
I don’t know if it was Yelp, or some sort of Thrillist-type Internet search, but we found it on a list of Montreal bars. So, we went to check it out. At first, we couldn’t actually find it, but they have a sibling restaurant—some sort of ramen place—next door, which was much easier to find. We thought we went to the wrong place at first, and ended up getting ramen. Then, as we were leaving, we managed to find the door to the speakeasy. We almost missed it.
Was it just an unmarked door?
It was a completely unmarked door with just a guy outside with like with a clicker and that’s it. No signage or anything like that. It was looked like it was just a cement wall, which is why we almost missed it.
There are a lot of places like that where you really have to know where you are going.
I think that’s definitely part of the allure of the whole thing. It was very surprising and cool to us, especially as younger people who weren’t really experienced with that kind of concept. I feel like now, it is fairly popular to have speakeasies that have hidden doors or backrooms. That was totally cool to us.
Have you been to Big In Japan multiple times?
No, that was the first and only time.
What did it feel like to walk into that? I’m sure you had no idea what to expect.
That was very cool. It was, like I said, totally unmarked. We just asked the guy, “Hey, are you working the door for a bar? What’s going on here?” He let us in and, if I remember correctly, we walked through some heavy curtains. It was a very big, open, dimly lit room. It was all candlelit with incandescent lighting and very quiet.
It was very unlike anywhere we had gone. Again, we were pretty young, so most of our experiences until then with bars were at pubs or restaurants we had been in. More generic, not lower class but not like a cocktail bar. It was totally different and it was very cool.
So this was very sophisticated?
Yeah, and they had a pretty sophisticated classic cocktail menu as well, which, again, as younger people, we were not used to that. It was a very limited menu. I think we ended up getting a Manhattan and an Old Fashioned. The ambiance was great—it was very quiet and intimate. It facilitated a lot of conversation, which was very different from a lot of bars that are more themed or high-energy. It was a lot more about sitting face-to-face and enjoying the drinks.
I feel that’s something that speakeasies are more built for. They promote more close and intimate interactions vs. more lively bars that are geared to be for larger groups and feeling like you’re at a party.
Yeah, it was very intimate. Even though it was mostly my girlfriend and I talking to each other, we were in very close proximity to other people who were having their own hushed conversations. It was weirdly personal and communal at the same time.
Do you think that affected the way that you interacted with your bartender?
They actually had multiple waiters and waitresses going around. They didn’t have any kind of food program or anything, but, instead of a central bar, it was small tables. We were sitting at pretty low two or four person tables.
So they didn’t have a bartop?
I think there was a central bar, but that was like half of the capacity of the place. The rest were small tables.
And they didn’t have any food or anything?
Looking at their website recently, it looks like they expanded their menu in terms of drinks. But, when we went, I remember there were only like four or five options like Manhattan’s and Old Fashioned’s.
I think, when speakeasies were coming back into fashion, that was a lot more common. It’s part of the allure of it.
Yeah, a very classic style but no frills. Just good cocktails.
Do you remember the drinks that you had vividly or, after having multiple cocktails over the years, do you feel like the memory has faded?
I’m not sure. I think that was the first real properly-made cocktail that I had, because, as I said, I was like 20 years old, and was used to cheap beer. I think that, more than the taste of the cocktail, that’s what really stood out to me: just a really well-made classic cocktail.
Did they just have classic cocktails or did they have their own creations?
Just classic cocktails. Looking at their menu now, I think they have some original cocktails and a wider menu. I remember being surprised at how small the selection was. It seemed very curated.
You mentioned looking at the menu now. Do you think you’d like to try it again to see the difference or would you not want to?
I think it would be definitely worth going back for comparison’s sake, because it has been four years now and I would like to see what’s changed about it. But, at the same time, half of the draw of it and the reason why that experience has stuck with me since then is that I had no expectations and didn’t know what to expect. The whole thing was kind of like a surprise.
Did your server try to educate you about what they were doing?
Now that you mention it, no. Now that I’ve had more experience with bars and restaurants, I know that places like Drink has a very personal exchange between their bartenders and their clientele. But, this place was a little larger, so I think that’s why it was more of a typical service exchange.
When I looked this place up on Google, I saw a lot of interesting things about it. I saw that it was actually recommended by Anthony Bourdain in an episode of The Layover or something like that. But, at the same time, I saw really bad things about it. One of the first things that popped up was a negative Eater article explaining how Yelp was warning people about how bad this place was.
I noticed that when I Googled it too. Because in my mind it was a great experience, I didn’t have much context for comparison granted. But, I was surprised at how many mediocre the Yelp reviews were.
I feel like there probably was some turnover at the management level or something must have happened where the standards or the character of the place had changed.
It had been a while, so I wonder if anything has changed.
I did look at Yelp and the recent reviews. (To be fair, I think most of Yelp is garbage.) Most of the recent reviews have been pretty positive, so I feel like they must have reacted to that article and made changes. I feel like that happens pretty often actually. A lot of the times, it has to do with the management where the character will completely change.
I imagine it’s hard to maintain that character too, especially when you’re trying to go for that exclusive, special vibe like a speakeasy.
For speakeasies though, the standard is usually very high. Which is why I was more surprised than anything to see the things people were saying in negative reviews. Especially that they were having issues with health inspections and things of that nature.
That’s too bad to hear that recent transition has happened. That makes me not want to go back—to preserve the memory.
Well, based on the recent reviews I saw, things look to have changed for the better. (At least I hope so.) You’d be surprised, but a lot of it has to do with the management or whoever’s running it. That’s how the standards can lapse and slip, which is unfortunate. It’s part of the industry. Is there any places around here that you feel like had a similar feeling?
I feel like Drink is the next evolution of that experience where there is a similar atmosphere but an even more attention given to the cocktails and the mixology. Just based on my memory of Big In Japan and what we were just talking about with their extended menu and whether or not they have changed recently.
I will say that it’s interesting that speakeasies are recently starting to fall out of favor in the sense that people are deciding that the “fad” is over now.
