It is many a bartender’s dream to open their own bar one day. Not everyone gets to do it. But there is a small group of experienced bartenders out there for whom opening a bar is a more regular occurrence. It might not be a bar of their own, but for folks like Bobby Carey from Studio Ryecroft, opening bars is their job.
In this newsletter:
- how former bartender Bobby Carey has set up his own advice and consulting agency, Studio Ryecroft
- Studio Ryecroft’s first project
- quick fixes to improve a bar’s quality
- Plus, a noteworthy assistant group beverage gig, Vitelli’s Upstairs, a new day for Bar Demo, Bartenders’ Weekender scholarships, Spirited Awards, and The Doss House is looking for a general manager
Bobby — who spent a number of years bartending in Sydney (Earl’s Juke Joint in Newtown was his last post in town) — moved to Singapore to join Proof Creative, the consulting and advisory arm of Proof & Company, where he worked as a creative director, responsible for developing and executing new bar concepts for a range of clients across the globe. After that business faced multiple liquidations, Bobby found himself forging a new direction. While he may not be opening his own bar (it is better to do that with other people’s money, anyway), he does have his own business, Studio Ryecroft, which he has co-founded in Singapore with colleague (and fellow ex-Proof & Company employee) Tom Hogan. Here, he talks about setting up the business, their first client, and how to make a good bar better.
BOOTHBY: What is the big idea behind Studio Ryecroft?
BOBBY CAREY: It’s something that has been in the works for a long time. Since leaving Australia, I’ve been more in front of a bar than behind a bar, designing them and creating it and lucky enough to work with some of the world’s best bars and properties globally. I’ve been working pretty much from America to New Zealand over the last couple of years — the only continents we haven’t done is the two Arctics and South America.