The theme of a bar has the power to completely transform the customer’s experience and elevate it from bland and boring to memorable. The theme doesn’t just impact the bar design and the setting itself, but also the menu. For example, if a bar promises a high end city experience, then it’s unlikely to be serving local country ales. Similarly, a small country pub doesn’t tend to offer the right setting for a cosmopolitan cocktail.
So, how do you take all of this information and turn it into a theme which supports the design of your bar and allows you to design and create an experience that guests will remember for all the right reasons?
In this article, we’re exploring how to create and select the right theme for your bar – starting with location.
The importance of location
By this we don’t just mean the physical location of your bar, but the clientele who you consider your locals. If, for example, your bar is situated in a small village in the middle of the countryside, then you need to be realistic about who you are attracting and who is likely to visit. While there is benefit to injecting something new into a local area, creating a novel experience that stands out, this needs to be bridged with the idea of your bar complimenting its surroundings.
Yes, people are almost always keen to try something once. But if your bar doesn’t have staying power and doesn’t appeal to your locals all year round and in the long run, the chances of success are low. So be innovative and creative, but make sure that the theme you come up with is something which compliments your location and will appeal to the local community.
Connect your product with your theme
This is a point we touched on earlier in the article – the importance of connecting your bar’s theme with what you serve.
Again, you can’t create a country pub-style bar and expect to serve high end cocktails: it simply doesn’t work. In order to create a theme which underpins your business and delivers a cohesive experience to guests, you need to ensure harmony across the setting, the design of the bar, and your menu.
A good way to go about this is to start with what it is you want to serve – after all, if your product isn’t any good then you won’t get repeat guests. So, think about what you want to serve and build a theme from there, using colour, light, and accessories to create a space which compliments your ideal menu.
Take inspiration from cultural traditions and build your own theme
If you’re stuck on creating your own unique theme, then a good place to start is with existing cultures and more traditional themes – for example taking inspiration from different countries and adding your own spin.
By way of an example, let’s start with an authentic English country pub – the ideal starting point for a bar owner who wants to sell really good beer and ale, and a handful of classic cocktails. From there, you could decide to use all English-made spirits and serve English wines and beers, adding a modern twist in the form of the way drinks are presented. The design of your bar could be classically modern and minimalist, or centred around a pop of colour that is present throughout your menu – for example, encompassing the purple of British blackberries, or the green of the English landscape.
In short, you can take existing and timeless cultural themes and build them into your own unique setting, with a theme which connects your menu and the design of your bar.
For more advice on creating a unique theme which compliments your menu and provides guests with a memorable experience, our team are here to help.