Today, 50 Best launches the first article in a new content series – Dispatches from the bars’ frontline, in partnership with Perrier. We will be interviewing bartenders and bar owners all over the world to compare and contrast their ever-changing circumstances and report as they react to the shifting coronavirus landscape. Read on to understand the global situation in bars today, as we share stories of those working at the vanguard of the virus
NEW YORK
Linden Pride
Dante, The World’s Best Bar 2019, sponsored by Perrier
People paint a grim picture of New York, but it’s spring and sunny, so today, things aren’t so bad. With Memorial Day weekend just behind us, people’s spirits seem to be up. For Dante, we loaded up our van with cocktails and headed down to the Hamptons – which sit in New York State, so within the boundaries the local governor has imposed – to sell to-go cocktails.
A lot of people I’ve spoken to are making comparisons to the aftermath of 9/11. There’s been a unified spirit here that you generally wouldn’t associate with a city like New York. Somebody joked the other day that when people start barging past each other again, we know we will be back to some sort of normality.
Dante is currently only open for takeaway service
As a business, we decided very early on in the pandemic that we would do everything we could to continue trading and helping the people we could around us. In the first week after lockdown we served 50 meals to local key workers and this has been at the core of our restructure. It forced us to reposition our brand in a meaningful way and I’m very grateful for this.
For our customers and our team, we wanted to create something tangible that people could work towards. We set up a donor page where people could pay for meals going to hospital staff. We are now up to around 400 meals a day, which we provide at cost price. That means I’ve been able to keep the majority of the team employed. Today we have 32 of our 49 staff back on their normal wages and we have also been able to continue to pay for everyone’s healthcare and keep our staff who were on visas. If we had closed our doors and terminated contracts, international staff would have had 60 days to leave the country.
For Dante itself, the bar is about 90sq m, which is smaller than many people’s apartments. We have been lobbying to close off McDougal Street; it’s not an emergency thoroughfare so we could have tables spread out across the street, in theory. It would be a great way to appreciate this city as it starts to get warmer and would hugely help our business once we can reopen. This kind of approach seems to have been successful in European cities such as Paris. We are hopeful it can work here too.
However, if we’re only able to run at 50% capacity or similar, we will need to renegotiate with our landlords. The local government have been good in that no businesses can be evicted until the end of August and landlords are not allowed to charge late fees. No personal liabilities can be held against proprietors either, so landlords have little collateral. We’ve been relatively lucky in this respect.
Dante's legendary Garibaldi, currently available to go
Right now, we will just continue to develop our cocktail-to-go offering. All cocktails are priced at roughly 25% less than we charge in the bar, so the uptake has been good. We’ve also partnered with Perrier, which has supplied us stock to provide free water with each delivery, and also with florists, who we worked with on Mother’s Day to send out flowers with every order. We also send out coasters and have designed Spotify playlists for people to download so that they can experience a bit of Dante at home.
Food and beverage finds people on every level. Restaurants and bars to help celebrate and commiserate, and will be the first port of call for guests as things open up. We just want to be able to be here and offer that hospitality we all crave.
Leo Robitschek
The NoMad, No.4 in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019
It’s been a tough couple of months in New York. Personally, I caught the virus and I was sick for four weeks. It got pretty bad at one point and I was admitted to hospital for nine days. Getting out of hospital really lit a fire under my ass. I wanted to do everything I could to raise money and help any charity that would allow me.
I’m talking to you today dressed in chef whites from the NoMad kitchen as we are preparing meals for needy people locally. It’s been a really interesting experience for me and the team; I’m learning so much from pastry chefs and line cooks that I didn’t know before. It’s brought us all together.
Leo Robitschek behind the NoMad bar
In terms of operations after reopening, we are looking at all the different methods we have available. NoMad has 500 touchpoints that we will need to abide by in terms of service. Each surface has a risk grading and we have worked out how often it will need to be cleansed, depending on where it is in the building. We will have infrared screening of guests on the way in and thermometers. We will also be asking guests for full information for tracing purposes.
When each guest is welcomed, they will receive an envelope on their table with a mask in it. All menus will be disposable and with QR codes for remote ordering. We are designing a service style that tries to take as few trips to the guest’s table as possible, but still makes the guest feel special. This will all be determined by a quick questionnaire that guests will be sent in advance where they can dictate the style of service they would rather receive.
Fortunately for us it is little effort to move out tables to abide by distancing. At the moment, the ruling looks as though it might be around six feet between tables. We are also investigating how outside seating would work.
It’s been great to witness how the teams have all pulled together. Every time I log onto a Zoom call, there’s been a new thing they’ve been up to. Nearly all the team has bleached their hair blonde and the boys have been getting involved with nail art. I’ve encouraged them to use this time for self-development and use it as an opportunity to take stock and think about the future.
Personally, my recovery is getting quicker. When I first got out of hospital, I couldn’t walk a couple of metres. More recently, I’ve been exploring the outer regions of the Hudson Valley and hiking. Although the most rewarding thing for me was going back into the hospital and giving some gifts to the people who looked after me. The lengths that carers all over the world are going to help keep us safe really are amazing. We need to remember their sacrifice for many years to come.