You definitely get that vibe, which is why I’m struggling to think of other places like Big In Japan. Which is probably why other speakeasies haven’t quite lived up to that expectation. It’s less of a special thing, which is kind of the draw. I recently went to a speakeasy in Somerville.
Saloon? It’s the only one I remember there. It’s where you go down these stairs and it’s in a place with a small performance theatre. Is that what you are talking about?
We went there and then we went to another bar close by. I did not like Saloon that much. It just seemed more like a typical bar, but was more hard to find.
I think what I really liked about Big In Japan and what draws me to speakeasies in general was that sense that we’re going there for a different experience, a more intimate experience. Whether that’s more consideration towards the cocktails and a more personalized experience with a bartender or just being able to sit and talk and enjoy a drink without an overwhelming atmosphere. I think it just facilitates conversation in a way that’s more interesting than other places.
A little more meaningful than normal.
Exactly. It’s more of an event or an engagement rather than just going to a place to spend money for alcohol.
For more insight into the experiences of a guest, check out other entries in our The Guest Perspective series.
Best Practices for Hiring and Employing a Bouncer
From managing crowds to lines to unruly patrons, the bar’s bouncer is a swiss army knife that must be properly tended and applied…
When you hear the word bouncer, a pretty straightforward stereotype probably pops into your head, in one flavor or another. A bouncer is some variety of musclebound, meat-headed thug that solves disagreements with his fists and does very little else apart from keeping people out of your club if they aren’t on “the list.”
In reality, a good bouncer is nearly the complete opposite. Sometimes, it isn’t even a bouncer you’re looking for, but a floor man or doorman instead. Here are some things to keep in mind when you go looking for a security professional at your club.
More than Muscle
A good bouncer should be more than just muscle. As a matter of fact, muscle is actually pretty far down the list of things your bouncer should be. So, let’s talk about what you need when you think about looking for a bouncer. You’re looking for someone to keep the crowd under control. You’re looking for someone to enforce the rules. Sometimes you’re looking for someone to take tickets or check IDs or collect a cover charge or…it’s easy to see how duties can stack up depending on the needs of the establishment.
If a bouncer begins to have too many roles, they diminish in effectiveness to the point where they can no longer dutifully fulfill expectations.
Are you just looking for someone to keep the crowd from growing overwhelming and turning your bar into a mob scene? Then you need the doorman variety of bouncer. A doorman will collect cover charges or tickets, check IDs, and manage the amount of people allowed into your establishment at once, keeping the crowd inside manageable.
Do you have a larger crowd that sometimes grows rowdy? You’re looking for a floor man. The floor man observes and mixes with the crowd. They dress so as to be easily recognizable by patrons, and easily picked out from amongst the crowd by other employees. They police the crowd, let people know when behavior is approaching inappropriate, and liaise when involving management or police becomes necessary.
Inquire Before You Hire
So, yes, you’ve decided you need a bouncer. Now here’s a few things you should know as you go around looking for one.
- While not all places require certification to be a bouncer, certain states do require a license for the job. Even if the state you work in doesn’t require any such training, it’s not a bad idea to require it from your applicants in order to be sure of their professionalism.
- Background checks matter when it comes to bouncers. Do they have training? Do they know how to handle conflict safely? Can they be trusted not to drink on the job? Are they going to be a liability that thinks more with their muscle than with their head? It’s so easy for something to go horribly wrong when drunk patrons are involved. You want to make sure your bouncer knows how to handle the situation.
- Be absolutely, abundantly clear with any applicant or employee what their role is in any situation. Is a simple stern look from across the bar enough to deter certain kinds of behavior? It can be. Should the bouncer have regular conversations with customers about how that patrons night is going like a manager might? Depends on the club or bar. Does the bouncer have the authority to call out customers, or call the police, on their own, or should they report what they believe to be inappropriate behavior to a manager? Having a specific, limited role keeps everyone working on task, and keeps the night running smoothly.
- Preach communication. The better everyone communicates with one another, the better the night goes. The bouncer outside should know what the atmosphere is inside, and vice versa. Managers should be getting reports of any kind of possible incident. Customers need to know when and if their behavior is beginning to cross over from fun to inappropriate or dangerous.
On The Use of Force
It’s not shocking that when most people think of a bouncer they think of people being physically thrown out of places. It happens on TV all the time. Usually the person being bounced lands on their face in the pavement for either comedic or dramatic effect.
Did you know that in most cases that’s pretty illegal?
Depending on the state you live in a bouncer isn’t actually private security. Not in any official sense. What this means is that using physical action to restrain or remove someone from the premises isn’t legal, and opens up the establishment to a lot of different legal repercussions. In most cases (and again this is a state by state thing), a bouncer is treated as an ordinary citizen. This means that the only recourse they have when a patron refuses to leave is to call the police. Bouncers can generally only apply any kind of reasonable force or restraint when used in defense, or when restraining someone in the act of committing a crime.
Beyond the legal ramifications, which are serious, an overeager or undertrained bouncer can cause serious injury, and, even though no official charges were filed, the death of a patron in Westminster, Colorado.
This all brings us back around to what we talked about in the rest of the article. A bar that communicates well, makes everyone aware of their role, makes sure everyone has the tools and time to succeed in that role, and strives for professionalism in all its employees, will likely be in a good place to succeed. Remember, at the end of the day a bouncer isn’t just dumb muscle hired off the street because they look big. They’re valued employees with a purpose, and they should be treated as such.
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Control Your Catalog with BevSpot’s Item Manager
How do we make it easier to manage your product digitally?
One of the constant challenges that the product team at BevSpot faces is prioritizing the right improvements. In our effort to continuously improve BevSpot features, one area we’ve been focusing on is how to make it easier to manage all of the product that establishments have.
Across all items, recipes, menus, and seasonal products that an establishment could feature, our team understands that there are a multitude of factors that are perpetually changing: prices, vendors, and even product categories, just to name a few. We want to make it easier for managers and owners to effectively manage those changes within their BevSpot accounts.
