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Is the beer bar dead? with veteran bar owner Zach Mack

Last updated July 06, 2023 · By Dylan Blake

Is the beer bar dead?

Last year writer Josh Bernstein posed the question in the New York Times, and it's something we've been thinking about ever since.

So has Zach Mack, veteran bar owner and industry expert. Check out the clips below hear his point of view, how to operate in a changing beer world, and whether it's such a bad thing that the beer bar as we knew it is on the outs.

Access to great beer has shifted so much—exclusivity just doesn't cut it anymore

Getting limited allotments is still cool, but by itself it won't lead to business success

Whale hunters (people who are just out there trying to track down fancy beers) were never great customers anyway

More about Mr. Zach Mack

Zach is a force in the NYC bar and restaurant world.

We at BeerMenus know him best from his Manhattan bar Alphabet City Beer Co., which he started back in 2012 with partner David Hitchner. But he owns a couple other places around NYC, too—Taco Vista and Governors Island Beer Co.—and seems to be working on a new project whenever I talk to him.

He also co-hosts an weekly podcast for Back of House called So You Want to Run a Restaurant. SYWTRAR explores the trials, triumphs, and technical difficulties of running a successful restaurant in the always changing, ever-more-competitive North American food and beverage landscape.

Suffice to say Zach knows his stuff. For more from Zach, follow him on LinkedIn/Twitter/Instagram or send him an email at zachmack [at] gmail.com.