Steve Schneider
Employees Only, No.26 in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019
It’s been a real mix here. Some have had to deal with the virus and situation worse than others. Some bartenders have been enjoying the rest, while others have been able to hustle on the side. Speaking for myself, I’ve been able to get much-needed rest and also sort out personal and family issues. I’ve also been keeping a watchful eye and contributing where I can to any of my affiliated bars and restaurants.
Many places only get one shot at reopening, so we’ll have to be patient and make it count. There are many things to consider, as once those doors are open again, the bills come back as well. They passed a new law here which allows cocktails to go, so I’ll be sure to explore that option to help offset the imminent capacity issues.
Employees Only's diminutive space that will be affected by social distancing
Based on my experience at The Odd Couple in Shanghai, which has made significant recovery – we are only missing the tourists now – I am hopeful we can make a full recovery here as well. I am aware that it will be a long, hard, uphill battle. I think the hardest part for everyone would be to get over the initial fear of going out again.
Once case numbers prove it’s OK and hopefully a vaccine is introduced, I am prepared to do what I can to keep the place afloat. For now, we hold on tight, brace for impact and hope to weather the storm. Until then, we take it step by step.
I think the biggest challenge for all the places I am associated with will come during the reopening phases in keeping the business going during extended periods of reduced capacity, which seem to be unavoidable. For good reason, too: none of us want to see people get sick. Safety for our staff and guests will always be top priority.
LONDON
Declan McGurk
American Bar, No.5 in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019
With two young kids, it’s been a real blessing to be able to spend so much time at home with them. In the bar world, we can be so blinkered to this part of life. My wife is still working, so the home schooling, meal prep and home workouts have all fallen to me.
It’s also afforded me some time to keep exercising. I fractured my spine in three places in December 2018 and the recovery has been slow, so being able to get stronger and do some running and circuit training has been important to me.
We are staring down the barrel of the effect this will have on the bar industry. The hard days are still to come; the forecast is bleak for bars in the UK. I understand why the government here has been conservative with its announcements, but there appears to be a real lack of strategy. We’re hoping that our Chancellor will make an announcement this week about what happens after the furlough scheme [government salary contribution in the UK] ends in August. If hospitality businesses are not expected to make mandatory contributions to workers’ salaries straight away, then we have a chance.
The date being mentioned here for reopening is 4th July, but I think that is unrealistic. It’s worth noting the omission of the word ‘bar’ from any document the government has released. A4 licensed premises [which UK bars operate under] are unlikely to be included here. It will be interesting to see whether A3 [restaurant licences] will be featured. A lot will ride on the next few governmental announcements. 
The famous curves of The Savoy hotel's American Bar
If I had to make a prediction, I would say that we will have to move into a more café-style environment, with limited bar and toilet access. Outdoor access seems to be the route the government is taking, but the UK and London in particular just aren’t set up for it.
For bars, we won’t be able to do anything until consumer confidence has returned. The pictures online and in the papers of people drinking outside bring false hope. Until the government comes out and says ‘we will be supporting the night economy’, everything else will be a false start. It will probably be a watered down version of what we are seeing in cities like Berlin now, but Germany has given its unequivocal backing to restaurants and bars. And the German government don’t have the backdrop of the failure in care homes that we’ve had in the UK.
All of the team at The Savoy have been furloughed and I’ve kept in regular contact. It’s vital for managers to make sure that people are using their time properly and leading by example. Keeping physically fit is essential, as is being careful with their own alcohol consumption. I’ve also recommended that people remove as many outgoings as possible. If my team are able to reduce spend by going to live in France with their families, I encourage it.
Hotel bars will be critical as part of the recovery. The fact that these venues have stayed open through World Wars and now find themselves closed is really telling. It will be easier to fill the hotel bedrooms with guests than it will the bar. If our government goes with a two-metre social distancing ruling, the bar will be at 25% capacity. I don’t believe that social distancing can exist in a social environment. The two metre ruling isn’t a nationwide viable option here. The next few weeks will be key in setting our strategy for the future.
Agostino Perrone
Connaught Bar, No.2 in in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019
There’s not a huge amount I can share today. Firstly, because I do not know and secondly because the hotel in which we work is also uncertain. All we know is that we will follow the guidance and if we are told that we can open on 4th July, then that is what we will do.
We’ve been trying to get our heads around it all and how we might be able to work within the bar. We have drawn some diagrams to recreate the flow of guests around the bar if we can only use a half room. What I do know is that half a metre will make a huge difference. We’ve also looked at options for still being able to use our martini trolley and how this service will look to guests.
Agostino Perrone and Connaught Bar's martini trolley
I think the reopening will be much like what the experiences are like in supermarkets in the UK: some people observe distancing, some people take little notice. Some guests will be scared, some won’t mind. We will need to develop a service style that makes both kind of guest feel comfortable.