To address this issue, we’ve created the new My Items page for BevSpot users—a place where you’ll be able to see all of the items currently in your establishment based on your inventory and order entries. (No more hunting through various menus/modals across different pages!)
Currently, on this page, you can:
- edit items individually or in bulk
- add new items
- update your distributor list
This is only the beginning of our plans for this new page. In the future, we have plans to include the ability to:
- delete old items
- archive seasonal items
- organize your various inventory areas
- set and manage all inventory pars
Another thing you’ll probably notice is that the page looks different than the others we’ve released in the past. It’s simpler, cleaner, and, most importantly, faster! This is the start of a shift in our design philosophy, which you will notice in future iterations of our platform.
One important part of feature launches is listening and adjusting to feedback. With that in mind, what do you think of this new page? Let us know in the comments below
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4 Ways to Name Your Bar or Restaurant
“What’s in a name?” Shakespeare famously wrote.
When opening a new bar or restaurant, the name you choose for it is often one of the earliest branding decisions you make. Your restaurant’s name has downstream effects on the decisions you make for your menu selection, decor, and promotional strategy; it’s important to get it right. So how do owners choose the names for their bars and restaurants? Here are four ways to pick out a name for your bar or restaurant.
1. Location, Location, Location
Bars are often named for their locations.
The New York City cultural landmark Studio 54—once frequented by creative luminaries like Andy Warhol, Elizabeth Taylor, Mick Jagger, and Debbie Harry—is straightforwardly named for its 54th Street location in Manhattan.
Here in Providence, we have the Wickenden Pub on Wickenden Street, The Dorrance on Dorrance Street, and The Eddy on nearby (you guessed it) Eddy Street. We have The Slow Rhode, which is a play on Rhode Island. Trinity Brewhouse is right across the street from Trinity Repertory Company’s theater downtown.
Some names reference the origins of their restaurant concept or menu offerings. For example, you might’ve heard of the Brazilian-decorated Copacabana nightclub in New York, which was named for the famous Rio de Janeiro beach and immortalized by Barry Manilow’s crooning.
One recent newcomer to Providence is The East End, which many assume is so named because it’s on the East Side–and they’re partly right. One bartender shared with me, however, that the name and darkly elegant-yet-eclectic décor are also a nod to the East End of London, where in olden times, “the gentry/higher class would dress down to eat among the normal people. Everyone is welcome here, and we want everyone to have a good time.”
2. Say My Name
When all else fails, using your name—or choosing someone else’s that has a nice ring to it—is common.
You often see this with Irish pubs. In Rhode Island, we have McBride’s, Aidan’s Pub, Blake’s Tavern, and Doherty’s Irish Pub—just to name a few.
Norey’s in Newport is named after its founder; Ellen Slattery opened Gracie’s in downcity Providence, but then she later opened up her namesake Ellie’s Bakery. Whether the name is genuinely rooted in ownership or something that just sounded good, proper names are a popular choice.
3. So…What Do You Do?
Sometimes, what works best is simplicity and transparency about what you do.
Even if you’re hearing of it for the first time, it won’t be a surprising to learn that The Boom Box is a karaoke bar. Similarly, you won’t be shocked to learn that The Lobster Bar in Newport was built inside of an old lobster catch, and Flo’s Clam Shack in Middletown is exactly what it sounds like.
Alternately, a subtle play on words or a foreign language can be a winner. Legendary Providence restaurant Al Forno means “baked” in Italian, and they are known for their unique baked pasta assortment.
4. Wild Cards
Some names have stories that really don’t fit into a neat box or category.
When I interviewed Fortnight Wine Bar, the owners told me that the name came to them spontaneously during dinner—it was controversial at first but after many years, it stuck. The word “fortnight” embodied the cycles of the moon and the cyclical natures of seasons and harvests, a rustic feel, and also seemed appropriate given how often their menus change.
I was curious about two of Providence’s most popular spots who are owned by the same owners, both known for their creativity but which couldn’t be more different themes. The Duck & Bunny on Wickenden Street is a self-labeled “snuggery” serving up crepes and cupcakes with a British vibe like its neighbor The East End, but much lighter and more cheerful decor.
Co-owner Jessica Becker says, “I can tell you that my partner [Dan] had almost opened a bar in NY, and he was looking at spaces that went out of business and they were all called things like Filthy McNasties and unappealing things like that. He wanted to do a silly, tongue-in-cheek nod to the English pub names, like the Lion & Unicorn and use something innocuous—something for the Everyman—that would sound cute and appealing. And that’s why we used the name he had come up with.”
The couple’s more recent venture, Ogie’s Trailer Park, has been a West Side hot spot since it opened at the end of 2014. The “Trailer Park” part of the name denotes the fun, kitschy, 60’s LA-inspired decorations (which involve some actual trailers), but who is Ogie?
“Ogie is named after our cat—he’s the CEO,” says Jessica. “We just work there.”
What’s your story?
Does your establishment’s name have a fun or unique story behind it? Share it in the comments section below!
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7 Ways to Finance Your Dream Bar
So you want to open a bar…how are you going to pay for it?
In nearly a decade of working behind the stick (behind the bar), I’ve had many a customer talk about how they want to open a bar. A few even spoke to me about helping them open it. But when we start to talk beyond dreams, most don’t want to talk about the reality behind it all. The reality being finances.
For those of you serious about owning a bar, it’s imperative you do the research to understand all the options available to finance your bar. I asked Dave Bertelo, who spoke at length about red flags in bar failures, about what it takes to finance your own bar. He and his partner just secured funding for their own bar, thanks in part to a private investor. Dave gave me a list of the various financing methods they considered.
Take notes, my ambitious industry enthusiasts and entrepreneurs!
Let’s Get Financial
When it comes to starting any business, you need to be serious about money. Your options are pretty varied, some of which include: the SBA, micro loans, crowd source funding, home equity loans, private investor, self-raised funds, credit cards, and merchant account funding.
