It takes more than just great drinks and great food to run a great bar. Along with great service and great vibe, a large part of success in hospitality comes down to timing. Are the guests ready for your concept, will they pick up what you are putting down? Though most importantly, will they come back again and again?
I was fortunate enough to sit down with Pankaj Balachandran before the launch of Boilermaker, Goa to chat through the concept of Boilermaker, why he thought India was ready for a beer & spirits bar, and his thoughts on what makes or breaks a new venue.
Inspiration Behind Boilermaker Goa:
EE: So, Pankaj, I’m just going to pick your mind for a little bit about how this came to be. The Boilermaker concept and bars have been working really well in other parts of the world for a number of years, so I want to know what inspired you to launch this in Goa, and why thought India was ready?
PB: Sure! So, boilermakers have been very close to my heart. I'd been working with Monkey Shoulder back when you were working with William Grant as well, and the first time I went to London with the crew of Monkey I was exposed to this kind of drink that is a Boilermaker. It was given to me as a nonchalant, almost “oh man, just grab a shot of whisky, here’s a sexy beer!”
EE: Yeah, it’s the done thing!
PB: I was like “Oh wow! That's a very cool shot.” This is a time when India is consuming a lot of shots, things like picklebacks, and jagerbombs, but not necessarily appreciating the spirit. So, I thought, this is a great drink. I wouldn't call it a shot, it somewhat has the same habit of a shot, but it's a bit more educated, sophisticated. So I tried to bring that drink to mainstream India, and it became part of my training program with Monkey Shoulder. Though interestingly what happened a couple of months later, my marketing team came back to me saying “Hey! You are a Monkey Shoulder Ambassador and there are a lot of beer bills which are submitted for reimbursement. Are you just drinking beer?” I was like “no, no, no. That’s a boilermaker!”
EE: It’s a thing! Trust me.
PB: But obviously it didn’t take off like I had wanted it to. So the second straw that I got was there was a bar opening in Bombay that we were consulting on. We really pushed because they had a small brewery in house and we wanted to make it a whisk(e)y bar that people come in for a selection of whisky and beer. Obviously that was the time India was going on that cocktail journey. Everyone wanted to have a cocktail, but more than anything else fast forward to 2022 when we had to shut down one of the most celebrated bars In the country - (Tesouro, rest in peace!).
So I think mentally I took a two year break from bars because anyway we were already doing consulting, I took on a large role with a spirit brand (Short Story) by launching in India. So it was the time when everything was going, pulling in all directions. So I thought you know there’s no point in doing anything in haste. Really think it through. Really put our effort into building everything around it and strike when it is right, you know.
So that’s why the two year lag or gap.
Now, I’ve known Nakul who is my partner at Boilermaker for 4 to 5 years. He used to be a frequent diner and drinker at Tesouro, and he reached out to me and said “hey, I found a spot, do you want to do something together?” I said “yeah for sure, we can consult. I can do your cocktail program.” And he said “No, no, not consulting. Can we do something a little more involved? Can we run it together?”
The moment he said that the first thing that came to my mind was “Nakul is known for craft beer (Great State Aleworks). He is like the legend of the Indian movement of craft beer”, and the first thing that came to me was
“okay, we should call the Boilermaker.”
This is it!
He wanted to open a dive bar. Yeah it can be. But a good looking dive bar, a sexier dive bar, I think it just fits as a concept. Because you are known for your beers and we are known for our spirits and cocktails. We are also known for building great bars and cocktail programs, and this as a concept will fit. I think he warmed up to the idea and there was no looking back. So, all of a sudden we have a 75 seater bar.
EE: You do indeed, and there’s already a buzz about it!
Consumer Trends:
EE: What had you seen about the way Indians were drinking now to make you feel it was ready for that boilermaker concept?
PB: So I think I’m going to specifically speak about Goa as a market, because four years back when we opened Tesouro, Goa was just doing classic cocktails. When I say classic, I’m talking they were doing mojitos and cosmopolitans, not many bars were really pushing the cocktail boundary.
People are happy to come to Goa to chill, to relax, to have beers. Easy! But what happened in the last four years after Tesouro launched we did A LOT of interesting cocktails and that kind of caught on across the board. I think all of a sudden every bar has somewhat become a fancy cocktail bar. APCs (average per cover i.e how much each guest spends on average) have gone up from 700 bucks Rs.3500.
But people still come to Goa to spend less and have a great time.
But it’s not happening anymore. You go out, you’re spending a bomb, and it’s no less than being in a city like Delhi, or Mumbai or Bangalore. So when we thought of creating a concept here, what we looked at what is missing when it comes to Goa. When it comes to people. What do they want when they come to Goa? And the answer is very simple: they want fresh and open air, they want to chill, they don’t wanna be in a sophisticated space. They want to relax, make conversations, meet new friends.
And we thought who’s doing that anymore? Everyone is trying to go 10 steps ahead. I mean, it’s great, upgrades are always fantastic. We thought let’s do it all right in terms of quality of drink, quality of food, quality of service, but give Goa the laid-back attitude it deserves and the laid back atmosphere it deserves, and that’s exactly what we did with this space.
