Employees Only Singapore will open this June in the city’s Chinatown neighbourhood, while the 12-year-old speakeasy will take its award-winning brand of hospitality to Miami, Florida, and Austin, Texas, later this year.
Igor Hadzismajlovic, one of the bar’s partners who is spearheading the project in Asia, said: “We’ve had our eye on the flourishing hospitality scene in Singapore for years and couldn’t be more excited to call this city a second home for EO.
“Our partners and neighbours here have been overwhelmingly welcoming and supportive, and we can’t wait to open our doors for them.”
Hadzismajlovic has joined by his former mentor, New Yorker Joshua Schwartz, who, along with his wife Sarissa Rodriguez Schwartz, is a six-year veteran of the Singapore nightlife scene, operating venues such as Pangea, Bang Bang and Match.
Steve Schneider, EO’s principal bartender and star of the 2013 documentary Hey Bartender will head to Singapore in May to lead bar operations. The opening staff will also be led by general manager Eric Lincoln and executive chef Julia Jaksic from New York’s Employees Only.
The New York speakeasy’s design theme and approach to hospitality are to be transferred to its new Singapore location, including its Art Deco-inspired decor, food and drink menus and unpretentious service.
Steve Schneider added: “It’s absolutely a priority for us to create the same ambiance and energy that EO has become so cherished for. Of course, we will adapt some of our offerings to appeal to local Singaporean palates, while also staying loyal to the EO brand that so many around the world know and love.”
The third venue, in the Washington Park Hotel in Miami Beach, will open this autumn as will a fourth venue in a yet-to-be-announced location in Austin.