I know a lot of these terms are intimidating. Thankfully, Dave gave better explanations of each for you:
SBA (Small Business Administration)
What is it? The Small Business Administration is a great place to start when looking at loans for your bar. The 7(a) Loan Program is SBA’s primary program for helping start-up and existing small businesses, with financing guaranteed for a variety of general business purposes—including your new bar!
Benefits: The money isn’t coming out of your own pocket and there are regulated interest rates, so they can’t just change on you should your financial stability also change. This is a great starting point for many a person intent on opening a bar.
Hazards: A downside is many banks don’t offer these loans. There is a lender match attachment to SBA’s website which helps deal with finding a good lender, but, as Dave and his partner found out, a lot of banks don’t offer these loans unless you are also interested in purchasing the real estate too—which is usually way above the money many potential bar owners can shell out.
Ideal Lendee: You need to have a professional quality business plan and demonstrate financial competency. Talk to a few banks and financial advisors to get a better understanding before starting the loan process.
Micro Loans
What is it? Micro loans are exactly that: small loans that usually range between $30 and $40k. These lenders are easily found through the SBA and other organizations like Kiva. Like any loan, to qualify, you need to be prepared to demonstrate a quality business plan and your ability to start and run a successful business.
Benefits: Smaller loans are easier to pay back, and easier to get even if your credit isn’t the best. Smaller loans mean you don’t borrow more money than you need, so you can also get used to paying back debt on a smaller scale as well. Microlenders are often excellent financial counselors and help advise small businesses on how to best use their loans.
Hazards: No business can be started on $40k alone. $40k might cover your property rent, but you still have to finance equipment, construction, and whatever other systems you need to run. Also, they do come with slightly higher interest rates than bank loans.
Ideal Lendee: The ideal candidate for this can have okay credit, but you still need to have a good business plan. Most lenders and banks won’t take you seriously if you can’t demonstrate an understanding of finances and business or aren’t open to advisement. Here’s an excellent article for more information on micro loans.
Merchant Account Funding
What is it? Merchant funding is when a merchant gives businesses upfront cash or capital in exchange for a percentage or a portion of future credit card sales.
Benefits: Faster access to cash. You can pay back at different rates each month depending on your sales—keep track of your finances!. No collateral (like a home) or great credit required.
Hazards: Higher, non-regulated interest rates. Fees.
Ideal Lendee: People with not the greatest credit. People who need the cash now. You’re confident you will have enough money to make payback, especially as different fees and interest rates can occur each month.
Crowd Sourcing
What is it? Crowd funding sources like GoFundMe, Indiegogo, PayPal, Venmo, and Kickstarter where you can reach out to friends, family, and various social networks to support your bar/venture.
Benefits: Doesn’t cost you any money, you can withdraw money that is donated at any time. Helps you build a customer base and work on your marketing strategy.
Hazards: Some crowd funding sites take a percentage from the money donated to you to make their own profit. For larger sums of money, the success rate is less likely. The age group most using and donating to these sites are 24-35—not exactly the money makers in society. Especially if that isn’t your target audience, you are going to struggle.
Ideal Lendee: People who don’t qualify for loans and don’t want to do Merchant Funding. People who have a large network. People willing to hustle online and talk about their bar and reach out to their network again and again. You have to be your own sales and marketing team.
Private Investors
What is it? Mr. or Mrs. Big Bucks. A venture capitalist. A friend or family member who has the money to invest in your dream bar. Someone who believes in your idea and concept and is willing to fund you.
Benefits: It’s not your money. You aren’t losing any money since you aren’t putting any in. Contracts can be drawn up without interest rates attached. Compensation to the private investor may not be a return on capital, but could just be a certain level of involvement in daily goings-on.
Hazards: It’s someone else’s money, and you are responsible for what happens with it. If the business fails and they lose their money, you’re probably not going to be able to ask for that financial help again. Especially if it’s a friend or family, it might really hurt that relationship. If you signed a contract and there are specifics that weren’t met, you could find yourself in a lawsuit.
Ideal Lendee: You’re connected in the industry and you know what you are doing and who to rub shoulders with. You are confident in your ability to make a profit and satisfy the person investing in you. You aren’t about scamming. You’re ready to hear people tell you no over and over again when you ask for their financial help. You’re okay with possibly sharing part of the business whether it’s in ownership or day-to-day involvement.
Risky Options
The next two sections are choices I consider more special case options, and cannot wholly recommend because of the risk they present. Both of these financial options can have big negative effects on your personal credit and general welfare, especially as good personal credit is needed to be considered for so many life decisions like a buying car, a place to live, etc. A reminder that when considering investing your finances in anything, it is a good idea to consult a financial advisor.
Home Equity Loans
What is it? Your home is your way to finance your bar.
Benefits: Homes can often leverage a large loan from a bank. If you’re opening a bar, chances are you are going to need a couple hundred thousand dollars. If you don’t already have any business credit, your home is an excellent way to get the money you need without using credit cards or microlenders.
Hazards: Your house is literally your source of money. If the business fails and your home is the financial guarantee, you’re out of both a job and a home.
Ideal Lendee: Homeowner. A homeowner who isn’t trying to also save money to send a kid to college or another big venture. There’s a lot more to understanding home equity loans than just this, so I’ve also attached this article from Entrepreneur which has some more answers for those of you interested in exploring this route. If you really believe you have a fantastic business model, invest your home.
Credit Cards
What is it? Since the economic recession of 2008, many small business owners have used their personal credit cards to get their businesses off the ground. This is a pretty risky move because this is one’s own personal credit, not business credit. I’ve seen people looking to joint own a bar combine their personal credit cards. Ideally, you want to have fantastic credit, all obligations are paid off, and you are able to make the minimum payments that occur on your credit card each month.
Benefits: If you have good credit, you can try and negotiate lower interest rates with your credit card company. This article does a great job at further breaking down what you need to understand when it comes to financing with personal credit.
Hazards: Remember, you are putting your own credit on the line. Ruining your credit trying to open a business will make your own personal life more difficult including renting a home, a car, or future ventures. Not to mention it is even harder to get a loan if you have bad credit.
