Bar Design Functionality

Out of habit, I almost always assess design, layout and bar placement whenever I enter an establishment. Having built quite a few bar interiors: some on a tight budget, and some with substantial budgets and having worked in bars/clubs and restaurants since I was 15 I tend to appreciate function over form. The joke is that you can design a bar based on three things: appearance, durability or cost but you can only pick two.

Taking general seating out of the equation, a bar needs to attractive and comfortable for patrons but needs to be efficient for servers to maximize sales potential. While many bars try to consolidate back room services: dishwashing, stock & prep within the bar, high volume many establishments need to have a bar back during peak hours. Bar design needs to take into consideration for support staff traffic, but lately I've seen too many bars that have overdone the "raceway"(the distance between the bar and the back bar). While space for support staff is needed, a functional back bar requires bartenders to be able to transition front to back quickly and efficiently: the target being a raceway of 30-40". Any more distance requires the bartender to take a step between the back bar inventory and the drink prep area at the bar.

So without getting into too much theory I felt like commenting on a few notable bars and/or specific designs:

1. A circular traffic flow is critical for a bar/nightclub. Whether an island bar or path around seating or dance floor, a circular traffic pattern allows patrons to traverse the crowd naturally and replenishes crowd mix. This is extra critical in nightclubs: placement of furniture, railings etc should contribute to a cyclical pattern. The Pavilion wasn't bad, but they didn't have that upstairs. 51 Wharf has a great island bar, but space is tight so it's not quite there. Old Port Tavern has a great traffic pattern when the back room is open. Grittys expansion has dramatically changed their customer flow with the new room they added several years ago.

2. Bar height. I'm not sure how people get this wrong, but using standard "bar height" stools or chairs a bar should be 40-42". Bars that are too low or too high really create an uncomfortable(and thus undesirable) experience. Rivalries' first bar was a wee bit too high but they have since rebuilt the bar and it's great now! Portland Flatbread had something wrong. Not sure if it was the seats, the lower lip or something else, but you couldn't sit up at the bar with your legs under the overhang. Venue, the short lived bar on Forest really screwed it up...way too high. But they obviously had no idea what they were doing.

3. The rail, nose or overhang. You want to be able to sit at the bar and be within easy reach of your drink or food and not have anything spill on your lap. While the bar at 51 is beautiful(and one of my favorite back in the G'Vannis days) the slanting bar rail pushes you away from the bar top just a bit too much.

4. Island bars. Great for creating social intimacy, atmosphere and meeting people but...there are downsides. First you can "see behind the curtain". While you usually can't see the underbar, island bars allows you to see the bits and pieces: trash cans, dishwashers, dirty glasswear, well liquors etc. Special attention needs to be maintaining a neat and clean area behind the bar. Second, you need to disrupt sightlines to maintain a sense of privacy and intimacy. Again the bar at 51 has pillars and a overbar and glass racks so that helps break it up. TGI Fridays did not and the bar felt open, exposed and empty.

5. Corners. Outside corners are good, inside corners are very very bad. Rivalries had an "L" shaped bar but the inside corner was facing out. Again, they removed that for a gentle curve This creates an untenable seat arrangement and you end up losing almost 3 seats of space. Outside corners or rounds are good because it turns couples, groups or customers slightly towards each other, helping socialization.

6. Seats with backs. enough said. Unas has the worse seats, demillos are...strange and too close together...

One of the greatest back in the day(when the back patio was open): Geddys(Bar Harbor).