Fire up Pandora or Spotify and play "Bitter Sweet Symphony" because today is the final day for the 2018 Nightclub & Bar Show. It's bittersweet when this day comes each year. We don't want to wrap things up and leave Las Vegas any more than our attendees do. And yet, we're excited for each one to get back to business and implement what they've learned over the past three days.
Yesterday, Ron "Jaws" Jaworski taught us that the only way to improve is to compete and "bring it!" Whether you attended this year or not, you know what Jaws said during his keynote is true: this is a fiercely competitive business and the successful among us are driven to compete and win. On the topic of competition, industry experts Homan Taghdiri and Michael Tipps revealed that they it's a positive, not a negative. Competition is fantastic, they both said, as long as you know how to run your bar.
We also learned about a very real threat to our industry. Sarah Longwell, managing director of the American Beverage Institute, has not only identified dangerous legislation, she and ABI have been fighting against it. It may seem like .05 BAC laws won't leave the borders of Utah but the threat of that happening very real. Longwell and the ABI are working to contain .05 to Utah (and ultimately have the law repealed) but don't for a moment underestimate its ability to spread.
Are you uncomfortable or unmotivated when it comes to putting together your wine program? You shouldn't be. David Foss taught attendees that there's no need for a pretentious attitude or intimidation when it comes to wine. After all, as he puts it, wine is just fermented grape juice at the end of the day. Have fun with wine, buy from the small growers Millennials crave, embrace various delivery systems such as cans, boxes and kegs, and open up an entirely new revenue stream for your operation.
When the final session was completed and the Expo Floor closed yesterday, the evening's festivities began. But the opportunity to learn doesn't conclude when our education sessions end. Yes, the Oink & Barrel event at the otheroom was fantastically fun; it was deeply informative as well. One of the very best spirits educators in the business, Beam Suntory's Megan Breier, held court as she walked a packed bar through a country ham and Knob Creek tasting. Oink & Barrel represents the finest in educational promotions and is sure to educate any operator's staff and guests while engaging with them on an unparallelled level.
From there it was off to Hakkasan Group's OMNIA Nightclub inside Caesars Palace. OMNIA certainly pulled out all the stops to teach everyone in attendance how they earned their Mind-Bending Visual Choreography award from us. At once hypnotic and energetic, their "chandelier" and the team behind its programming never fails to impress.
To those who spent this whirlwind three days with us, thank you! We'll see you tonight at Hyde inside Bellagio for the Neon Jungle Party to celebrate the finale of #NCBShow18. If you were unable to attend this year, please join us in Las Vegas next year for the 2019 Nightclub & Bar Show, March 25 through 27.
Cheers!