Ideal Lendee: You are your own lendee. You are responsible for paying your minimum card payments and communicating with the bank about large expenditures on your card.
Conclusion
As you can see, there’s a lot of options to consider when it comes to starting your own bar. Have you opened or considered opening your own bar? What financial options did you do/are you considering? Let us know in the comments below.
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How Beer, Wine, and Liquor Sales Trend by Season (2017 Edition)
Featured Article: The Most Popular Beer & Liquor Brands of 2018
Beverage Seasonality Reports: 2015-2016 // 2017 (viewing)
Last year, we took our first look at the seasonality of on-premise alcoholic beverage orders. Since then, our user base has grown to 43 states—well beyond our New England roots. You’ve asked us to show the latest data whenever possible. So we’re making a point to show what we’re seeing in bar & restaurant industry trends.
The 5 Vital Elements of Effective Wine Storage
What is the “proper” way to store your wine?
People use the word proper a lot when it comes to wine, but unless you live above a cave in Champagne or Burgundy, France, chances are that you’re having a hard time storing your wine ‘properly.’ However, that doesn’t change the fact that you’ve made a pretty significant investment in grape juice, and you need to protect that in order to get your ROI.
To fully understand how your wine can be affected by storing it irresponsibly, let’s take a quick look at what’s going on inside the bottle as your wine is aging. While you let you wine rest in your storage space, there are some pretty complex chemical reactions going on inside those bottles. These reactions center around a wine’s sugars, acid, phenolic compounds (like tannins), and can alter the taste, color, and feel of a wine on the palate. The idea is to alter the wine in such a way that makes it more appealing to the person ordering or drinking it, and ‘proper’ storage techniques can help increase this quality over time.
Now, when it comes to storing and protecting your wine, there are five main areas to consider…
1. Temperature
Cool Runnings
Heat is the biggest enemy of wine, and it’s important to keep the wine you have in-house below 70°F (21°C). If things get much warmer that, it can speed up the aging process too quickly and produce off flavors in the wine. Most traditionalists maintain that 55°F (13°C) is the perfect (and only) temperature to store wine at, but realistically it’s best to aim for a range of 45°- 65°F (8°- 18°C). Also, keep your white wines out of the fridge until a few hours before opening them. Keeping them too long in the cold can dry out the corks and invite oxygen into the bottle which also can produce imperfections in the wine.
Steady As a Rock
Keep things as consistent as possible! Wide, rapid fluctuations in temperature can cause the wine to expand and contract, pushing out the cork and allowing the wine to oxidize. No need to get paranoid here though about trying to maintain that ‘perfect’ 55°F, or if your temperature fluctuates a few degrees here and there, chances are things are going to be just fine.
2. Light
Keep the Lights Low
The UV rays in natural sunlight can play a big part in potential wine spoilage. This is actually a main reason why so much wine is bottled in darker glass: it simply lets in less natural light to protect the wine. Storing your wine in a place that gets little to no natural light is definitely best. Light that comes from bulbs is far less damaging, but the lighting should still be kept to a minimum for consistency. Just like if you were in your own house: if you’re leaving the room, just switch off the light.
3. Humidity
Bottles Like It Balmy
Wine traditionalists (not this Somm) will say that wines should always be stored in a space that holds steady at 70% humidity. Truthfully though, unless your bar is in the desert (sorry, U.S. Southwest!), or in the Arctic (sorry, polar bears!), you shouldn’t have too much of an issue here. As long as you can maintain a humidity of 50-80%, you’ll be in great shape. If, for some reason, your conditions are a little too dry, just place an open bowl of water in your storage space and things should course correct in a few days.
4. Position
Lay It Down
This is an area where I actually fall in line with the traditionalists. If your wine was bottled with a cork, you should be trying to store it on its side as much as possible. Laying your bottles down will help make sure the wine is always in contact with the cork. This will keep the cork from drying out and letting in too much oxygen that will affect the overall flavor of the wine over time.
If you are opening this wine in the near future, or it has a screw-top or plastic cork, this is far less important, but it can’t hurt! Also, laying it down can actually be very efficient for small spaces, and multi-purpose storage rooms in establishments that don’t have a lot of extra space.
5. Stability
Don’t Rock the Boat
There are people out there who lose sleep at night over the stability of their wines, but I am definitely not one of them. It is true that spastic, violent movement has been shown to speed up certain chemical reactions in wine, but don’t fret. Unless you’ve chosen to store your wine on the back of a rocket, or shake it up like a fresh carton of orange juice (both terrible ideas by the way), then you’re going to be just fine.
Finishing Notes
I know what you’re thinking: I’ve basically just described the perfect wine cellar, which you probably don’t have the space or the budget for. I feel your pain, my friend. This just means it’s time to get as enterprising as you are when creating your cocktail menu, and think outside the box…or, in this instance, think outside the case!
The criteria above can be recreated in a number of non-conventional spaces, and you should definitely experiment with as many of those as possible until you find the perfect place to store your wine. Remember, your inventory is your largest asset. It represents a huge investment of your business’s cash, and it can’t be used for other outflow purposes, so get your wine storage set up as ‘proper’ as possible to protect that investment.
Industry News Roundup: Beer Acquisitions and Bar Activism
The fight over craft beer’s independence and very soul is heating up…
Earlier in July, we covered the trials and tribulations of navigating craft beer in the buyout era, particularly from the perspective of bars inserting themselves in the conversation by boycotting products owned by Big Beer. We return to that topic today because in the short few weeks since we published that piece, the issue has only intensified and somehow gotten more confusing. So what happened exactly? And what does it mean for bars and restaurants?
Let’s start with the Brewers Association.
At the tail end of June, the nonprofit trade group that represents thousands of independent craft breweries across the country took its boldest step yet in the direction of distinguishing small beer brands from those owned by the likes of Anheuser-Busch InBev and other corporate beer giants.
Specifically, the BA introduced a seal of independence that qualifying brewers are now free to slap on their packaging as a way to convey to drinkers, essentially, “This beer was not made by a global monopoly.” This type of thing can certainly be instructive to consumers who plainly don’t have the time to keep up with the day-to-day minutiae of industry news, but still care about what companies makes the beers they drink.
