Come up with the concept of your bar

The concept is a guide to the implementation of the main idea of ​​the establishment, it can include the name, the interior, the main theme of the bar, the menu, and the marketing strategy. Many people confuse the concept with the theme of the institution, but this is not the same thing, the theme is just one of the components.

It is worth deciding on the concept before starting to plan the work of the future bar. We can say that this is a general idea, which should be reflected in the name, the design of the room, the content of the menu, the style of the staff. According to Jörg Meyer (owner of the Le Lion and Tayting Room bars in Hamburg), the concept of a bar is a unique concept, it should not be put on stream, otherwise the bars will eventually lose their mysterious appeal. “For each bar it is very important to have an individual concept. This is what distinguishes different bars and the way we prepare cocktails.”

The concept includes a detailed analysis of the location of the future bar and the target audience, the calculation of investments and the time of their return. In addition, the concept will help to understand how popular and profitable the institution will be. The concept also includes all the elements of the establishment’s corporate identity: from the design of the establishment’s sign to the uniform of the attendants. And it provides for the development of all mechanisms of control and interaction with suppliers.

In this article, we will dwell in more detail on positioning, subject matter and title. The rest – more global things, such as location, premises, bar promotion plan, staff recruitment and training for it, menu and design – will be covered in separate articles.

Le Lion in Hamburg

Bar positioning is one of the most important components of the concept. For example, the concept of the Le Lyon bar is “a classic bar with classic cocktails and champagne”. The philosophy of “Le Lion” is that the staff of the institution is not divided into bartenders, waiters, waiters and others: everyone can do everything, it is thanks to this that a very homely atmosphere reigns in the bar. At the same time, a new bartender in the first six months of his work is not allowed to create cocktails, “during this time he must be imbued with our atmosphere and feel the philosophy” – this rule was established by Jörg.

“We don’t have photos on the internet or menus online, we want people to discover the bar for themselves and not be guided by questionable photos or menus. I pay a lot of attention to details, this also applies to the concept of the institution. For example, we serve all drinks at the same time – if a company orders several different cocktails, then those that are already ready will wait for the rest in a special container with crushed ice. I took this idea from the kitchen, where dishes are also served at the same time.”

Another detail that Jörg Mayer pays special attention to is meeting the guest. From the facade of the building at Le Lyon there is only a door with a bell, each guest has to ring, but not so that the strict face controller can decide whether to let someone in or not – there is no dress code in the bar. This bell ritual is designed so that Jörg can personally greet each of his guests and personally open the door for them.

The theme plays an equally important role in the interior, name and menu of the bar. For example, when opening a non-smoking bar, you do not need to bother with a super-powerful hood or you should not install a piano in a tiki bar. Bars specializing in one type of drink or even one cocktail are now gaining popularity in the world. For example, in the Ram Trader bar in Berlin, any cocktail will be prepared with rum, even if it’s Negroni! And in Russia, monobars, such as wine cellars or whiskey bars, are becoming more and more popular.

Mojito Lab

In October 2010, Laurent Greco, renowned molecular mixologist and founder of Cocktailzone magazine for bartenders, opened his own bar in Paris called Mojito Lab; there guests are invited to try 20 types of Mojito and only Mojito! “One day I decided it was time to create a bar, but I wanted to do something special that had never been done before. Mojito Lab became the first concept bar entirely dedicated to mojito and its derivatives. I invite everyone!”

The interior of the bar resembles (and corresponds to the name and general concept) a laboratory with brick walls, graphite floors, green-neon lighting and high steel tables. In one of the halls of the bar – a training room – you can practice making Mojito, in addition, a specialized store is open at the institution. The concept of the bar is embodied perfectly – a mixture of paradise for Mojito lovers with a laboratory, the name, interior and atmosphere are in harmony with each other.

Not only a wide selection of Mojitos can surprise guests, but also variations such as the Smoky Mojito, which uses special mint and, surprisingly, smoke: “Our guests really like this drink, especially because in all bars are now non-smoking, and Smoky Mojito is very reminiscent of smoking and cigarette smoke!”

