The opening of a new bar is big news around this co-working space –so imagine our excitement when we heard that our favourite Tooting cocktail joint, Brick & Liquor, is opening a second outpost a stone’s throw from our Battersea office…
Brick & Liquor founder David Layton is a stalwart of the hospitality industry, bringing 13 years of experience to his latest venture. He started as a glass collector at university, working his way up through the ranks and cutting his teeth in a range of cocktail bars and nightclubs.
Over time, however, he became increasingly disheartened at the lack of hospitality in the hospitality industry and quit to open Brick & Liquor at Tooting Broadway in 2016.
Ahead of their new opening, we caught up with David to talk Clapham, cocktails and community spirit.
Hi David, congratulations on opening Brick & Liquor mark 2. What’s the concept behind the brand?
I’m obsessed with making people welcome, making our bar feel like a home from home. We want to be a community bar and create that neighboured feel you used to get with a village pub.
Why did you choose to start your business in South-West London?
I have always lived south of the river and we wanted a non-central location, where there is a stronger sense of community. That’s what you get in places like Tooting. There’s also a fantastic sense of loyalty; customers want to come back, they want to tell their mates, want to bring their partners and their mothers down. We have created somewhere that people feel really proud to go.
Your second branch is located just beside Clapham South tube station – what made you go for that spot?
Clapham South was an obvious choice: far enough up the road from Tooting that we could have a separate community but still have an economy of scale. It has Northcote Road on one side, Abbeville Road on the other and cool workspaces like Le Bureau just across the common. We think Clapham South will be even busier than Tooting: a local, neighbourhood bar where people know they can get good service, good drinks and good food.
What makes good hospitality?
We like to say that our service is super personalised. Little things make the difference, like a tactile greeting – a touch on the shoulder or a handshake. It’s also about going the extra mile: if a guest doesn’t like their drink, we swap it at our own expense.
As the owner, I am in the bar serving tables four to five nights a week, trying to build a real rapport with our guests. I’m quite recognisable [David is well over 6ft with a magnificent beard – Ed] and when I walk up and down Tooting high street, people stop to chat and say well done on our second opening. We try to build lasting relationships with our guests and that comes back to us in a massive wave of community support.
How important is social media to growing your brand?
We get dozens of bookings a day from Instagram – we see it as the new word of mouth. It drives so much traffic and revenue and really helps galvanize our brand.
Our social media has grown to the point where we now have one of the biggest followings in Tooting, which is a testament to our community-driven approach. Our Instagram following has grown to 5,500 in just over 10 months and we’re really proud of that because they’re all genuine people who are active, loyal and engaged.
Right, down to the important things: talk us through your cocktails.
The cocktail menu is mostly classics with a twist. Our big seller is the Salted Caramel Espresso Martini; before that we had the Salted Caramel Old Fashioned which was served with a miniature chocolate brownie – there’s actually been a big outcry since we’ve taken it off the menu so we might have to bring it back in our next refresh!
We also have some cocktails that are entirely unique. The 9 ½ weeks is really cool: the barrel is stained with Merlot and IPA to give it a lot of flavour then it is filled with rum and vermouth and we leave it for 9 ½weeks to ferment, so it comes out with a really strong flavour. It’s just a bit special.
We refresh our menu every six months, and we do design our cocktails with Instagram in mind because that is where so much of our community is.
What can guests expect to eat?
We have a menu of what we call ‘social eats’: little sharing plates that are designed to nibble and compliment our cocktails. It’s £6 for small ones, £9 for large ones and all dishes are the same price across the menu. The most popular is our chorizo arancini with a white truffle mayo. We used to offer desserts but realised we have cocktails to cover that too – our Key Lime Daiquiri for instance, and one called Eton’s Mess.
Le Bureau counts entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs among its members. What are your top tips for starting and running a successful small business?
First, surround yourself with good people – find areas where you have weaknesses then find people to fill those gaps. Then keep an eye on cash flow, and learn what to prioritise.
When you only have a finite amount of budget, do you spend that on PR? Design? Having the flashiest ingredients? You have to work out what are the most important things to you and, crucially, your customer.
Brick & Liquor opens with a soft launch from Saturday 19 – Thursday 24 and there’s a free cocktail on offer for everyone who books ahead. To book or to find out more about the brand, head to brickandliquor.co.uk
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