Bar Hacks

On the second episode of Bar Hacks: ReFire, host David Klemt (KRG Hospitality) and co-host Bradley Knebel (Empowered Hospitality) chat about three real-world restaurant and bar situations. The duo discuss guest perception, F&B influencer culture and marketing, "firing" problematic customers (a distinction is made between guest and customer), and more through the analysis of three stories pulle...

Welcome to the first episode of Bar Hacks: ReFire ! We've changed the standard Bar Hacks format to address real-life hospitality industry issues. We're also introducing a co-host to help provide different insights and perspectives: Bradley Knebel, client services director at Empowered Hospitality. Bradley has 20 years of experience in hospitality, including ten years with Danny Meyer's Union Squar...

Social media can seem daunting to some people. Where do you start? How often should you post? What kind of posts should you put out there? And what channels do you need to use? To answer these questions (and more), we asked Zachary Helsel if he'd come on the podcast. Zack will be the first to tell you that he's made all the mistakes one can make when building their social media presence. However,...

Just weeks after speaking with design legend Roger Thomas we were given the opportunity to speak with Alex Woogmaster. Alex is one of Roger's protégés, and the former creative director for Wynn Resorts. Toward the end of 2019, Alex founded Woogmaster Studio, the design agency for which he is also creative director. Interestingly, Las Vegas wasn't on his radar. In fact, neither was interior design;...

Psychotherapist, soon-to-be organizational psychologist, and former bartender Laura Louise Green drops by the Bar Hacks podcast to talk about a very important topic: burnout. The hospitality industry has been taking strides to address many of the challenges that affect hospitality professionals' physical, mental, and emotional health. Burnout is one of the many dangerous issues we all face, yet we...

Real Las Vegas royalty stopped by the Bar Hacks podcast! That's not hyperbole: Roger Thomas truly changed the face of Las Vegas and how people approaching gaming around the world over his 40-year career. While Roger has made "cameo" appearances on projects for clients here and there, he really worked for a single client, building the Mirage, the Bellagio, and Wynn and Encore resorts...

Let's tech and point-of-sale systems! Adam Howe, solutions engineer at GoTab, popped in to talk to host David Klemt about what the platform can do for operators. GoTab is a feature-rich, operator- and guest-focused POS that, interestingly, can run on basically any operating system. That means that it's very likely an operator looking to switch POS platforms already has hardware that can ru...

Marybeth Shaw is the chief creative officer at Wolf-Gordon, an American design company that provides wallcoverings, wall protection, upholstery, paint, and more. Shaw has achieved an MBA from NYU Stern, an M. Arch. from the Ecole d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville, an MCP from MIT, and, most recently, an MBA. Further, she earned the HiP Award for Creative Direction from Interior Design in 2017, an...

When we were given the opportunity to speak with a guest about sake, we jumped at it. Ryan Johnson is the head sommelier at Umu, a Michelin Starred Japanese restaurant in London. He looks after an inventory of more than 140 sakes while also remembering the preferences of guests who expect high-level service. During this conversation Ryan shares how he went from commis sommelier to head sommelier;...

We're excited to welcome Matthias Ingelmann, bars manager at KOL Mezcaleria in London, back to the Bar Hacks podcast! We first spoke to Matthias on episode 106, mostly about KOL, one of the World's 50 Best Restaurants, and his role as the bars manager. This time, however, we're learning about mezcal. Matthias breaks down styles of mezcal, regions (including the fact that mezcal is made...

We're excited to share some huge news with you! There's a brand-new hospitality industry and F&B conference launching later this month in Cincinnati. So, we thought it would be a fantastic idea to sit down with co-founder Sarah Engstrand to learn all about it. The inaugural edition of Flyover Conference takes place from Monday, June 24 to Tuesday, June 25. During the day, attendees wil...

We love a savvy operator here at Bar Hacks and KRG Hospitality. Juan Please Drink Company co-founder Pete Flores certainly falls into that category. For several years, Flores was sure someone would bring a simple-but-delicious drink to the RTD space: lemonade and tea with a tequila base. Yet, that prediction never did come to pass. So, as Flores says, realizing that door was open, he stepped throu...

