Business
mainly for his TV hosting background . He jumped at the chance to watch and learn from award-winning bartenders each year at the event . Three years later , ready to compete , he won the southeast Asia competition and was flown to the U . K ., where he came in 11 th at the global finals .
Meanwhile , Dunne unexpectedly landed a bartending gig that quickly led to an entire career : “ I came to Bangkok to work on a film , but having tended bar in Los Angeles for years , I was able to land a job as the bar manager at Bed Supper Club . I did not know it at the time , but this was a stroke of supreme goodness . My time at Bed opened up the door to meet so many people and to this day , it ’ s still such a huge calling card for me — everyone knew Bed .”
It pays to have “ a willingness to jump in ,” Dunne says , “ even if the pay may be less than back home or than what you may have expected .”
Cé La Vi ’ s Jason Archilla previously served in the U . S . military and was originally hired for the club ’ s security team . But along the way , he ’ d gotten a business degree . He asked questions in meetings , analyzing the club ’ s business model ; his boss took notice and offered him a management job .
DO BUILD CONNECTIONS
Nightlife is a social business . These experts say it ’ s vital to really connect with people , which is also part of the fun . Chi says the community of “ spirits people ” in Asia is friendly , welcoming , and a place to find collaborators and mentors .
Friends and mentors helped Neung get his start , and he ’ s learned the importance of being easy to work with and building teams that work smoothly together . “ You must be a good guy ,” he says , “ like , people love you , would like to come to see you .” But you also have to honestly assess your own strengths and surround yourself with people who bring qualities you may lack . “ I ’ m not the guy most energized all night ,” he says . “[ S ] ome of my partners — they can always go crazy every night , talk with everyone .”
DON ’ T FORGET : ALL JOBS ARE YOUR JOB
Any given night at a bar or club can be unpredictable . “ I talk to everyone ,” says Archilla . He ’ ll circulate , asking “ You OK ? You need a drink ?” And when something random happens , a broken glass for example , there ’ s no need to call housekeeping : “ If there ’ s a broom , I ’ m right there .” Managers who act superior and won ’ t jump in to quickly handle an issue don ’ t really impress anyone : “ They ’ ll have a team , but the team won ’ t respect them ,” he says . “ Take care of your people , your people will take care of you .”
Sometimes that means serving customers or cleaning up a mess . Sometimes it means handling more explosive situations . Be ready for occasional crisis management , Dunne says : “ When working with a lot of people , especially if alcohol is involved , be prepared to see a lot of challenges .”
Chi agrees . People who succeed have a willingness to do a little bit of everything , and owners often need to pitch in to wipe down tables and quickly seat arriving guests . “ The guys that succeed are the guys who are really passionate , kind of like chefs ,” he says . “ Weak people can ’ t handle it .”
DO SURPRISE PEOPLE
“ Everyone is looking for the new hot thing ,” Minway Chi says . So while you don ’ t want to get caught up in chasing the next fad , it ’ s important to offer people something surprising and exceptional . Great service and well-balanced drinks are the foundation of a successful nightspot , but there has to be more .
Neung , the actor who fell in love with mixology , regularly creates new drink menus for the Thonglor bars Track 17 and Backstage , using homemade infusions like Thai tea leaves infused into Bulleitt bourbon . His close-to-opening speakeasy bar on Thonglor 10 will be nameless and a bit challenging to find , with regular visits from award-winning guest bartenders from around Asia .
Archilla recently tackled the issue of empty Tuesday nights at Cé La Vi by doing something original : He created the Tuesday night Sathorn Society , inviting the chefs , bar managers , bartenders and owners to come to his club . “ On Tuesdays , it ’ s ‘ once you guys close , all y ’ all come over , drinks are on me .’”
He ’ s done no conventional marketing ; it ’ s all social media . “ If I get all these groups of people from all the other restaurants and clubs and bars
in the area to come to my place , and we all take pictures together , people are going to be saying , ‘ Why is everyone going there ?’
“ Now it ’ s to where one of the restaurants will say , ‘ Hey , tonight I ’ ll bring the food ,’” Archilla says . “ We get together , we talk business .” The payoff goes beyond this growing sense of community and chance for networking . By gathering this invited crowd , he ’ s ensuring that his club won ’ t be empty when paying customers drop in on a Tuesday .
DON ’ T EVER STOP LEARNING
“ I always like digging deeply into a subject ,” Chi says . “ I ’ m the first one to jump down a rabbit hole .” Having seen this same curiosity among industry people and customers , his
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