Back to the future

As style bars continue to influence design, back-bars are playing an ever-increasing role in attracting customers. Phil Mellows reports.

A successful bar is always a balance of function and aesthetics. When people walk into a pub the bar is usually the first thing they see.

It needs to attract them and it can say a lot about what kind of pub it is, but it also needs to work efficiently, to give the kind of service it promises by its looks.

What you can't afford to do, however, is to waste that valuable space. Bar designer Ian Thomas, who is currently working for Massive on the refurbishment of the historic Jamaica Wine House in the City of London, is quite clear about that.

"The whole point of a back-bar is display," he said. "It should put you in the mood for drinking. Customers should be looking at it wondering what they are going to have next.

"I hate to see glasses stored on the back fitting. Or these ultra-modern designs with just the odd bottle here and there. It might look trendy, but does it encourage people to drink?

"I believe in having all your stock out front where people can see it. There should be no gaps at all on the back-bar.

"First impressions count," he continued. "Customers have to be able to say to themselves, 'they've made an effort here' and the back fitting needs to be in-your-face, it needs to make a statement."

Part of that statement has to tell people how to behave. The traditional pub bar makes it clear that you are meant to walk up to it and order a drink from what you see, not go and sit down at a table and wait for the staff to come to you.

Such design cues are vital to making sure customers feel comfortable and that they know what they are supposed to do. They can also steer people towards making certain buying decisions. Back-bars such as the kind used by Six Continents brand All Bar One, for instance, give prominence to wine, improving the way it can take advantage of one of the UK's fastest growing drinks categories.

There are even more fundamental changes going on, however. The new bar culture that has swept the country in the last few years looks likely to leave a permanent legacy for the pub industry - not least in bar design.

In most traditional pubs, the bar area is arranged such that, unless you are pulling a pint of beer, you have to turn away from the customer to get a shot of spirits, pour a glass of wine or take a bottle out of the fridge.

Pubs have changed a lot though, and with draught beer volumes on the decline, bar designers are rethinking the whole thing and in effect, moving the back-bar to the front.

IMC, one of the leading suppliers of bars, has developed what it calls the "bar workstation concept" which is designed to enable barstaff to deliver the most efficient and friendly service possible.

The idea is that each member of barstaff has everything they need to hand, as IMC marketing manager Nigel Roberts explained.

"There are two aims you are trying to achieve with bar design," he said. "One is to contribute to the ambience, the other is to minimise movement behind the bar.

"Each workstation should have its own essential products such as glasses, bottles, bottle opener, till and maybe a speed rail, and the same layout is replicated right the way down the bar. It reduces what we call 'walkabout' in which barstaff have to wander off to find something.

"Service is quicker, easier, you can serve a lot of people in short space of time and you can maintain eye contact with the customer."

With competition for customers so fierce, perfecting that style of service can give a bar the edge - and there is a positive spin-off for the back-bar, too.

"Where it works best, the back-bar is used exclusively for merchandising," said Nigel. "Bottled beers, for instance, may be displayed at the back, but you actually take cold bottles from from a top-loading bottle cooler under the front counter.

"It's about paying attention to the customer, giving them the best service possible, and getting it right means bars can move themselves up-market.

"These kind of ideas can filter down to traditional pubs," he continued. "My local actually does have workstations and you can see that it's better, especially when the pub is busy on a Friday or Saturday night.

"It is definitely more efficient. You don't have staff queuing to use a till, for instance, because they each have their own."

When it is designing a bar, IMC will go into great detail with the operator about the varying volumes sold of different drinks during different sessions, the dimensions of the bar, including anything that might get in the way, and exactly what the customers' needs are.

A designer will even spend at few days at the place, getting a feel for business.

Bars are then built from 20 different modules, such as glass storage, areas for beer engines and blender stations, each of which comes in four or five variations.

Pictured: Essex University Student Union (top) and the Birmingham Hippodrome use the 'bar workstation concept' which enables barstaff to deliver the most efficient and friendly service​

More on the back bar​

Back bar design:​

• A Victorian style back-bar will be the main attraction at the Jamaica Wine House - we take a look at the revamp of the popular City bar. Read on...

Merchandising:​

• Chill out with the right equipment.One of the more practical aspects of putting together an efficient bar area is making sure all the equipment works - including your fridges.
• FABs showing a lot of bottle. As the FAB sector continues to rise, beer is facing a battle for space - we take a look at displaying your brands.
• A good reflection on your bar.People spend a lot of time staring at your back-bar, so why not give them something nice to look at - themselves! We report on the use of mirrors in back bar design.
• Fridges play it cool.Well designed and properly stocked chiller cabinets can exert a real influence over your customers' choice - so how can you make the most of them?
• Going for the soft sell.Soft drinks deserve as much prominence on the back-bar as alcoholic drinks - we take a look at why you shouldn't forget the soft option.
• Washers are top of the glass.Glasswashers - a necessary evil behind the bar? The latest technology is making them faster, more efficient and environmentally friendly.