The Exhibitionist Bar successfully launched at the weekend with “lots of walk-ins” through the doors enjoying the artwork-inspired cocktail menu.
Bar Manager Tom Angel (pictured above) told Bars and Clubs how much he enjoyed witnessing the bar’s potential: “Trade during our opening weekend was busy, busy. The gallery has a lot of hype around it, and people have been waiting to come to visit.
“The weekend was absolutely full with lots of walk-ins. Everyone wants to sit on the balcony and have a glass of wine and enjoy the view of the Gold Coast.”
The bar, located on the rooftop of the HOTA Gallery in Surfers Paradise, combines a 360-degree view of the Gold Coast with a cocktail menu that draws inspiration from the artwork in the gallery below to offer its customers an exclusive experience.
“Our cocktails are based on the major exhibition currently being displayed in the gallery, which is Solid Gold at the moment. For example, for her piece, Heat and Time, ceramicist Claudia de Salvo was exploring different temperatures of firing clay,” Tom said.
“We got her to make some cups for us out of the same clay, and we have used ginger in different forms for the same cocktail. In our Heat and Time cocktail, we use Fords Gin, Honey, Lemon, Mezcal Foam, Native Ginger, Fresh Ginger, and Burnt Ginger.”
He added: “The next one will be Lyrical Landscapes – artworks by William Robinson, one of Australia’s greatest landscape painters, and after that, Contemporary Masters, a private collection from New York.
“We will change the menu with each change of exhibition, and like art, push the boundaries in cocktail making.”
Tom said that launching a bar within a gallery was no easy task: “The difficulties we faced was with the AAA rating for galleries. This rating limits the types of fuels we can use.
“For example, we couldn’t use a wood fire pizza oven, and so we had to opt for gas. We need an airlock door on our restaurant to limit the oil particles entering the gallery as well as to control the temperature of the gallery, which needs to sit at 21 degrees and can only deviate by one degree above or below that.”
The Exhibitionist Bar also faced staffing challenges in the lead up to the opening weekend as Tom explained: “Staffing has been tricky; I simply cannot find the right staff in this unique time. I tend to hire on attitude more than on skill so the teething problems are there from the beginning, as expected, but the team has been in great spirits and pushing through.
“The team has been absolutely amazing in setting up the POS, the cocktails, and the floor prior to the opening day, so things could run smoothly.
“We have hired more staff to start over the next few weeks, which will help massively.”
As new staff continue to join the team at The Exhibitionist Bar, Tom said the key for 2021 and the sustainability of the bar, will be training and maintaining a reliable experience to secure consistent trade.
“Training the team. Training is so vital and making sure we focus on the customers with that first impression. Being a seven-day operation, I cannot be there all the time, so we need to focus on making sure that the team are trained across all aspects.
“Getting that repeat business will ensure survivability for the venue.”
The Exhibitionist Bar is located on level 5 of the HOTA Gallery at 135 Bundall Rd, Surfers Paradise and is open from 10am to 10pm Monday to Sunday.