But it’s not meant to inform only them. It’s meant to inform bars and restaurants too.
In fact, as part of its education initiative, the BA plans to encourage its members to push the seal at the distribution and retail tiers. Meaning, if you run a bar or restaurant, the craft beer industry is beginning to envisage a future wherein you, too, consider this seal as a new part of your buying habits.
Such a seal would certainly be helpful to a bar like the Happy Raven in Omaha, Nebraska. As reported by the Omaha World Herald, the bar–like many others, as we’ve previously established–has decided to no longer sell products owned by AB InBev in light of the world’s largest brewery’s continued spending habits. “Where do I want my money to go?” asked bar owned Matt Myers, explaining his decision. “I don’t want it to go to a place that I don’t agree with.” So in theory, people like Myers could look for the seal and know what they’re buying without having to dig through news archives.
As always, though, there’s a flipside to this.
Some legitimately independent brewers just don’t care to use the seal. So when bars that are sympathetic to the cause are pitched on seal-adorning beers, they’ll need to remember that the seal isn’t at all the only indicator of true independence. As Trve Brewing tweeted in the hours following the introduction of the seal, “Can’t wait for trolls to bust my balls about not putting the independent beer emblem on our labels.”
On top of that, another boycott-adjacent question was raised this month, but not over brewery ownership.
Rather, we’re dealing with a new question: Should a bar or restaurant intent on boycotting Big Beer products also draw the line at non-alcoholic beverages owned by those very same companies?
It’s a question worth asking, given the fact just last week AB InBev acquired Hiball, a California-based energy drink company. Per Reuters: “The acquisition marks another step into the non-alcoholic drinks sector for the company, which already produces the ready-to-drink tea Teavana in partnership with Starbucks.” Further, there have in the past been rumors of a mega-merger between AB InBev and Coca-Cola. As such, it’s not hard to imagine how taking up the cause of boycotting beer brands based on ownership might forge a slippery slope when those same parent companies buy popular soft drink brands. As Myers said of his business’ money, “I don’t want it to go to a place that I don’t agree with.”
It seems clear at this point that these issues are only going to get more complicated before they settle in a middle ground people are comfortable navigating. Until then, how do you suggest the industry approach these matters?
4 Expert Tips for Designing Effective Menu Templates
BAR MEZZANA‘s DINNER MENU; PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN SAMUELS
You’ve agonized over your entrée offerings and spent weeks crafting the perfect drink list. After all that work, did you overlook the presentation of your menus?
While some may see it as an afterthought, a well-designed menu is an opportunity for a powerful first impression and a cohesive customer experience.
If you suspect your menu’s appearance may need a refresh, or if you’re starting with a blank canvas, here are four tips for menu presentation from a graphic designer, with considerations from two restaurants with beautiful menus.
Print Production
While printing may seem like the last thing to discuss, considering production at the start will allow you to efficiently plan budget and design.
Going to a local print shop will yield more professional-looking prints, but for many restaurants, frequent modifications make in-house printing the best option. However, even a professional design will suffer when it’s printed or cut poorly, so it’s important to research a quality printer along with the the paper that it can handle.
With changes coming to their menus every two weeks, Bar Manager Heather Mojer and her team at State Park, a local favorite and early BevSpot customer in Cambridge, MA, have figured out a great system to edit and print their menus in-house.
“We print our menus with our trusty laser jet printer. [It’s] water-resistant unlike inkjet which can bleed.”
While her printer limits paper size, that didn’t stop the Heather’s team from getting creative. State Park rotates their menu editions between four different paper colors, which not only enhances presentation, but also helps the team keep up with version changes.
Your printer will restrict heaviness of paper as well, so consider mounting it to a clipboard, placing it inside a sleeve or book, or folding it like State Park.
Organization and Readability
Take a look at your menu. Is the text large enough and dark enough to read? Are the category titles easy to scan? Are the offerings clear?
The most valuable thing a well-designed menu can do is help patrons quickly understand the offerings at your establishment. A menu is simplest to take in when there’s proper organization, clear text, and breathing room for the eyes to focus.
State Park started out with a single menu when local agency ICS Creative designed it. But when their selection grew, they accommodated by splitting out the menus. This provides a good lesson: the items on your menu should dictate the format.
Organize your food and drinks not only on separate pages but also under distinct headlines. No matter how you decide to split and display your items, consistency is key.
For emphasis on headlines, try increased type size, bold text, or all-caps—but use these methods sparingly. Descriptive text is always helpful, but should be less prominent.
Whether you’re designing it yourself or working with a template, patrons should remember you for your food, drinks, and service, not for your wild menu colors and fonts. Simple, dark text on light paper will always be easiest to read.
Brand Continuity
Having an on-brand menu means it successfully fits in with the concept of your establishment, but also seamlessly goes hand-in-hand with all other printed and digital materials.
If you’re a new establishment without any existing visuals and you have the budget for it, hiring a design professional who is experienced in brand design is certainly the best choice.
Before coastal Italian restaurant Bar Mezzana opened in Boston’s South End in 2016, graphic designer Kim Miller created the restaurant’s entire visual brand identity.
“I designed all of the brand materials, which included the logo, website, business cards, letterhead, coasters, menus—everything down to the matchbooks. But, before all of that happened, I delivered a style guide which became the foundation for all design work to come.”
Kim’s holistic approach allowed for a beautiful, cohesive experience between all of Bar Mezzana’s materials—not just the menus. Kim delivered templates to the team at Bar Mezzana and made sure that they were able to properly edit and print their food and drink menus on their own. No matter what dishes change on the menu, the organization, readability, and brand continuity that Kim put in place shines through.
Environmental Factors
Are your customers deciding on their dinner and drinks in a dimly lit room? Do your menus become stained when they’re spilled on?
