Sydney’s The Soda Factory held true to its DNA of offering live music and entertainment during the pandemic. Now, they’re poised for success with a brand on everyone’s mind, eased dancing restrictions, increased capacity and the cease of Sydney lockouts.
Owner operator Graham Cordery says the bar is now positioned to operate at “full throttle”.
Bars and Clubs caught up with Graham recently who shared his passion and enthusiasm for the industry. And how his unwavering determination for bringing consumers live music and a place to socialise throughout the pandemic has established The Soda Factory’s name to be at the top of the list for many wanting to take advantage of the post-COVID nightlife.
He said the importance of maintaining the bar’s values was paramount throughout the pandemic, stating: “Initially when we first opened again there was a mad rush to get into venues because we were just out of the forced hard lockdown for three months. And it was a really exciting period opening back up again.
“We put a lot of effort as soon as we reopened in June to stick to our brand values which was to present live entertainment and live music six nights a week. It was no doubt really challenging to do that during those periods when we were allowed one person per four square meters which equates to about one quarter of our pre-COVID capacity during that period.
“I just felt that, the brand values and the creative aspects of the venue is really what gets me up every morning and gets me fired up to come and keep running the venue. I just felt that it was the right decision just to stick it out with what we do and just ride that period out.
“For us, to put on that quality and consistency of entertainment through that whole period didn’t come without financial consideration. So we’re just really proud to have done that and support the live music industry, and retain true to ourselves during that whole period.”
Graham said the unknown of the pandemic was another factor that encouraged The Soda Factory to continue running its events. Since establishing a name for itself after nearly a decade of trade, he didn’t want to close for an extended period of time and have his brand name lost in the customers’ minds.
He explained: “No one really knew how long COVID was going to go on for and what I didn’t want after about 10 years of really hard work establishing a brand such as The Soda Factory, was to just go quiet for a year and then when things open up, be on a level playing field with everybody else.
“It would just be really sad to me, so that’s why we just kept working away at it and kept booking entertainment throughout that whole period so when restrictions eased as they have done this year, then, boom, we’re straight from the get go right at the front of minds.
“And thank heavens it seems to have worked. We’ve been bumper to bumper since the standing was announced, it has been crazy. It was just a relief when we made that decision, we said to ourselves ‘do we cut back on costs, do we tread water, or do we actually give this a real good go’.
“We’re going to hopefully be one of the few venues that is active and we’ve got to write our own story. During that period, if everyone says it is all doom and gloom then that’s what you’re going to get, so we just decided to get on the front foot and stick to our brand values.”
He said after a strong performing Easter weekend with late trading hours and the return of dancing, Australians are ready to be involved in nightlife again. And as 2021 continues, consumers will continue to support the recovery of the late night hospitality industry.
He explained: “It was certainly pretty chaotic here on the weekend which is awesome. With one person per two square meters still restricting max capacity, it’s still a very different experience to what they had pre-COVID.
“For us to have the kind of lines that we had over the weekend, the amount of people turning up to try to get in the venue, and being booked out and having a really amazing atmosphere inside we just couldn’t be happier.
“While pre-COVID of course that’s your normal reality, unfortunately for matters outside of our control there’s been a handbrake on the whole industry. So to see it coming back and to hear about other venues being really busy as well over the long weekend, as an owner operator, it’s really great news.”
He laughed: “The stubborn person in me thinks we shouldn’t have to celebrate something like that because it was normal before. But at the end of the day, I’m also extremely happy for it to be back and just looking forward to cranking it full throttle from here on.”
Graham turned his attention to the future of 2021 with Bars and Clubs, explaining that seeing the enjoyment from consumers on the first weekend of eased danced restrictions on April 1, spells for a strong future for the industry.
He said: “Everybody just wanted to come out and dance. I think when you think of Soda Factory you think you of fun times, you think of great music, of course we’ve got a great product in terms of cocktails and a great menu but it’s a really fun environment that’s been a part of our brand for so many years.
“It was just really great that people rushed down on pretty much the first opportunity they had to dance, and you could see that on people’s faces. We ran until 4am on Saturday, and we could have probably gone a bit longer than that.
“When you add COVID on top six years of lockout laws and what that can mean for people’s habits in terms of possibly staying at home, it was just really refreshing to see that’s absolutely not the case.
“This event through COVID can be the thing that just banishes the lockout years to distant memory and everyone just rushes out and goes crazy for a few years in Sydney. So if there’s a positive in COVID, it’s to get Sydney people back to just going out and partying which is exactly what it should be.”
With 2021 in mind, Graham believes the formula of The Soda Factory is in no need of changing anytime soon.
He added: “I just don’t think anything or anyone should derail our program which is offering six or seven nights a week of amazing entertainment and fun stuff. We did that for so many years before the lockout, during the lockout, during COVID so we will carry on.
“We’ve got a formula that people seem to really love and we just don’t deviate from it. Sometimes it might be a slight scaled back version like in the last year but at the end of the day, the game plan doesn’t change so we’re going into full throttle now. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”
To not only reopen during the height of the pandemic, but to thrive and consistently present the entertainment The Soda Factory has, there needs to be an air of passion behind it. Which Graham believes to be his biggest parting wisdom to the Bars and Clubs readership.
He stated: “My advice, while it’s a little bit of a cliché, is to say know your market and know your strengths. Those strengths to me, generally equate to whatever your passions are. If you’re super passionate about something then you’re already 30 per cent ahead of where you would be if you weren’t so passionate.
“You can’t let your head rule your heart. And that translates to your brand values at the end of the day. So if that thing is amazing food or amazing cocktails then people feel the energy in the product.
“All I could really offer is follow your passion and the rest follows you from there – because you’re going to work harder. And I think the energy and the love that you put into that is going to come across to the customer base.
“That’s what I’ve always tried to do and it makes everything much more enjoyable.”