We had the opportunity to speak with Ana Rosenstein, the CEO of Amante 1530, and leapt at the chance. This new amaro is an interesting entry into the space, hitting more than one sweet spot. For example, Aperol is 11% ABV, while Campari ranges from 24-29% ABV. Amante 1530 is bottled at 15-percent ABV (and there could be a higher-proof version in the cards as the brand grows). Further, Amante 1530...

The New Orleans Spirits Competition returns to Tales of the Cocktail for its third edition! NOSC's competition has an interesting and unique element born from a focus on transparency: public tasting and feedback. To learn more about this competition we sat down with Wayne Curtis, head judge and spirits writer, and Matthew Sharpe, director of operations and hospitality veteran. During this conv...

The fantastic Anne Becerra returns to the Bar Hacks podcast! Anne is also returning to the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado, this year. That incredible event takes place from June 14 to June 16. In addition to talking about the Food & Wine Classic, Anne and Bar Hacks host David Klemt chat about beer styles to check out and put on your menu now; service and turning non-beer drinkers o...

Sponsored by Perrier, North America's 50 Best Bars is returning to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, on April 23. The 2024 ceremony represents the third edition of North America's 50 Best Bars. And who better to share details about the upcoming ranking than Emma Sleight, Head of Content: Bars & Hotels for World's 50 Best? Emma dropped by the Bar Hacks podcast to talk about the 2024 ce...

We know, we know—it's April 1 and we usually only release episodes on Tuesdays. However, this isn't a joke episode. Tales of the Cocktail Foundation really does want your help on an important research project. The TOTCF began studying the relationship between bartenders and brands last year. Now, they're partnering with IWSR, Drinks Market Research to dive even further into this topic....

It has taken a while but it has finally happened! Michael Tipps, friend of KRG Hospitality and podcast host David Klemt, dropped by Bar Hacks . The two kick this episode off by discussing the 2024 Bar & Restaurant Expo. Both Tipps and KRG Hospitality president Doug Radkey are speaking at this year's show. In fact, they're teaching back to back during a bootcamp on Monday, March 18. Aft...

James Grant, World Class Global Bartender of the Year 2021 and Canada’s 100 Best Bartender of the Year 2022, stops into the Bar Hacks podcast! As the director of mixology at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, James oversees three distinct concepts: CLOCKWORK, REIGN, and The Library Bar. As he explains, this role is quite a step up from bartending at and managing an 18-seat speake...

Happy new year, and welcome to 2024! We wanted to kick off season five of the Bar Hacks podcast with an amazing guest. Host David Klemt had the opportunity to chat with Colin Asare-Appiah, an industry icon he's wanted to talk to for many years. Colin is Bacardí's trade director of multiculture and lifestyle, and the brand's LGBTQIA+ advocate. Not only does he spread the message of dive...

Finian Sedgwick, the COO of BAXUS , calls into the Bar Hacks podcast to talk about this exciting new platform. He also shares the details of another platform within the BAXUS family: BoozApp . BAXUS is a natural progression of Finian's career path in hospitality and luxury spirits and wines. While he started his journey with Jameson, he followed a path that led him to the luxury segments of wi...

When it comes to curating a beer program, creating a complementary cocktail program, and delivering an incredible beer program, we can't think of anyone better than Anne Becerra. And lucky for us, she stopped by the Bar Hacks podcast! Anne is the first female Certified Cicerone in New York City and has been working in beer for more than a decade. More importantly, however, she's as passion...

There are those who say that, in comparison to cities in Canada and the United States of America, London has been slow to pursue agave spirits. However, KOL Mezcaleria has been changing that at a rapid pace over the past few years. Since opening their doors, KOL Restaurant has found its way onto the World's 50 Best Restaurants list, and Kol Mezcaleria can be found on the World's 50 Best Di...

Just ahead of an incredibly busy but rewarding and exciting trade and consumer gathering of thousands of people, London Cocktail Week co-founders Hannah Sharman-Cox and Siobhan Payne drop by the Bar Hacks podcast. Unlike most of our guests, Hannah and Siobhan aren't bartenders or bar operators. However, they're every bit as passionate about hospitality and the bar world as the people who h...

Simone Caporale, an internationally renowned bartender and operator, swings by the Bar Hacks podcast to talk spirits, branding, the guest experience, and operations. Noticing a gap in the industry and seeing a way to lend his expertise to help grow spirits brands, Simone and Luca Missagli founded Cocktail Concierge, a brand-building agency focusing on craft spirits brands. One of the most recent b...