Changes!!

New name, same bar, but more changes and updates.

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The Dirty Little Tricks

Sorry this post has been a long time coming but, well, I've been busy. Very bloody busy.

Anyway, as promised the little tricks we used to save hundreds of dollars on this bar set-up are posted and explained below:


A quick refresher on how the bar turned out, the placement of everything and the de-cluttering of the back-wall:

Almost Finished

 Importantly for us was a way of displaying and storing our stem-ware without the need for shelving or other items of furniture that just add cost and take time to source. Here is how we achieved our wall of glass:

These hanging stem-ware rails are amazingly useful, glasses stay dry and dust free without the need to fix shelving or attack the rear wall.

As many of you in the industry may have realised, glass rails are surprisingly expensive. All options are ceiling mounted and require existing shelving or cost over $60 per rack for wall-mounted. These pictured above are literally $4 from K-Mart, we grabbed the hacksaw and some decent sized metal brackets and voila, problem solved.

Here is our pretty little Art Deco Diana mirror. It took a lot of hunting but for $425 she certainly saved money in the long run. We found her in a suburban bazaar hanging above a cabinet full of old medical equipment. If you can still find a second-hand shop that hasn't been raped by the local fixie-riding tosser brigade (hipsters) then treat it like the goldmine it truly is and start digging.

This is the mirror we were originally going to have custom made with aged glass and silvering to give a faux antique look. It was the cheapest quote we could get at around $1300 including delivery.

Here's how we tested the layout and the bare steps that we later filled with bottles. The lamps we found in the same place as the mirror and are just a cheap plaster cast of an original Deco-design but at $30 each that's fine by me.

The step for the bottles was made from composite post timber. Essentially it's lots of pine glued together and then cut to a uniform size and shape. A good hardware or timber place will stock it at around $150 per 4M length pre-primed, plus cutting to size and delivery means just under $200. Some 50c steel brackets, PVA Glue and another can of our hammered brown metallic spray paint soon has a step formed.

another angle showing the gap that slightly un-even cutting to size will inevitably leave. Some cheap filler left over form the previous owners solved that hassle.

Almost finished!

Remember when working with PVA and spray paint, wipe and dry the surface to get rid of any glue residue before painting.

A $60 corner shelf from the same bazaar as the mirror and lamps and there you have it, one finished, funky bar conversion for under $2000 including paint, wallpaper and some small furnishings.

The Finished Bar and Bathroom

Due to popular demand and higher than expected ticket sales.....

I'm finally posting the finished bar photos and bathroom pictures. Take a look at some cheap alternatives to professional fit-outs and see how those little tips and tricks worked out for us in the final product.

 Yes... This is the same bar. The Heineken mats prove it! This is a daytime shot just to show the features of the bar in some better lighting. I'll post soon regarding how we made the small changes such as wall-mounted glass rails, corner top-shelf pyramid and the bottle steps in front of the mirror. You'll also get the whole mirror-finding saga and reasons for choosing the deco-period piece you see here. She's a pretty young lady holding a full moon so please let us know what you think we should call her on facebook or in the comments!

 Take a look at what a simple piece of cheap pewter flower vase/candelabra can do to a manky old bathroom. Also as the hand dryers appear to not work currently we are using some cheap but interesting resin bowls to hold paper hand towels and compliment the simple colour scheme.

Come on down and try one of our pre-prohibition or post-2005 cocktail revival period cocktails. I took a lot of time to source rare ingredients and spirits, some of which haven't been distilled in over 100 years. A cocktail nerd, whisky buff or gin fanatic's paradise in the making and we are always happy to learn your favourite cocktails.

Clean Up

Ahoy there!

In all hospitality ventures there is one thing that is harder to get started on than anything else. It's not the accounts (although I do live life in fear of ledgers and receipts) it's the cleaning. The photos I'm posting kind of show you why "swabbing the decks" in a newly transferred premises can be days of work and not the minutes it takes at home.

If at all possible bring on board all family, friends, friends partners and strange guys asking you for change on the street (it's for a caramel latte/the bus/a phone call I swear). Here is my sister doing her baby brother a massive favour in getting behind the cook top and cleaning eons of grease and charcoal off the stainless splashback.

Make sure you do this as excessive build up of grease and charred food soon become impossible to remove, when they reach this level you are risking your food permit and compromising your insurance. The same goes for your flue (exhaust/extractor) any build up of grease or foodstuffs can become flammable and void your insurance so get it serviced as soon as possible or you might be standing in some burnt out ruins with an angry landlord and no money.

 Here's photo no. 1 of a corner of the kitchen floor. This is what grease looks like when it hasn't been mopped, scrubbed and disinfected in a long time. It creates a slippery surface risking workers compensation claims, develops bacteria risking food poisoning claims and is pretty damn disgusting.

Here is two hours of hardcore mopping with hospital grade disinfectant and floor cleaner. As you can see there is little change. My arms were feeling buff like a medieval housewife's by this time and I had reached a Zen stage where the outcome was no longer of importance but the act was calming and enjoyable (read lost my mind due to bleach fumes)

Finally an intense scrubbing and some undiluted cleaner brought me here to where I can be happy about the cleanliness of one corner of my kitchen, now to pull out the fridges and start to really get my hands knees and elbows dirty.

The Renos, The Refurbs and the Ugly

People cut corners.

