Walk with me as I share the second article in a series of letters to the industry I’ve dedicated my life to, and work through what’s next for the bar industry in the Post Pandemic World.

“When your job feels like being on a hamster wheel every day, do you see anything else? When you finally get off of it, can you get back on?” —Catherine Manabat, Bar Co-Owner // Homemakers Bar

WHAT WOULD “BACK TO NORMAL” LOOK LIKE? 

Though hard to believe, at some point in the future we will, for the most part, forget that any of this happened. As we look back on history it will be an anomalous blip, tucked deep in the folds of our brain, stored for safe keeping, so not to prevent us from moving forward. I don’t think it’s our fault, it’s just human nature to bury deep pains, fade deep wounds, and continue on for survival. It happened after the 1918 Spanish Flu and there is no reason to believe it won’t happen again.

This type of forgetfulness is buried just as deeply in the DNA of the bar industry. We saw it in the revival of classic craft cocktails that emerged in the mid-2000’s, which lead to the recreation of the proper cocktail bar. This in itself was a re-discovery of our own history and past. First, Old Fashioneds roared back into fashion, then the fruity martinis of the 90's briefly stepped in and then aside to make way for new wave cocktails with more complex flavor profiles. Like clockwork, the industry reinvents itself on a 10 year scale, yet the fundamentals of bar operation have gone unchanged for decades.

After this pandemic finishes its course, I believe we will be faced with another cycle of faux reinvention, as we give in to the urge to get back to “normal”. What I’m predicting is that this won’t be driven by bar owners eager to put the horror show of 2020 into the rearview mirror— it will be forcefully driven by a mass exodus of seasoned and skilled employees.

FLOCKING TO SAFETY

In an industry where the baseline is unpredictability, the pandemic has taken it to new heights. Never on such a massive scale has there been a test of humans’ desire for stability. 

Call it what you want; aging out, changing careers or just moving on, but talent leaving the industry is part of the regular cycle. It is rare see a 65-year old bartender in a packed high-end nightclub environment slinging drinks next to people in their early 20’s. Actually, you never see that. This is for many reasons, too in-depth to go into here, but mostly because bartending is hard on your body and your mind. The late nights, the physicality of standing for hours, squatting and leaning over repeatedly, and of course, the unpredictable nature and instability of making a living on tips.

So, every year, in a predictable and steady stream, a few veterans call it quits and the next generation of industry workers step in. This has led to a lack of institutional knowledge, and more importantly, it prevents any sort of real attention or change to bettering industry standards. Hearing “I used to bartend” or “I used to wait tables”, feels like someone reflecting on a long past battle fought.

TRYING TO CATCH UP

As this exodus continues, any momentum we had towards change will now be focused on survival and getting to the point of “new normal” and will pull us even further behind. Owners will be desperate to resume operations as quickly as possible so instead of progress we will have the system we’ve always had; a younger class of industry professionals, paid at minimum wages, thrown into the unpredictable nature of the generation before, waiting for their turn to age out. 

During this time there have been many think pieces written by journalists about our industry, decrying everything from: “The End of Nightlife as we Know it” to “The Apocalypse of the Bar Industry” and of course the over-thought and widely published “Are Bars Safe?”. 

As speculating opinions of outsiders looking in, the headlines made more of an impact on our audience’s perception of our industry than what really exists, negatively affecting the appeal for future talent.

What made the industry so attractive ten years ago is now overshadowed by the perception of it being an “unsafe environment” to work in. 

SYSTEMIC CHANGES

I believe bartending is now on its way back to being a pass-through stepping stone on the path to a more permanent “career”. 

What it all comes down to is simple— owners and bartenders want to be viewed as professionals. We want to enjoy the same respect, integrity and pride that anyone who has dedicated their life to a craft should receive. 

We want a space for our employees to find lifelong fulfilling careers where they are treated and compensated fairly, and to do so, we need to establish systematic operational standards. Which like many issues being brought to light in this country right now, requires a unanimous front and everyone working together.