In 2021 I wrote a piece claiming we were reaching the end of the traditional bar takeover. The premise for the argument was a combination of fatigue among consumers and a lack of effort from the host bars. Five years on we still have regular takeovers across the world, but there’s been a shift in attitude at the top end.
“Some bars just invite their friends from another bar and run a different menu for the night. But the guests probably don’t know who the other bar is and the majority of the time guests come to enjoy your menu, not that of a visiting bar they haven’t heard of,” says Tyler Zielinski, bar consultant and author of Tiny Cocktails. “The bar takeover was a great tool for sharing knowledge and culture between different bar communities, but since the pandemic it lost a lot of meaning, it became more of a handshake for bartenders to travel. It became disingenuous.”
For the past few years Zielinski has been working with UK top 50 bar Kiki Lounge in the Isle of Man to create an immersive series of takeovers during the week of the annual TT motorbike festival. The Dead Rabbit, Panda & Sons, Himkok and Seed Library are some of the alumni involved in the project.
Zielinski adds: “When the population almost doubles for those two weeks of the TT, we wanted to bring over some bars and create experiences for both locals and tourists.
“We wanted it to be immersive and go beyond just the guest shift, but create programming around it. For the TT we always work with Fever-Tree to take bartenders foraging for ingredients native to the Isle of Man, and sometimes those ingredients even make it into the drinks being served that night.”
Another consequence of the pandemic and resulting cost of living crisis has been the tightening of brand budgets in the on-trade. As a result it’s become more important to execute full programmes in order to encourage and justify brand spending.
Zielinski adds: “It has to be high impact and to be high impact it has to have layers to the programme, which ultimately means more funding. Therefore the bars involved need to be organised and proactive.”
PANDA HIGHLAND GAMES
The week prior to the Kiki Lounge series was the second edition of the Panda & Sons Highland Games. The Edinburgh bar invited bartenders from across the globe to take part in a four-day event aimed at celebrating Scottish culture. As well as a nine-bar takeover at Panda & Sons the team hosted 60 guests for the Panda Highland Games, which included caber tossing, tug of war, Highland dancing and welly wanging.
Organiser and owner of Panda & Sons Iain McPherson says: “We wanted people to experience more than just guest shifts and cocktails. We wanted them to properly experience Scotland; the food, the humour, the chaos, the traditions, the whisky, the people and probably a few sore muscles from caber tossing the next day.
“At its heart, this industry is built on people looking after each other, sharing ideas and creating memorable experiences together. Seeing bartenders from all over the world in the Scottish sunshine at Winton Castle, dancing terribly and competing in tug of war with my family… that’s exactly what this was all about.”
The following week saw another installation of Himkok’s Nordic Sessions. This format invites small groups of brands and bars into curated immersions across the Norwegian landscape, from cross-country skiing to hiking the fjords. Drinks International attended a two-day hike up Trolltunga, one of Norway’s most famous landmarks in the fjords, which was also attended by bar industry figures Shingo Gokan, Gabriele Armani and Nóra Földvári.
“Traditional one-night guest shifts have grown predictable and offer little long-term value,” says Paul Aguilar, head of research and development at Himkok. “Our guests come to Himkok for Himkok, not for a fleeting appearance. Brands invest in travel and production only to receive content that looks the same as every other city and bars absorb the cost in staff energy and service disruption for a spike that has no lasting effect.
“Our idea was to create an activation beyond a party budget that brings to life everything that makes Himkok Himkok while offering real, lasting impact for our valued partners, our industry friends and our regular guests.”
In hindsight my analysis from 2021 was wrong. We still have weekly, if not daily, bar takeovers that absorb local brand budgets for little return. However, at the top end of the industry there’s a push towards creating immersive, multi-layered experiences which carry more meaning for brands, bartenders and guests. In an industry strapped for cash, the takeover remains a valuable asset which brands are still willing to invest in – but they need to see the value if they’re going to do so.
