Stepping Up To The Bar

Resilience can be a pretty useful attribute when the going gets tough.

- Alan Deans

Bar owner Sven Almenning’s survival in business was severely tested when lockout laws were imposed in 2014 in NSW to counter street violence in Sydney’s inner city. His upmarket venues – Eau-de-Vie in Darlinghurst and The Roosevelt down the road in Potts Point – were new at the time. He had also just leased a basement down a Melbourne back lane for a second Eau-de-Vie. There was plenty at stake.

“Our target demographic of 30-35 and up, mostly women, stopped going to Kings Cross,” explains Almenning. “We lost 40% of our business from one week to the next after the first king-hit punch. We were losing money two to three weeks in. Trade dropped by over 60% in five to six weeks.”

The first Eau-de-Vie had a strong following. Located behind a door labelled “Toilets” at the back of a hotel lobby, it was hard to find. But once inside, the cocktails were wonderful. It won World’s Best New Cocktail Bar, a prestigious award in the US, and is still listed among the top 50 bars globally – the 13th best at one point.

However, Almenning quickly had to revamp the concept behind The Roosevelt. Its point of difference was to draw people from around Sydney to a theatrically themed venue with signature, five-course cocktail degustation meals. They were hardly the rowdy types. “In every venue, I want a female-friendly environment. There are business reasons for that, but I find that environment doesn’t have much violence. There is not as much shouting, not as much crazy behaviour.”