Make Bars Busy Again
We’ve all noticed it recently. The drop in dinner covers, the temptation to close early, not needing to order as much stock as usual. We’re in a slump. The whole industry. Sure, if your venue is a Top 50, or you’re owned by a massive conglomerate, you might not feel it as much; but our industry is struggling. Can you believe that pubs in Scotland are closing down at twice the rate of those in England? Or that drinks sales for the start of January this year were down 9% compared to the same period in 2024? What is even happening at this point? And what can we do about it?
I asked some of Edinburgh’s most renowned hospo-veterans why they think bars are struggling, here’s what they said:
The Decline of the After-Work Drinks
Okay, this really big thing happened a few years ago. Like really big. Like people couldn’t go into work big. And a lot of these people never went back. And so died the 5 o’clock on Friday rush. The birth of hybrid-working/working from home has been detrimental to the death of hospitality venues. Ten years ago, at 4pm on a Friday evening, you’d see bartenders stretching (physically and mentally), preparing for the influx of suit-wearing young professionals who were coming in for their TGIF pints and large Sauvignon Blancs. Now? Sure, there’s still a few. But is it anywhere near as many people that would come through the front door at 5.15pm at the end of the working week? Not anywhere I’ve been.
If everyone’s already at home on a Friday night, why should they bother to go out and spend money in your bar, when it’s so much cheaper to get a crate or a couple of bottles of wine and have drinks at home? Are you providing a product, and a service, good enough to make people want to leave their homes?
Everyone’s Skint
What more can I say really? Everyone’s skint. People can’t afford to go out for drinks the way they used to, and on the flip side, owners can’t afford to charge any less either. There’s been about a million-and-one nails in hospitality’s coffin (COVID, Brexit, Trump, the list goes on), and it’s made it hard on all of us. God, I can’t remember the last time I got a pint for less than £6 (obviously exclusive of #hospodiscount).
People are pickier on when, how and where they spend their money these days - and we, as bartenders, need to earn their trust and make them put their faith in us. No one wants to pay premium prices on a substandard product. This means we have to impress our guests from the get-go, once we have earned their trust and they decide we are worthy of their hard-earned money, will we reap the rewards.
The ‘Weird and Wonderful’
There’s few things more exciting to a bartender than our favourite spot's new menu release. Seeing what our pals have cooked up with their rotovap, what flavours you’ve never tried they’ve infused into spirits you’ve never heard of, and what riff they’ve made on whatever trendy obscure classic they found on Difford’s; it gets any hospohead’s blood pumping.
But does that mean we want to drink like that all the time? More importantly, does that mean that our average punter wants to drink like that at all? Even the most adventurous drinker doesn’t drink adventurously all the time. Sometimes when we, even as bartenders, go out for a drink, we don’t want to try your 9 ingredient, rotovap-ed, force-carbonated, fat-washed, milk-punch; sometimes, I’d even go as far to say as most of the time, we just want something that we know, but done to a high standard. It’s all well and good flexing your creative muscles and encouraging your clientele to drink adventurously, but have you nailed your basics? Can you make a really good daiquiri? Hell, can you even make a really good gin & tonic? There’s a reason that most of us usually just end up going for a Happy Meal (beer, bourbon, daiquiri). Sometimes bars and bartenders get more caught up in trying to impress their peers and the higher-ups of Big Hospo (a term I’m really trying to get some traction behind) than providing an actual good service and menu.
So, the question is: are you really giving people what they want?
After that, I asked these hospo-vets what advice they’d give to the owners and up-and-coming bartenders during this time:
Rachel (co-owner of Hey Palu and Chancho) said keep it simple, and work with brands. Playing with the weird and wonderful is great fun, and if you’re good at it, it can take you far, but when it comes to the majority of your menu - keep it simple. Sure, have a couple of wacky numbers on there for your more adventurous imbibers - and fully push the boat out on those drinks - but for the rest of your menu, less is more. The average customer needs to understand the menu. Most people, when seeing an ingredient or technique they’ve never heard of, won’t want to ask about it - so it’s really important to keep things simple, and to not make people feel stupid for not knowing your ultra-niche ingredients. Rachel also recommended to be open to brand sponsorships and partnerships - brands want to work with you, and they want to be on your bar!
Ben (head of F&B at Johnnie Walker Princes Street) said to make sure you believe in what you’re doing, and do it to the highest standard, always. You need to know not just what you’re doing, but why you’re doing it in the first place - what Ben calls your ‘North Star’. Don’t settle for just ‘good’, and always strive for perfection. And it’s not all about the product either, because at the end of the day, people come back for the people, not the product. 99% of people are more likely to go back to a bar with great service and okay drinks, than go back somewhere with great drinks and okay service. It’s also okay to make mistakes, everyone does, but make sure you’re surrounded by people who will be honest with you when these things happen. Basically, make sure what you’re doing is authentic, and that you do it fully and consistently, and people will come.
Kristapps (Beverage Production Specialist at The W Hotel) said everyone needs to adapt. And by everyone, he means everyone - bartenders, managers, owners and guests alike. Owners and managers need to adapt to the new generation of bartenders - they want more, and as they should. They deserve to get paid more and treated better. Gone are the days of 12 hour shifts and clopens, let's start working to live instead of living to work. Bartenders need to adapt to what the general public actually wants - not just in terms of taste, but making sure to cater for everyone effectively (no one wants to spend £12 on a non-alcoholic cocktail)! And guests need to adapt to the way that bars have changed since COVID - you can’t just always go to the bar and get a pint, you have to have a booking for some places, and unfortunately, yes, things have gotten more expensive. The best way for us to be able to adapt and understand each other better, is to communicate with and listen to each other. The culture is shifting and we all need to be more understanding of one another, and be able to adapt to the changing scene - or you’ll be left behind.
At the end of the three conversations I had while preparing to write this article, all I could think was ‘Jesus Christ, what hope do we actually have?’ We work long hours on very little sleep and even less nutrition (for not a lot of money), we deal with people who show us no grace nor patience, and we receive little to no support or understanding from those outwith this industry; and despite it all, we’re still here. We’re here because we love what we do, and we believe in what we’re doing.
So, as cringe as this sounds, it’s our community that gives me hope. It’s all the talent that surrounds us in this city, and all the support that we all give each other, day after day. The way we can make bars busy again is by not just working hard and making great drinks (but, yes, please do that too), but by always supporting and showing up for each other. Make sure you’re visiting your pal’s bar and trying their new menu, recommend them to your non-industry pals, leave good reviews, and spread the word. There’s enough room for all of us here, so none of us succeed unless we all do.
By Chloe Archibald-Ansari