You get the best of the best beers on tap because it’s brewed by the best brewer - the craft beer Prince (Nakul Bhosle). To the best of the best cocktails because we are obviously building out great cocktail programs across-the-board and we are focusing on building a very, very cool program here.
And of course, the best spirits and the best of the best team, it’s super solid. Along with the great food program that is developed by two chefs coming together from Bombay and Pune. So, giving everyone top class but not putting them in a situation where someone wakes up the next day, opens up their wallet and is like “oh my god what did I do?” Rather than look back and go, “I had a great time!”.
EE: I’ve definitely experienced that 2nd day bill shock.
PB: We wanted to do that and I think that’s exactly what the space is going to become for the larger audience who’s coming in, and who’s living here. Also focussing on the subset of people who are living in Goa like you, like me, there are a lot of settlers in the last 2 to 3 years, where can they go on a day-to-day basis? Daily may be too much, but at least weekly, twice a week. Just to chill and relax, get out of the house.
EE: Absolutely, maybe one or two after work while the suns out
PB: There are not many places that cater to people like us. Who don’t want to go and spend a lot like you would on a date night, they just want to come and have a beer or a cocktail and then call it a night.
EE: Yeah, absolutely. You just at to get out of the house but you don’t want to make a big thing of it.
PB: So that's the idea of the space and I hope, I think it should serve that purpose.
I can assure I’ve now been back several times since Boilermaker opened and it has totally hit the mark and everything Pankaj said it would do.
Team Building and Development:
EE: And in terms of the team, I see you’ve got a few familiar faces
PB: So the way we are now looking at it, and Countertop as a model as well. We want people that have worked with us for the longest time and are heading business verticals in Countertop, we want them to have a bar which they can be found at. Because being a consultant is a thankless job, according to me. Unless and until you’re seen behind the bar, you’re not relevant in the bar, so people will not take your opinion or your values.
So that’s where we feel having a bar is very important, because I want to create a program where people work with us in a bar, then they graduate into a consulting role and then graduate into running bars. So we create a cycle where more talents can be identified, they can be trained, they get to run businesses and then move into running operations.
So for someone like Akshit (@akshit.sharma17), who has been with me for four years, Macleigh (@gin_ix) has been with me for four years. Prithvi (@prithvinagpal) who’s joined the team, everyone is getting to showcase what they want to showcase, and it’s better when you are creating a concept, not just with one mind. I know too many cooks spoil the broth but when you have the vision clear and you want to plug-in ideas it’s great to have a solid team. Then obviously Great State comes with the might of beer and brewery and that knowledge so it’s a very strong, solid team.
All the team members who are working at the bar are bartenders. Even on the shop floor and they switch so that everyone does everything. It’s very important as bartenders - I’ve faced it in many places - that bartenders don’t want to leave their kingdom.
EE: Yes, they get trapped in their comfort zone.
PB: So the moment that happens, you’re not talking to people you’re only talking to maybe the 12 people along the bar. So for us, it was very important that everyone gets that as well as talking to people on the floor because all of them are outgoing, outspoken individuals so I think I need to nurture those individuals that are not outspoken and outgoing because I want them to pick that up as a skill set. So, every month, the whole thing shifts and everyone in the bar comes out to the shop floor and all those on the shop floor are going into the prep. Everyone does prep, everyone does service, everyone does bartending.
EE: Great! I think that’s so important for getting your whole menu moving, if everyone understands the menu intimately, rather than having their one or two go-to’s they sell on the floor, you get this big breadth of knowledge circulating, which is incredible.
Menu and Offerings:
EE: So in terms of the menu, how are you going to curate the beer & spirit pairings and how are you going to communicate that boilermaker concept?
PB: The concept has to shine through so we are going in the way there’s going to be an education. We don’t want to be preachy, about how this can be not consumed as a shot or a party drink but also something that can be saved and enjoyed. So I've been working with a lot of interesting brews and a lot of interesting spirits. We are not just doing the Whisky & Beer combo, which is your traditional boilermaker, but at least four to five serves for consumers to get used to the concept and what the boilermaker is, a very well paired spirit and beer concept.
Then we aren’t just going to go with International Spirits, we will also look at Feni, for example because Feni is not for everyone, but once you get used to it, I mean Mezcal wasn’t for everyone before, but today everyone wants a piece of Mezcal everywhere!
EE: Absolutely. I think you do need the guide. Someone needs to say this is how it should be consumed, it might be different to what you’ve had before, rather than, “Here you go. Have fun!”
PB: I got exposed to Feni several years back and I hated it. Now, because I’ve been guided through that spirit, I know exactly what to expect of it so what we are trying to do is to make Feni boilermakers with a beer which fits into that family. There is a beautiful Kokum Gose which just fits right in. We’ve been trying out new and different flavour pairings to see what works and what doesn’t work so we will have a signature list of boilermakers to start with.