We all do it. It's not that we are inherently sinful or lazy, it's just that time + money + distractions = creative solutions for meeting deadlines, a.k.a. cutting corners.

The real trick is knowing where you can cut and how to do it well.

When I first walked into One Third I felt like it was a cool, streamlined and corporate kind of space. Which in Hospitality terms means cold, intimidating and cheap if the food/decor/service is anything less than perfect. It was a boy's bar and everyone that I talked to about it said so.

"It's too cold and masculine."

"It needs to be warmer."

"Do you even do food here?"

"It's like a super-club from the rave days but the size of a storeroom."

The biggest problem was that every cut corner (especially the bathrooms) showed through very quickly and no one likes to drink, eat or be merry in a place they can't trust or feel welcome in. Also smaller spaces mean any intense colours have double the impact, so steer clear of harsh reds unless you want your customers feeling overly tense or anxious.

Here's how we changed some of the colour schemes in the bar area to become warmer and more relaxed, whilst still supporting the ultimate goal of "classy cocktail lounge". There's a few recycling tips and tricks (cut corners) that anyone should consider if they are planning a refurbishment.

 With just a can of Rustoleum hammered brown anti-rust spray paint you can quickly convert a shocking 70's/80's blue laminate bathroom cabinet into an easy-clean semi-modern solution. The aerosol varnish coating that the anti-rust paint has means that the surface now repels water and stains whilst keeping a textured feel and look. It's not great but if you don't have the time or money to build a whole new cabinet it really is a simple solution that, in our case, made the whole bathroom appear intentional rather than stolen from grandma's house.

 Here are the perforated galvanised panels that covered one side of the wall (you can see it in the pictures from the post before). Whilst a cool idea for a nightclub, it really made the place feel like an ad agency's reception.

 Here's a shot of the strips of white LED's that light up behind the perforated galvanised sheets to create a similarly cool but but cold effect.

And now here is the creative solution. Spray your galvanised sheets in a coating of Rustoleum hammered brown with a haphazard top coat of hammered copper to create a rusted effect whilst protecting the sheets form ever rusting themselves.

You can see the big difference between the original and the sprayed sheets. The cans of spray paint cost me $11.25 each and one can of each did about 3 panels. So for less than the cost of enough paint  to change the wall, I've turned something familiar to the old crowd into something warmer and more interesting to the local crowd.

 This is what the bar looked like without the big black IKEA style bookshelves on the back wall (again look at my previous post and you will see those bad boys in action). The shelves were practical but just added to the intense red-black contrast that made the whole bar feel very heavy.

 A simple coat of primer on the back wall alone shows how intense the red really is in this space. We needed to create the same level of visual impact as a bright red bar whilst making it feel warm and intriguing.

 Taking into account the copper/rust tones of our new feature wall, we set about finding wallpaper and paint swatches to attempt an entirely new look without having to change the expensive items like the bar-top and fronting. A dark olive colour (Taubman's Jungle Path) was chosen to complement the wooden floors, golden hints in the wallpaper and the copper on the panelled wall. It also matches in nicely with the surrounding restaurants and shops and turns the loud statement the bar was into a subtle venue that can let its products and service speak for itself. (yes, it is arrogant of me to put it that way but that's what I really hope this bar can do)

Finally, the first wall of wallpaper is finished and the subtle patterning creates visual interest up close, without being too ostentatious or intimidating from afar. This picture doesn't show the pattern or colour too well but the next post will have some good shots as I show you some other cost-cutting ways that we replaced the need for big black bookshelves.

Golden Resumés

For those blissfully unaware it is truly hell trying to find a good chef. We need a chef, one that has a passion for food and actually wants to go somewhere with their career rather than take my money and buy a house with it whilst I scrape by on un-declared tips. In essence I need someone that can cook better than I do, faster than I do and knows hospitality tricks and procedures that I don't (the first two is a tall order for your average chef, I had good trainers in the three generations of women in my family).

Whilst I trawl the rough for that elusive diamond (the kind that doesn't yet know it's worth) here's some of the CV's, cover letters and emails I received that made me laugh. Honestly people... Job seek Fail!



"If I can join with ur cafe I hope to come all 5 days. Hope to hear you soon. Thanks. "

" xxx here, i talk to you about this job for app. chef in your  restaurent. so i am sending you my resume. please have a look on my resume.
thanx"

"hi
i am sweety
i am good in speaking english
thanks "

Wow... those were just the few I could make sense of.

Bought, Trialed, Time for a Re-Think

So I bought it!

Whilst the exclamation mark should denote excitement, it is in reality denoting dread, excitement and sleepless nights full of both ideas and concerns. First of all here's the background of the bar, some photos and a basic layout of how it operated.

Essentially I should have listened harder when the previous owners told me "Functions mate, we make all our money on functions. It's easy and the money is guaranteed." Which kind of translates to "We tried some stuff but it didn't work. Now we're too lazy or 'busy' to make anything work on a regular basis."

Now these guys aren't bad people, they weren't trying to screw me around like many others I've tried to buy a business off before. They just didn't have the time, creativity or the motivation to put in all the effort needed to turn a tiny little space into a fully packed venue.

Now for the big question...

Do I?

While I mull that one over here are some photos of what the place looked like when I got it:

www.onethird.com.au

www.onethird.com.au

www.onethird.com.au

www.onethird.com.au

www.onethird.com.au

Nice in the shiny light of day but that empty look isn't photoshopping