The restaurant industry is notoriously prone to failure. The human factors of operations and logistics coupled with the general fickleness of the dining public creates a very unpredictable combination.
An anecdote. A man is opening a cocktail bar. Hoping to crack the code, he runs a series of focus groups asking guests what they look for in a night spot. They answer, “We would like for it to be well lit with comfortable seats, ambient music, and attentive staff.”
So he builds a beautiful space with delicate mood lighting, white leather chairs, soft ambient music, and a highly-trained staff of mixologists.
It was perfect. But no one came. Not even the focus group participants. They were all next door at the Irish bar pouring beer on each other.
That’s the heart of the challenge.
An original, much needed aesthetic in a world full of chains, Bohemian Biergarten anchors Boulder’s 13th street in a town already famous for its bar and restaurant scene.
That wasn’t always the case. This rebrand and evolution, along with ongoing conversations with the owner, Zdenek, helped shape BBG into the unique space and downtown fixture that it is today.
To match BBG’s evolving interior and concept, their advertising presence reflects their quirky, bohemian experience. It cuts through the noise, creates matchable expectations, and is flexible enough to remain competitive and fresh.
Godot entered into this engagement as partial owners and investors in this mixed use events and dining space. It was not ultimately successful, but we learned tremendous lessons.
We learned about the importance of staff interactions as part of the brand experience. We figured out that getting people through the door is not necessarily the hard part. And we got to experience the day-to-day stress and operations of running a restaurant firsthand with very real stakes.
If you are starting or struggling with your space, we would love to have a frank discussion with you of things we wish we would have known from the perspective of life-long consultants.
