Have we reached peak takeover, or are you just not paying attention?

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There was a bubbles and agave-fuelled invasion this weekend in Melbourne, with Sydney bars Maybe Sammy and Little Cooler taking over Caretaker’s Cottage, and Cantina OK! popping up at Goodwater – unfortunately they didn’t bring the weather with them, but they did bring the vibes (see the Little Cooler team in action below).

Successful bars these days are more than just drinking dens; they’re brands. To build a brand, you need to raise your profile beyond the confines of your own city, or even country, and takeovers or pop-ups have become a handy vehicle to spread the hospitality love. Of course, a little (usually brand funded) interstate or overseas trip for the bar staff is a nice silver lining as well.

Questions have been raised as to whether we’ve hit ‘peak takeover’. For naysayers, they’re token gestures where guests end up not getting the full experience of either venue, and I think that can certainly be true when lazily done. At their best, though, they function as a transfer of skills and knowledge, and can spark creativity for both of the venues involved as well as the guests.

Cantina OK! are currently on an interstate tour, and their takeovers are preceded by a masterclass where they share their concept of emotional tasting, a value add for attendees. “Every time we do a takeover we do the Handcrafted Hospitality session, which is literally just a breakdown of the ethos and background of how Cantina got set up, what makes us different, and why people come back to this crazy little garage,” says general manager Jordan Grocock. 

“That leads into the emotional tasting which is a big part of the mezcal and whole experience at Cantina where instead of focussing on tasting notes like vanilla or strawberry, we get into emotions, it might be our childhoods or a fond memory and allows us to connect with our guests emotionally through the medium of mezcal.” At the end of their session at Goodwater, the venue was littered with bar mats scrawled with esoteric drawings of bubble baths, funky fruit salads and steaks. 

“It's just fun,” says Jordan. “We always say don’t write anything, just draw, because it activates the creative part of your mind, It takes some pressure off, it’s great to do it with a full room because you get people shouting out crazy ideas and then we bring it all together to do the ‘kernel’ which is the name we come up with all together to describe the mezcal – the one we came up with at Goodwater was the Rusty Bus Burger.”

“They can be so silly like that, but it's fun to be able to describe something in a way that’s not high stress and high concept.”

Of course takeovers are a lot more effort than just showing up on the day. Cantina OK! is part of the Mucho group, and so they do have a dedicated events manager, Annie Hayes, who worked hard on the back of house logistics: an ice shaver was shipped as well as plenty of coasters and postcards, and they brought the Cantina playlist with them for the full OK! experience. On the Goodwater end, our front of house manager Liv Kelly spent hours juicing pineapples and making Thai basil jelly. 

Jordan highlights the importance of communication between the venues, both on the equipment and technical side of things but also service wise. “It works differently from space to space, obviously, as much as you can plan and talk venue to venue it always works out a little bit differently – it's about giving yourself plenty of time to work it out. It's easy to forget that people don’t work at your bar so everything has to be over-explained!”

They see it as a learning opportunity for them as well. “In terms of getting inspired, last time we came down to Melbourne we were at Above Board and we learnt a lot of cool things from Jesse the GM there in terms of non-verbal communication, get those little tips and tools and bring those back to the team. In a space like Goodwater which is so much bigger than Cantina, we have to adapt.”

As for guests at takeovers, especially those in the hospitality industry, Jordan reckons they get more out of it than just drinking tasty cocktails. “You get a chance to see how people do things differently, there is no wrong answer,” he says. “Some people like to focus more on that hotel style bar service where everything is done perfectly, then you see something like what we do which is a bit more wild and free and we’re slinging margs and smashing limes. We highlight the imperfection, it's not going to be exactly the same every time but it's about making sure the experience is always amazing.

 “Not only does it allow you to see a different service style but it allows these young professionals to maybe narrow down the places where you might want to work. When you’re starting out you’re looking for anywhere that will take you and train you, but then you start to see different sides [to the industry] and you can decide I want to highlight techniques or focus on hosting.

“Any chance you get to see a fresh set of skills being displayed is always going to be beneficial.”

And that is the takeaway from a takeover.

Around the Bars

• Of course the Margarita from Cantina OK! is hard to go past, but my favourite drink from the takeover was the Tomatl, a perfect balance of sweet and savoury with tomato, pineapple and mezcal – a pretty perfect reflection of their ethos: fun with a serious edge.
• Speaking of takeovers, it feels like my social feeds are full of bartender friends in exotic places at the moment – whenever I get jealous of Yao Wong’s noodle adventures I always head to Tamura Sake Bar, the unsung hero of Gertrude Street with ramen, skewers and sake. It's a holiday in your own city.
• Femier Cru, a networking group for women and LGBTQIA+ folks in hospitality, wine and food are having their first event for 2025 on February 26th – your ticket gets you a glass of wine and the opportunity to mingle with like minded people, with industry leaders speaking on their experiences. Tickets here.