The cocktail menu is interesting, it’s divided into two sections. One of them is "smashables" which is one of my favourite words. Every time I go and order at a cocktail bar I will tell them “hey, can I just grab something smashable?" If you are out in the open, it’s a bit warm now, it’s outside. It’s breezy. It’s nice. You want to drink something where you can have like 10 of those. So we’re going sweet-and-sour, easy, refreshing serves.
Next, the "sessionables". It’s a sipping cocktail or something that’s got a lot more flavour that you want to sit with.
Then we also have a selection called “Say Hello To My Little Friend”. We're talking little minis. We’re doing some Gibsons and some other things that I love drinking in the bar. So a Martini, a Gibson, a Negroni. But our versions of it.
So that’s the cocktail menu along with 12 beers on tap. We're actually launching a beer which is a collaboration between Great State Ale Works and Countertop. It's a bartender's Ale called Break Shift IPA. You’ve worked in India for five years so you know what the break shift is?
EE: Yes, we call them split-shifts.
PB: Exactly! So it’s a beer FOR the bartenders BY the bartenders. US! It’s very light, something that you want to drink at the end of your shift, and that will also feature on the tap.
Then of course, the selection of food and the spirits are top notch. Fortunately, in Goa, you have access to great spirits because the registration laws are slightly easier here. So you can get really good spirits that you don’t see in other cities
EE: Absolutely, that was one of my thoughts. Are you going to be able to keep the list fresh? But I think Goa does give you that opportunity.
Food wise then, is it somewhere that you go for a full meal or it’s more just bar snacks?
PB: I think 90% of our menu is snackable. I always remember bars with the food they serve. I still remember going to Employees Only and eating a beef tartare which is actually the bartender that whips it up for you which makes it even more special. Or 28 HongKong Street for their Mac & Cheese balls. So, for me, food plays a major, major role in the bar experience. Here, the kind of food program we have developed is International bar food, but thought through from the Goan lens. When I say Goa lens it doesn’t mean that everything has kokum and sorpotel, but done in a fun way and a way that you’ll remember and you will come back for.
EE: I hope there’s chorizo, I still think about the chorizo and hummus at Tesouro, that is still one of my favourite bar snacks.
PB: In fact we are doing a chorizo and prawn gumbos which you scoop out with some bread.
Challenges and Learnings:
EE: So given this isn’t your first venture, I’m keen to hear about what skills you’ve brought from other ventures and what challenges you’ve experienced that you weren’t expecting?
PB: Obviously, we’ve been doing a lot of bars in the past and Tesouro was definitely a big learning for me, but more importantly here we literally had the shell so this is the first time I’ve had to work with different people with different sets of competencies other than making drinks.
We had to work with the contractor, we had to work with the architect to really tell them what we wanted out of the bar.
EE: Get that vision out of your head!
PB: Exactly, but when they get it and they speak the same language it's the most beautiful feeling. It’s the same as the chefs right? You know what you want for the space, but it's so difficult to get the idea to 10 other people who are also working on the project. But the day it happens, it is sacrosanct. I think that was the biggest learning for me in this. That, and a lot of patience to open up a space in Goa, yeah you need a lot of patience.
EE: What is it? GST? Goa standard time?
PB: Yeah, absolutely. I even had people when I’d come back to say “why is this not done?” say to me “buddy sleep time”. And I’m like okay, bro. Sleep time it is. I’ll wait. I’ll wait.
Advice for Aspiring Venue Owners:
EE: So final question. If anyone is looking to start a venue themselves, are there any tips that you would give?
PB: I would say really, really think about why they want to open a venue. Because a lot of people want to open a bar to make money, and there is a fine line between business and passion. Because running bars and running restaurants is a lot of passion and a lot less money. At the end of the day, the bottom line is very less.
Obviously, there’s bragging rights if it does well and you can be like “oh, I own this bar!” But really think about why they want to get into the business of hospitality because it’s not an easy job.
EE: Yes, and when you work out that hourly wage it can be crushing.
PB: Yes, it’s a lot of hours. It’s a lot. And you can become irreplaceable, if you have invested with the consumers, you should be there every day, you are there every day.
It’s a lot of investment when it comes to more than money, time. I think that’s the crux of this business. If someone is wanting to do that, I mean it’s great and we’ll get more and more cool bars, but it is a big commitment, and a lot of effort.
EE: Good advice, I mean it’s never as easy as it looks from the outside. There’s a lot of turmoil that goes on behind-the-scenes, but it looks incredible because the makers are passionate.
So, there you have it.
Strong product, great vibe, great timing, throw in a good measure of passion, grit and impeccable hospitality and you have yourself the recipe success.
If you have not visited Boilermaker yet, I strongly suggest you do. You can visit Pankaj and the team here, and if you are pondering what to order, their Gondoraj Ale is my top recommendation on tap and then make sure you try the feni boilermaker for a delightful pairing.
Are there any great new bars we need to know about?