If lighting is low, emphasize a high contrast design, like black text on white or beige paper (see above Organization and Readability section). Menus on your computer screen will look different once printed out, and often will appear less bright. Whether you’re designing the menu yourself or having it done professionally, it’s important to print it and read it in your dining areas to make sure it’s legible at different times of the day.
And while they may look perfect coming out of the printer, remember that your menus sit on bars and tables. Soon they’ll get splashed with ketchup and red wine, or perhaps fall on the ground and get stepped on.
Heather’s staff makes sure to cycle out any menus that inevitably suffer from environmental factors.
“Our menus get lumpy from light use which is not a problem for us but it’s when they inevitably get stained, bent, or torn that we nix them. Our staff sifts through the menus for those problems.”
If your menus aren’t protected by a cover that can be wiped clean, be prepared to remove damaged copies from the rotation.
The Takeaway
When you hold your menu in your hands, is it something you’re proud of? Is it printed well? Does it reflect your restaurant’s brand? Is it legible in its environment?
For patrons, restaurants are about the experience. While menu items are meticulously created, menu presentation is often overlooked. As a designer, I am impressed and excited when menus are carefully considered. I’m sure I’m not the only one.
How is your current menu design and production process working? Would you be interested in menu design tools from BevSpot? Take our quick survey to be a voice in the discovery process of this new tool.
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Bar Decor on a Budget: 6 Tips from a Pro Interior Designer
Opening a new bar or restaurant is expensive, but in today’s competitive market, you can’t afford to create a bland, lackluster experience for your guests.
Your establishment’s décor plays a huge role in customer enjoyment, and if you make a lasting impression, they’re sure to recommend you to their friends—which happens more quickly than ever in our social media-connected world.
But what if you’re decorating on a budget? What sorts of design choices can you make to maximize customer impact and enjoyment without breaking the bank? I sat down with Kyla Coburn of Kyla Coburn Designs, a designer responsible for decorating some of the most popular and enticingly atmospheric restaurants in Providence and beyond, including North, Wara Wara, The Grange, Massimo, and newly opened The East End.
These are her insights on the best ways to strategize saving money:
Don’t try to impose an idea on the space
This is a major pitfall, according to Kyla.
“You have to start with the architecture and try to figure out what’s good and what’s bad about it, and work within the architecture to minimize the problems. This does a couple of things: the first is that it offers solutions that are more creative and interesting than you would otherwise come up with if it was just a white box”—things like different elevations or interesting seating around a column, for instance—“and the second is that it helps you put your dollars into things that have an actual effect on the customer’s experience, which is where your revenue comes back in.”
Such things include elements that are visible and tangible: lighting, paint, and objects that your guests can see, touch, or otherwise interact with. Kyla advises against putting too much money into substrates (i.e. invisible elements like sub-floors under finished floors, and sheetrock—which is also where it’s best to work with the architecture instead of against it), and recommends spending ⅔rds of your budget on things that the customer touches and feels and experiences, rather than on the construction and things that have less impact.
Have everything planned out in advance as much as possible
Crystallizing your establishment’s identity and making a detailed plan before you start any purchasing or building saves you from having to make costly course corrections down the road.
Kyla’s team asks all decision makers to separately fill out an extensive questionnaire on topics like what a cup of coffee should cost, and which three adjectives you envision guests using to describe your space. With multiple decision makers, “you often find discrepancies there conceptually that can have horrifying results on the end effect, because if someone is picking out the lighting and someone else is picking out the tables and they have totally different ideas, the result is not cohesive and it’s a schizophrenic feeling,” she says. “You have to decide early on who your customer is and what you want them to feel.”.
Ironing out conceptual disagreements and making a detailed plan “saves money and the end results are better, because you don’t waste a lot of time talking about the money, the cost of a teacup, and inconsequential stuff that can stall the opening of a restaurant by 4-5 months.” Time is money, as they say!
Be diverse in the spaces you create—and also where you source your components
When designing a space, Kyla makes sure to understand the bar or restaurant’s main customer target, but also to create spaces for other demographics. “Maybe the core target is students who want to spend $15 for their entire meal and get two drinks, but we also need a place for them to sit if they bring their grandmother, or if it’s a large party. We try to create different zones in every restaurant where if someone walks in the door, they automatically know where they feel comfortable sitting. Then we map out all of the products together and look at all of them before we buy any one thing.”
Knowing ahead of time which components are required and what they cost cuts back on unnecessary waste and redundant or mistake purchases, as well as time. Kyla notes that one key to having longevity is to make sure your décor isn’t cookie cutter—meaning, it’s not all sourced from one catalogue.
Start with the primary focus/big ticket items first
Even though you are creating separate unique spaces for different types of customers, you’ll want one major design element to draw all of them together (often it’s tied into the bar, which is “kind of the soul of the room,” Kyla says), and that will be your first major purchase/acquisition.
“We start with those high-impact aspects,” she says. She often scores unique, one-of-a-kind pieces at the Brimfield Antiques Show and similar venues. Once those are decided upon, it quickly becomes obvious which smaller, less expensive design choices will fit with the overall theme or not.
Customization is great, but may not save you money
Kyla describes customization as “a double-edged sword,” saying that a finished item might appear expensive at first glance, but once you factor in all of the time for labor, materials cost, pickup and dropoff time, and potential mistakes/learning curves for first timers, you often end up spending more than you would have had you simply bought it new. That said, she notes that with customization, “the results can be a lot more interesting. Our team tries to basically customize everything, but it isn’t always the key to saving money.
“Be picky about what you do yourself,” she recommends. “Have high-impact custom things instead of deciding to go with everything that route.”
Consider bringing in a professional at some level
Although it may seem counterintuitive, Kyla says, “You should consider bringing in a designer—not just because that’s my role, but because I’ve historically seen the mistakes that happen when you’re winging it for the first time, and I think designers can work on any price point, whether they’re just consulting or if they’re handling it all.”
A knowledgeable designer can help you to consider the customer experience from all angles, for example: if someone is looking at shelves full of jame, glasses, and coffee filters at eye level behind a bar, what does that do to the vibe of the space and the romantic atmosphere you may be trying to create? Kyla recommends to “Think about how the customer feels and what that translates to in terms of enjoying their meal or staying for another glass of wine”—which obviously impacts your bottom line.