I’ve been speaking to my team Giorgio [Bargiani] and Maura [Milia] every day to stay in touch. We’ve been talking creatively about what we can do to reopen and we’re actually working on a new menu and making the necessary trials to design some new drinks.
A couple of serves may be ready in July, which will be a good touchpoint to interact with guests. Psychologically for ourselves, we need to feel serene and comfortable. We all have a big responsibility, but it we don’t feel right, we won’t be able to communicate that to guests.
Andrei Marcu
Coupette, No.23 in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019
Lockdown has been challenging for all of us. Going from being busy daily to being stuck in our houses in such a short time was unexpected and not easy to adapt. Yet our team stuck together and we are managing to go through it. We’ve built some internal projects to keep us busy. We set up a competition called Cupboard Drinks where we’re challenging each other to make tasty drinks from what we have at home. I’ve also used the time to write new training manuals for techniques like fermentation and distillation.
I miss the bar environment terribly. Bars are an escape from day-to-day life and for a bartender, it’s the same. The bar for me is where I can express the best version of myself and it’s not just about making drinks. The atmosphere, the social engagement, the service, the lights – so many small details that create these environments we all love and miss.
Coupette ready for service
This week we are looking at branching into delivering cocktails and food. These pre-bottled cocktails will continue once we are able to reopen – they will be a new part of the business model. I’m also talking to some fashion designers whom we can collaborate with.
The industry support has been brilliant; everybody wanted to help. From brands to suppliers and partnerships, they all got in touch and made sure we are safe and we have everything we need in order to go through this. From a local government point of view, I would say that more could have been done. We were hoping to get a bit of help with the rent and that would have eased the financial pressure. Also, in terms of guidance, information and day-to-day support could have been better. A letter or some means of explanation for businesses like us to get running again and how to become a safer business for our guests and our staff would have been really helpful.
SINGAPORE
David Nguyen-Luu
Manhattan, No.8 in Asia’s 50 Best Bars and Michter's Art of Hospitality Award winner 2020
We heard two days ago that Singapore’s Circuit Breaker has just been pushed back another month and we won’t be able to reopen until 1st July. It will have been three months since we last served a drink. The government want to get to a zero Rate of Infection number. I get it.
I only joined Manhattan last autumn – my first year wasn’t supposed to go like this. At Manhattan we are quite lucky as we operate under a restaurant licence, which means we should be able to open before those with the older bars licence. The government said that bars won’t open until August at the earliest.
Our usual capacity here is 110. With the social distancing measures, we think that we will be operating around 40, so about 30% of what we usually do. The key thing for our owners is to get the bar open and operate as safely as possible. As a hotel bar it is an important thing to offer guests, so we just want to create an environment where people feel comfortable.
The entrance to the currently closed Manhattan
Keeping the team motivated hasn’t been hard as they all want to be involved. We’ve got lots of virtual sessions set up with other 50 Best bars and they’ve been researching content that we can produce. Our senior bartenders have run out of leave, so they’re working in pastry kitchens. Our floor manager Susanna has become brilliant at making cakes.
When we reopen it’s going to be our big opportunity to launch my first new menu at Manhattan. It’s going to be a complete revamp; the only two cocktails that will stay on the menu are our Solera-aged Negroni and the Manhattan. We will still be focussing on the New York theme, but this one will focus on the personalities of NYC: politicians, actors, celebrities – people who have put a marker down.
In essence, I just want us to be able to get back to doing what we are good at: serving great drinks, delivering excellent hospitality and watching people enjoy themselves.
Thomas Girard
Operation Dagger, No.30 in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019
Things haven’t been too bad, actually. We have been working on our new project Dagger Metamorphosis and delivering drinks. A really cool group of guys who love the cocktail scene in Singapore are going out and delivering cocktails at no charge to us.
Singapore seems to have accepted delivery cocktails much more than many other cities – maybe because we are so compact. We have been taking great care to design beautiful labels so they feel like something special. We have also collaborated with an Indian restaurant called Elephant Room to design some Dagger-style drinks with Indian spices to complement their delivery food. It’s proving really successful.
Operation Dagger's subterranean bar
The main thing we are doing during this lockdown period is furthering our R&D process. We knew this situation would put a halt to business, so our focus is to re-evaluate our techniques and processes. When Luke [Whearty] set up the Dagger concept it was very new, but people caught up. Now things are changing and we want to get ahead of the game. We want to make it more authentically Singaporean and to represent urban Singapore.
Currently we are asking ourselves questions about everything that we are doing, which extends far beyond a new menu. The next step will be engaging our guests, our loyal fans and the bartending community. I have very much admired how everyone is pulling together across the world in this difficult time.
Dispatches from the bars’ frontline, in partnership with Perrier, is a new content series from 50 Best which explores bartenders’ experiences as they face up to the ever-shifting challenges presented by the global pandemic.
To stay up to date with news and videos from The World's 50 Best Bars, find us on Instagram at @50BestBars, follow us on Twitter at @50BestBars, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/50BestBars and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Visit the Bar Recovery Hub for helpful resources and content for hospitality workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
