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Employees Only Sydney is due to open on November 21 2018, and ahead of the opening we thought it would be useful to look back at how they opened the first outpost of the famous New York bar in Singapore.
New York bar, Employees Only, is one of the seminal bars for the craft cocktail industry. Founded in 2004, it has played a central role in the US scene and in the cocktail revival more broadly. Now, they’ve opened a second branch — this time in Singapore.
“We came in, we broke ground, and 74 days later our doors were open,” says co-owner and bartender Steve Schneider. “That’s unheard of — and we came in under budget.”
If you’ve been in and around the bar scene you may have heard of Schneider, the former head bartender at Employees Only in New York and the central figure in the documentary, Hey Bartender. We caught up with him in Queenstown back in August, during the 42Below Cocktail Earth Cup, to talk about the Singapore bar, and the transition from bar manager to bar owner.
WHEN WE talk to Schneider, it’s at the end of a full three days of the 42Below Cocktail Earth Cup, and 10 weeks into Employees Only Singapore for Schneider. He looks tired, that kind of tired you get when you’ve been pulling 70-plus hour weeks opening a bar. But when we ask him about the bar, his face lights up again.
Moving from New York to Singapore, and setting up Employees Only from scratch, was not without its challenges, he says.
“Things I just took for granted, you know, like a knife and a cutting board and like bar towels, right? Everything. We had to source out all this stuff.”
Getting the equipment you need in a foreign country is one thing; finding bartenders to carry on the Employees Only legacy, when most of them haven’t set foot inside the New York outpost, well, that’s a whole other thing.
“It’s not like i can just give a bunch of recipes to a bunch of bartenders and then open the doors and that’s it,” Schneider says.
“For me, Employees Only, and Employees Only bartending is different. It’s something that we spent years and years [developing], trying to work a certain style. Back in New York, I was like the sixth most senior guy and I’d been there for eight years.”
That kind of stability means that the New York outpost gets two new apprentices every two years or so. “So it’s a whole team training one apprentice,” Schneider says. “They’re coming into an already established unit that’s working, working, working.”
Things necessarily have to be a little different in Singapore.
“Now there’s the opposite, there’s seven apprentices and there’s one of me,” he says, “and I have to take them and teach them everything when it comes to working the Employees Only style.”
Schneider is doing this whilst making the step from his role as bar manager at Employees Only in New York, to that of owner-operator in Singapore.
“Going from bar manager to bar owner now, it’s a lot of responsibility,” he says, “but I had the pleasure of managing the bar in New York for X amount of years. It sort of gave me the reigns, to treat it like it’s my own, you know what I mean?”
Owning a bar has been a goal of Schneider’s since before he began with Employees Only (he credits saving the extra money he made after being promoted from apprentice as a way to demonstrate his desire to step up to ownership to the other co-owners), and he is clearly proud of getting to that goal.
“It’s been very fulfilling and very rewarding,” he says. “It’s not about money, you know, but we [do] have to pay back these investors, we have to hit goals. It’s business at the end of the day and I’m learning that.”
Most of all, Schneider is enjoying the experience.
“The good news is that everybody working at Employees Only Singapore has huge heart and is receptive to new information, and they’ve been embracing it,” he says. “And every week we’ve been getting busier and busier, but the job’s getting easier and easier, you know, so that means they’re doing well. It’s going to take time, you know, and I just have to remain positive.”
Steve Schneider Bartender
Bartending, Cocktails, Booze and Other BS from one of the world's most decorated bartenders. Bio (as of 2020): Steve Schneider has earned a reputation as one of the most respected and successful bartenders in the industry. Of his seventeen years professionally crafting cocktails, he has spent the last twelve building his career at one of the most highly esteemed NYC cocktail bars, Employees Only, which in 2011 won the coveted “World’s Best Cocktail Bar” award at Tales of the Cocktail. In June of 2016, he became a partner in Employees Only Singapore, the company’s first expansion outside of NYC. During his time in Singapore, Employees Only has been listed as one of Asia’s 50 Best Bars and Steve was in the top ten amongst nominees for “International Bartender of the Year” at Tales of the Cocktail. Most recently, Steve has relocated to Shanghai where he opened The Odd Couple with acclaimed bartender Shingo Gokan of the SG Group (Speak Low, Sober Company, The SG Club). Last year, he purchased the Elysian Café, a 120-plus year old restaurant in Hoboken, NJ which coincidentally, he used to tend bar at before his time at Employees Only. In 2017 he opened The Strangers Club, a self-funded project with fellow Employees Only Bartender colleagues which was nominated for the “World’s Best New International Cocktail Bar” at Tales of the Cocktail in 2018. In 2012 Steve won the Cocktail World Cup, an international bartending competition held in New Zealand. He’s also taken home six awards for fastest bartender in different speed competitions around the world. Steve’s long and passionate journey into the industry was most recently chronicled in the hit documentary Hey Bartender (2013), which explored the cocktail renaissance and the inspiring people involved in its movement. In March 2015, the Nightclub & Bar Media Group honored Steve with its highly anticipated Bartender of the Year award. Hosted by president of the group and host of Spike TV’s Bar Rescue Jon Taffer, the prestigious national nightlife awards program is dedicated to recognizing excellence in bar, nightclub and lounge concept innovation and success. A former US Marine, Steve’s first career in the military was cut short after a nearly fatal accident left him in a coma. When he miraculously recovered, he took the first job he could find – a position at a local dive bar. However, Steve found himself enjoying the fast paced environment and the science behind creating a truly stunning craft cocktail. He soon turned the initially temporary stint into a serious life change and worked tirelessly with the goal of donning the white Principal Bartender’s jacket at Employees Only. “I almost died in a bar,” Steve says of that night, “And I was reborn in a bar.” Since accepting his promotion to Principal Bartender at EO, Steve has appeared in numerous publications and TV appearances including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Eater, Gotham, MTV, Playboy, Time Out, New York Observer, Imbibe Magazine, VH1 Big Morning Buzz, Jaime Oliver’s DrinksTube, Watch What Happens Live, ESPN and more. In January 2015 Steve launched his own podcast The Steve Schneider Show (available on iTunes and Google Play) where he entertains and educates listeners about the different facets of the bar industry. The show offered a glimpse into Steve’s fast paced lifestyle and welcome some of the most high profile, inspiring characters who - whether behind the scenes or behind the bar - have helped shape and evolve the bar industry. Steve continues to strive to be the best and often represents Employees Only as well as the USA in cocktail competitions around the world. Perhaps dearest to his heart however is his passion for inspiring young bartenders and sharing his knowledge and experience of cocktail culture.