Right Bar, Wrong Place

Right Bar, Wrong Place

We are at part 3 of our 5 part series on our Top Five Tips For Running A Successful Bar As a friendly reminder, this series is more geared towards restaurant owners and bar managers, and people in the industry. For more 'home-bar' content, check out some of our other posts. This week we are talking about knowing your audience/clientele/customers. 

No alt text provided for this image


The Chris Pine Of Bars.

I'm a firm believer that if Chris Pine had come around 15 years earlier, he'd be one of the biggest movie stars in the world, right up there with Tom Cruise. However, Chris (we are on a first-name basis) had the misfortune of making it in Hollywood right at the moment in time when big box office movie stars became a dying breed. I mean for god's sake, the guy played James Kirk TWICE, he's Quentin Tarantino's favorite young actor, and he doesn't mind showing off his pee-pee. WHAT ELSE DO YOU PEOPLE WANT!?

"Ok, Sam, we get your point. What does this have to do with my bar?"

The larger point here is, don't be the Chris Pine of bars. Just because you are serving the most groundbreaking cocktails and have phenomenal barkeeps, doesn't mean you will have a successful establishment. You need to know the guests and what they are looking for in their neighborhood bar. I wouldn't start a molecular mixology bar in Henderson, Nevada. 

Who's Coming To Your Bar?

One of the most important things you can do is figure out who's coming to your bar. Who is your clientele and what do they like to drink? To a certain extend, you need to cater to your guests. It's very easy to overwhelm people with all the different liquors, liqueurs, and techniques available these days. If your guests feel overwhelmed by the cocktail menu, they will most likely just resort to what they already know. Martinis, Margheritas, etc. 

Slow and Steady.

Believe it or not, there's still a lot of people that will look at you funny when they see you cracking an eggwhite into a whiskey sour. (That's so 2013) You might be tempted to put the latest and greatest imbibe trends on your drink menu, but if you don't draw the savviest bar crowd, you need to learn how to pace yourself. Start by doing riffs on cocktails everyone knows, or put a few classic cocktails next to some new-age drinks. 

Just the other day I had a customer wanting an alternative to the Margherita she always drinks. She had her mind blown when I introduced her to the 'Paloma'. For those of us that live and breathe cocktail culture, it can be easy to forget that the rest of the country isn't moving at the same pace. 

No alt text provided for this image

Humble and Kind.

As a bartender, it can be frustrating when you can't show off all that you know. Especially when bars in certain areas can get away with doing clarified milk punches and spherified rum balls. It's important to remember that coming up with drink recipes is just one part of the job. Arguably, it's more important to (and difficult) to listen to each individual customer and figure out what they and how you can expand their specific palate when it comes to cocktails. As Tim McGraw once said, stay humble and kind. 

Cheers,

-Sam

Twist & Bitters

PS. If you need help with your restaurant, we would love to help you. We are incredibly passionate about imbibe culture and can help you with anything from re-doing your menus, to training your bartenders. If we can help you, please email us - [email protected]


要查看或添加评论,请登录

Stacy Greene的更多文章

  • How To Hire Good Bar Staff

    How To Hire Good Bar Staff

    We have finally reached the closing post of our 5 part series. Click here to find the other four articles for this…

    3 条评论
  • Elevate Your Ingredients

    Elevate Your Ingredients

    We are on part 4 of our 5 part series on our Top Five Tips For Running A Successful Bar. As a friendly reminder, this…

    2 条评论
  • ONE EASY WAY TO MAKE YOUR BAR BETTER

    ONE EASY WAY TO MAKE YOUR BAR BETTER

    This is part 2 of our 5 part series for Top Five Tips For Running A Successful Bar. This blog series is more geared…

    1 条评论
  • EASY WAYS YOU CAN UPGRADE YOUR DRINK PRESENTATION

    EASY WAYS YOU CAN UPGRADE YOUR DRINK PRESENTATION

    In case you missed last week's blog, this is part one of our Top Five Tips For Running A Successful Bar. This blog…

  • Top Five Tips For Running a Successful Bar

    Top Five Tips For Running a Successful Bar

    We've been writing a lot about home bars and private events, so this week we are diving more into the commercial side…

  • One Easy Way To Class Up Your Event

    One Easy Way To Class Up Your Event

    If you are hosting a private party, one of the easiest ways to 'class-it-up' (besides calling us, wink-wink) is to buy…

  • NO, YOU DON’T LIKE MARTINIS

    NO, YOU DON’T LIKE MARTINIS

    Warning – This weeks blog is heavily geared towards Californians Californians LOVE their vodka martinis…except they…

    6 条评论
  • How To Prep Your Bar For A Cocktail Party (It’s all in the planning)

    How To Prep Your Bar For A Cocktail Party (It’s all in the planning)

    Today we are breaking down the top 5 quick tips on what you need to do to nail the most important part of a cocktail…

  • Top Five Home Bar Mistakes

    Top Five Home Bar Mistakes

    You’ve decided that you are sick of paying $16 for cocktails at a restaurant, and would rather have your own bar at…

  • HOW TO MAKE AN AUTHENTIC CUBAN MOJITO

    HOW TO MAKE AN AUTHENTIC CUBAN MOJITO

    HOW TO MAKE AN AUTHENTIC CUBAN MOJITO Part of being in the imbibe business means consuming an endless amount of…

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了