October 13, 2020 · Team HG
After being open for just over four months following the lockdown, additional measures are once again being introduced for the hospitality industry. Bar Smoke on the Grote Markt has decided not to wait to see what additional measures follow and to take matters into its own hands.
Bojan Aleksander of Bar Smoke is no stranger to having to switch between concepts. Normally, Smoke is open for dinner, drinks, and events, but this is an impossible task in this climate. During the previous lockdown, they managed to stay afloat with online pub quizzes and takeaway service. With the upcoming “lockdown,” they are stepping things up a notch.
Bojan: “With the current measures, we can accommodate only a fraction of what we normally can inside our establishment and on our terrace. Additionally, events are excluded due to the 9:00 PM closing time. Guests coming for dinner now already feel rushed and walk out with half a dessert in their mouths. Any additional measure means we can no longer open for dinner normally. We need to adapt in time. When life gives you lemons, make limoncello!”
We have already put together a takeaway menu and are in the final stages of starting delivery as well. In addition to dishes, we are also focusing on craft beers, depending on what the Prime Minister says. We are also seeking collaborations with local entrepreneurs and influencers to wrestle each other through these tough times… hehe, good name for a bar right now: ‘tough times’.
Our regulars know our one-liners in the Groningen dialect, which we will be using to embroider and sell shirts in collaboration with Vivien Ferguson and Zijlstra Naaimachines during the corona crisis. The Lockdown 2 Internet Geeks pub quiz is now also online and is hosted by my best friend Sander Bos a.k.a. Sittn and Disco InFleurno. Finally, I am working on organizing an online quiz about Grunn with some Grunnfluencers.
If everything works out exactly as I have in mind, you will be able to find it on our website and social media channels very soon. I am really looking forward to it, my boy, if it works out! For now, I wish all hospitality business owners a lot of strength in the coming period! I hope we all get through this without too much damage.
More info:
Facebook Bar Smoke
Event Pub Quiz Internet Geeks
Smoke Takeaway Menu
