We recently connected with Levi Andersen and have shared our conversation below.
Levi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I wrote up a simple story to answer this right here – https://www.5bar.co/our-story
The name 5BAR was a typo to my friend, I told them I wanted to own a dive bar. But my phone autocorrected it to “Five bar.” The more we chatted about it the name seemed to fit the concept I was headed towards so serendipitously.
Levi, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’ve got one of those, long stories
I started in the service industry as a barista going to elementary school, that’s right, I went to career day as a barista. A ‘boyrista’ if you will (yes, I’ll look up the picture I have as a child making coffee), and it was kind of because I just loved hot cocoa and wanted to make one. Flash forward, I was a barista for a decade near Seattle, consultant in Portland, owned a drive-through coffee stand for 2.5 years, barista competitor, coffee podcast host, all of which landed me a role as the Liquid Chef to a coffee syrup brand for 7.5 years. While there at DaVinci Gourmet syrups I made recipes and traveled the world supporting our sales teams. I got to make drinks with multiple World Barista Championships contestants, speak in front of thousands, and land menu concepts into magazines and global food accounts. It really was something. I got into drinks that were more story based and thematic, with familiar ingredients that weren’t always in beverage (think green peas). So after some time making these fun drinks I realized I needed to branch out and start my own bar. I had never bartended officially before, but that wouldn’t be what stops me.
The service industry called me back. To be a dish washer. To be a janitor and repairman. To fix a building from the 1800’s that’s had a bar in it since the 70’s. As luck would have it, I also used to be a roofer and electrician apprentice (another long story). So during the 2020 lockdown I demolished and restored an old bar. Now that’s my bar. It’s my solo job. I train staff, create menus, and do all the dirty work. It’s constant work, but I love it.
On top of that I consult with beverage brands and lead community events. From hosting events like cleaning up our streets (we nicknamed it 5BLOCK) to offering up mocktail classes as well. I keep busy because it helps me stay fresh with the trends.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Pivoting is good, like getting closer to a fulcrum, it isn’t as hard as it looks.
In 2022, after Covid, our town changed back to the original way bars needed to submit alcohol licenses, so I missed the 3 month lead time of when the papers needed to be submitted vs when they expired. Which meant I would have to close my doors for 3 months. Wild. No chance of revenues, and my business wasn’t even 2 years old yet, so loads of pressure.
We took a pivot and put a huge project I didn’t want to do quite yet, right in our path: updating our incredibly old bathrooms.
Have you been to an old bar? The bathrooms are usually small, worn down, and much worse but I’ll spare the details. Ours we’re insanely bad, but they were a certain type of way. And they weren’t ADA compliant, so we closed down and fixed them.
It was hard. It took far more money than I expected. And I just wanted to take a few weeks off and relax. But we pushed forward and fixed them, and I’m so glad we did. Turns out the city inspector helped us design a layout that fit a whole extra bathroom, upping our capacity.
It was hard, but rather than take the time off and relax I jumped into the next task. And now we can fit 20% more lovely guests.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
When you appreciate your clients, they are more likely to appreciate you.
That could be anything… A handwritten note. Showing up to their business with your support. Leaving them a free review if they have a business. Telling them “Thanks for sharing that story” rather than the empty phrases most people exchange.
For our little bar, it means listening to their stories and asking a follow up question or two. It means asking a follow up question like “How did that trip go after-all?” when they return from a weekend away.
People remember when they are remembered.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.5bar.co/
- Instagram: @DrinksOnLevi
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/5barbeloit/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leviandersen
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/5bar-beloit
Image Credits
Jack Berg, Levi Andersen