Key Takeaways
Kyla’s core tips for saving money are to truly figure out and streamline your establishment’s identity and core customers at the outset, to plan every detail out as much as possible, and to delegate when appropriate to talented professionals:
“If you want a cohesive result, you have to invest the time and planning and organization at the beginning, and that’s where you get a realistic idea of your budget,” Kyla summarizes. “If you’re a first time restaurant owner making a budget but leaving out details like votives and potted plants, you might get ¾ of the way done and then run out of money, and those little important details get sacrificed. And with the failure statistics of restaurants nowadays, you don’t want to be starting out like that.”
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Tending The Hotel Bar: The Place Where Nobody Knows Your Name
Between dealing with unruly drunks in pajamas and working through destructive hurricanes, life in a hotel bar isn’t always easy.
But in the end, the hotel bartender plays an important part in a traveler’s journey.
Hotel bars fill a rather unique role in the hospitality industry. The people that visit for drinks are, by and large, out-of-towners. They might be there on business. They might be there on vacation. And when they’re done with business, and when they’re done with vacation, they might just be stuck in town waiting out a hurricane on their way back home. The point is hotel bars typically don’t fill the role of the neighborhood haunt, like the namesake bar of the classic sitcom, Cheers–“the place where everybody knows your name.” Rather, hotel bars exist primarily for a more transient client base. The hotel bar is the place where nobody knows anybody.
As such, working at a hotel bar can be a lot different than working in a traditional bar environment. There are skills hotel bartenders and managers need to possess particular to their corner of the business, as well as particular challenges that are more pervasive. To help learn more about what it takes to thrive at a hotel bar–a hospitality business nestled within another hospitality business–we called up Becca June, hospitality industry vet with 18 years in the business. Her last last seven years have been spent in bars, and of those, she has spent the last four in hotel bars specifically, working in Portland, Oregon and New Orleans, Louisiana. Which is to say, she knows what it takes to make those on the road feel like they’re at home.
The following has been lightly edited for clarity.
What drew you to the hotel side of things as opposed to regular bars?
I’m a born and raised Oregonian. I was working in Portland and I applied on a whim to a job in New Orleans to work for a hotel bar down there called the Bourbon O bar–of the Bourbon Orleans Hotel–and I loved it. I worked there for two and a half years. I was the bar lead down there for quite some time.
What are some of the main differences between hotel bars and regular bars?
I really enjoyed working in the hotel bar, because your clientele is so different; you get to meet so many people from other places, especially in New Orleans because it’s such a travel hub. You get to meet so many people from different countries, different backgrounds, and they all come to you looking for advice on where to go, what should they do.
Are there any skills that hotel bar workers need that are unique to that corner of the industry?
You need to know that you are also a tour guide. You have to have the patience to balance out your ability to work, maintain and keep the bar crowd under control, and play a very patient, very loving tour guide. Because that’s a huge part of your job versus other bars where that may not be the case.
How can someone prepare for filling that role, if they’re coming in with bar experience but maybe without hotel bar experience?
I think mostly it’s a learning by doing thing. Guests, they’re looking for your favorite spots. I read a lot of articles when I moved to New Orleans. I read a lot about the city and I went out as much as possible.
In Portland, I tend to stay home a lot and tend to go to the same few places. So in Portland, working at the last hotel bar I worked at, it was a lot harder for me, because I didn’t go out as much and I was gone for two and a half years, so people are asking me questions I don’t necessarily have the answer to.
But, I also am willing to send people to my friends’ bars. I have a lot of friends in the community. So, I’d send them to bartenders and people I trust to take care of them. And, in New Orleans, I played tourist, so I’d go to all the little places I wanted to see. So, it was a lot easier for me. I think it’s a good idea to play tourist in your own city.
So, is your goal at a hotel bar to keep people there for another drink or is your goal to ensure they get out and explore and have the best time knowing they want to check out the area? And how do you balance those two things?
My goal is to make sure my guest is always happy. If they’re happy, they’re going to stay and have another drink. I do want them to go out and see the surrounding area. But I also want them to come back and tell me the story of how it was. So that’s kind of the turnabout. Go explore, but come back and tell me about it. And then stay for another. That’s usually how it happens if I did my job right.
Are there any challenges associated with that kind of client base where the people aren’t as familiar to you maybe?
Working at a hotel bar, people feel like they’re in their home and they’re entitled to behave within a different set of rules. Like, what do you mean I can’t bring in my own bottle of wine, my own food, my own this, my own that? They forget that they’re still walking into a business that serves food and serves wine. So, no, you can’t do any of that. You can’t wander around in your pajamas. You have to put on actual clothing to come in. We’re not their living room. We’re still a business.
Is that harder to explain that to people when they do have that mindset of being at home since they are living there for however long?
It is hard to explain. Especially to the people you have to cut off because they feel like they can drink themselves into a whole other dimension and they’re like, “Well, I’m staying at the hotel.” I’m like, “Yeah, but that doesn’t guarantee me you’re going to stay put in the hotel. I can’t keep serving you alcohol.” Those things are hard to explain to people who came and they booked a hotel room and they expect to be treated like they are God’s gift.
What are the biggest challenges of working a hotel bar that might not exist in regular bars, as far as business itself goes?
You are expected to show up to work no matter the weather. In New Orleans, the ‘canes are always a threat and, you know, people would be asked to volunteer to stay and they’d be put up at the hotel because that bar’s opening no matter what. You’ve got a captive audience and they’re going to need to go somewhere, because they can’t get anywhere either.
I stayed at the hotel once or twice in New Orleans just because I needed to open the bar. Here in Portland, at my hotel, we had massive snowstorms and I showed up to while most people couldn’t, because that hotel bar is going to open either way.
Would you have any advice for someone new to working at a hotel bar and is just discovering all these things?
These people are here to have an adventure in their lives. Help them on their adventure.
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