In addition to the laboratory interior, special jars pay tribute to the concept, in which amazing mint grows for unusual cocktails, such as Mojito with garlic flavor, apparently to protect against the flu virus or vampires: “We grow special mint right here – garlic, strawberry-banana, pepper, all its types cannot even be listed. It grows in our bar under special lamps that mimic the sun’s rays, but without ultraviolet radiation. And a special vacuum apparatus enhances the “laboratory” effect – with the help of it, Laurent makes Mojito in a whole watermelon, without cutting it!

glossy restaurant

Another interesting concept of bars and restaurants that is now gaining popularity is the branding of establishments for glossy magazines. The American publishing house Conde Nast, which plans to use the names of its most famous magazines for establishments that will open in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, has captured the market here.

It is interesting that such an idea came to Conde Nast from Moscow! In 2003, the Vogue Cafe was opened in the capital, in 2007 – the GQ Bar, and in 2010 – the Tatler Club, and in 2012 the Bazar Bar and the bar from Maxim magazine were already opened. Moreover, the early establishments were included in the restaurant chain of Arkady Novikov, the Bazar Bar is a project of Andrey Dellos, and the bar with the male name Maxim is the work of the Ginza Project. Interestingly, when opening the Ogonyok bar, Seyran Gevorgyan remembered the socio-political weekly of the same name?

The synergy between the glossy and bar businesses enhances the image of magazines: “We believe that doing the restaurant business right in other countries will help strengthen our brands,” said Jonathan Newhouse, board member of Conde Nast International. And besides, such joint work brings additional profit, both to publishers and owners of establishments – bars instantly become popular, the audience is clearly defined, and usually these are successful and wealthy people, which allows you to set fairly high prices for drinks.

What do you call the ship …

The concept can be reflected in the positioning of the bar, interior, assortment, music, staff uniforms, in a word, in everything. Ideally, when even the name of the bar is conceptual. At the same time, the main semantic load falls on the name – it should be addressed to people from the potential target audience, and inform them that this institution is just for them. Of course, Shakespeare said: “A rose smells like a rose, call it a rose, or not…”, but in the case of a bar, this does not work.

Often, names for bars are chosen in honor of important people or events, literary heroes, writers, based on the location of the institution, but there are also names that you don’t immediately guess why? For example, the Belka bar on Red October.

Hovhannes Poghosyan, the founder of the MainPiple project and the owner of the bar, told where this “squirrel” came from. The first version of the name was “Badger”, which, if necessary, could be interpreted as “Bar Bitch”, and despite the fact that this option did not take root, the association of the bar with the animal remained. “Squirrel” has become something universal: guests are invited not to spin like a squirrel in a wheel, but to relax, and the primordially Russian alcoholic meaning is also put into the squirrel: “Well, when a squirrel comes, only we have such a soft cocktail with cocktails” . With the names of the other bars, it’s somehow clearer: “Cuba Libre” is an excellent cocktail, “Secret Bar” was really secret at first, and the name of the tiki bar “Aloha” in Hawaiian means “breath of life”, and is used by the inhabitants of the islands and as a greeting and as a farewell.

On the one hand, if you open your own bar, you have the right to name it with any word that comes to your mind and will be to your liking, or even use a name generator if you lack imagination, but on the other hand, the name is the first and main form of advertising !

For the name of the bar, it is customary to use one or a maximum of two words that reflect the concept of the institution, which will be sonorous and memorable, and a bunch of two words is remembered better, because our memory considers semantic blocks to be more significant than disparate pieces of information. To choose the perfect name, you will have to strain all your imagination – you need to try to come up with as many names as possible – at least 15-20, which are more or less suitable for a bar, for convenience, write a source of inspiration opposite each name. After this title, you will need to test it on family, friends, acquaintances, or convene an entire focus group and choose the best of the best!

After all, a good name and logo can be printed on T-shirts and other products.