Long-Term Bar Residencies Have Usurped the Guest Shift
Neal Bodenheimer is holding court behind the bar, expounding on the nitty-gritty of New Orleans drinking culture, such as the history of the Hurricane at Pat O’ Brien’s and the Fassionola syrup it incorporates. It’s not the typical view of Freret Street beyond the windows of Cure that’s visible in the background, though; it’s the crashing waves of the Pacific beyond Bar Raya within The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel in Dana Point, Calif. Bodenheimer brought the best of Nola and Cure with him to Southern California, but it wasn’t for a wham bam, thank you ma’am guest shift. It was for a multi-month residency. Because why end a good thing after one night?
Cure’s residency at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, which lasted from January through March this year, is part of a growing movement of bars and bartenders putting down temporary roots, testing the waters, and seeing if maybe, just maybe, there’s something more serious at stake beyond a no strings attached good time. The global “Guest Shift Circuit,” and the vote-chasing mentality that drives much of it, isn’t going anywhere, but for those willing to invest a little bit more of themselves into a longer lasting venture, the residency is now rising into prominence.
“Residencies are a much bigger commitment than guest shifts, financially, personally — in all ways,” says Moe Aljaff, co-owner of Schmuck. The anticipated venue debuted this January amid the East Village’s corridor of chaotic cocktail bars after he and co-owner Juliette Larrouy ran two successful residencies, one in Miami followed by another in its future home of New York.
“I think residencies could be the next step of guest shifts and pop-ups,” Aljaff continues. “A guest shift is fun, but it’s one night and done. A residency allows a bar team to really embed themselves in a new city, test their concept in a different market, and build deeper connections.”
Why Bars and Bartenders Are Opting for Residencies
Bars, and the people behind them, are becoming identifiable brands in a way they’ve never been before, leading to group expansions and spinoffs into new concepts. Residencies are an extra path for fostering that momentum and becoming more of a known commodity.
Credit: Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel
Tokyo Confidential co-founders Holly Graham and Tom Egerton saw such an opportunity when they decided to set down on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido for the winter ski season. “The benefit in Niseko Confidential was expanding into a market with a huge number of inbound tourists from around Asia Pacific and the world,” Egerton says. These are travelers familiar with Japan and who are likely to return, and introducing them to the offshoot is a direct means of driving visitors to their main shop in Tokyo.
This type of residency therefore offered a platform for brand building and raising awareness in an experiential way. “Our branding is strong, and we think it can be easily exported anywhere in the world and adjusted to the local market while still maintaining its original core values and principles,” Egerton says.
In an era where people travel the world to visit touted cocktail bars, reaching out to consumers in a new place is no small thing. There’s real potential to entice some of them to make a visit to the mothership. “We see a lot of travelers from [Southern California] so it was a great opportunity to provide locals and visitors to the resort a taste of New Orleans’ craft cocktail experience,” Bodenheimer says.
For Schmuck, it was a bit different. Rather than ushering visitors to an existing bar in a different city, its residencies provided an opportunity for a team with a forthcoming project to promote itself to its future local audience. “A residency is a great way to test the waters — not just in terms of drinks and service, but also in understanding the culture and what people respond to,” Aljaff says. It’s face-to-face relationship building, and also a low-risk means of experimenting with a live studio audience.
“The best part of a residency is the ability for us to exchange ideas and learn different best practices.”
When, at long last, Schmuck opened to packed crowds earlier this year, Aljaff was able to look back at the residencies as useful, worthwhile stepping stones. “Instead of coming into New York cold, we already had people excited and talking about what we were doing,” Aljaff says. “That’s invaluable.”
And for the host bar — or in the case of the Cure residency at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel host hotel — bringing in an established partner boosts the perception of the entire operation. Developing and deploying a robust lineup of New Orleans-centric drinks and corresponding bites from the kitchen exemplifies the strides the property has taken to enhance its F&B offerings on the whole.
Credit: Back Bar
“The team was looking for a creative refresh of their bar program that could shine outside the expectations of a typical hotel bar,” Bodenheimer says. “They thought it would be incredible to bring out an award-winning cocktail bar from another part of the country to Orange County.”
That’s not to say it’s a one-way street of knowledge and information, though. “The best part of a residency is the ability for us to exchange ideas and learn different best practices,” Bodenheimer says. “While I was able to share my expertise in craft cocktails, The Ritz-Carlton is famous for its outstanding warmth and hospitality, something my team always aspires for.”
Challenges to Making the Residency Work
Opening a new bar isn’t a marathon or a sprint. It’s both, through a maze, with Ninja Warrior obstacles appearing without warning around every corner. Making a residency work in a space where the incoming team doesn’t even have full control adds even more to the degree of difficulty.
“As the industry becomes more global, and as more bartenders look for ways to experiment without the pressure of opening a full venue, I think we’ll see more long-term residencies popping up.”
“There are a lot of moving parts, you’re essentially trying to replicate a bar experience in a space that isn’t yours, often with a small team, using gear and ingredients that might not be what you’re used to,” Aljaff says. “There’s always an element of chaos. You’re also constantly adapting — to different bar setups, guest expectations, even legal and logistical things like sourcing specific ingredients or licensing.”
All of this is being done within a finite period of time, and in the case of a seasonal residency, it’s a rigid window during which enough visitors to sustain the operation will be around. For Niseko Confidential, the bar had a snow season of 93 days to power through, period. But even without seasonal restrictions, the same pressure builds for a contracted residency that’s bound to end.
“Just when you start getting into a rhythm, it’s time to pack up and leave,” Aljaff says. “That can be frustrating, especially when you feel like you’re just scratching the surface of what you could do in a city. But thankfully, for us, we knew our end goal when we finished last winter was the opening of our own spot.”
Credit: Niseko Confidential
For Niseko Confidential, Egerton and Graham were able to divide and conquer in a way that kept the main bar and its seasonal outpost afloat without either diminishing in quality or substance. “I led the creative direction to ensure Niseko Confidential had the same main artery flowing through it from Tokyo Confidential through the art, music, and staff training,” Graham says. “Our head bartender, Waka Murata, also created a range of cocktails that ring true to our palate, and with Tom running ops at Niseko, it was easy to keep the vibe alive through him.”
After operating two residencies while working toward the opening of Schmuck, Aljaff, on the other hand, couldn’t imagine managing another while his home bar was in operation. “If I’m already running a full-time bar, committing to an ongoing residency is pretty much impossible,” he says, laughing. A residency just isn’t feasible for every bar or bartender. It’s very much a right-time, right-place, right-opportunity concept. “I think it must be something that adds to the journey, not just another gig for the sake of it,” Aljaff says.
Our collective idea of what a cocktail bar could and should be has evolved in recent years, the boundaries blurred, the definition expanded. Residencies are a new part of the mix, and are bound to become more prevalent in the years ahead as the ever-more recognizable faces behind ever-more global businesses masquerading as neighborhood bars seize the opportunities presented to them to grow further still.
“As the industry becomes more global, and as more bartenders look for ways to experiment without the pressure of opening a full venue, I think we’ll see more long-term residencies popping up,” Aljaff says, pun perhaps unintended. “It’s a win-win: Bars get fresh energy, brands get exposure, and bartenders get to bring their vision to new audiences without a massive financial risk.”
Goodbye, one night stand. Hello, month-long fling.
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