Most Business Owners Are Leaving Money on the Table. This Bar Expert Figured Out Why.

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Too many restaurants and businesses prioritize aesthetics over functionality. Thoughtful workflows can unlock hidden profits in any business. As Americans drink less overall, restaurants and bars need to prioritize customer experiences.

Tobin Ellis has spent decades watching restaurants make the same expensive mistake: building bars that look incredible and function terribly.

“Why are there so many beautiful bars in the world that are terrible bars?” Ellis asked.

For Ellis, the problem starts long before opening night. Operators obsess over aesthetics, timelines and budgets while ignoring the actual mechanics of service.

“This is going to be a chandelier. That’s going to be Italian marble,” Ellis said, describing construction walkthroughs. “And I’m always like, great, where’s the pickup? Where are you putting the support section? Where’s the pass?”

Ellis, founder and principal of Barmagic, recently released Bar Design Essentials, a book shaped by nearly 30 years working behind bars from Tavern on the Green to some of Las Vegas’ busiest nightclubs.

“I wrote the book because I never had an answer for all the independents and all the people out there trying to build their first or second spot,” Ellis said.

The issue, according to Ellis, is that the people designing bars often have never actually worked behind one.

“Could you build a better golf club if you never swung one?” Ellis asked. “A great golfer who understands what the club needs to do, working with an engineer, is what makes a great golf club. Same with the bar.”

That disconnect shows up immediately in service. Ellis can spot a poorly designed bar within seconds just by watching bartenders move.

“If bartenders are walking behind a bar, that’s called non-value,” Ellis explained. “You don’t see chefs behind the line walking. They’re in their station.”

The best bars create what Ellis calls “the dance.” Bartenders flow naturally through service without constantly bending, reaching, spinning or searching for bottles.

The obsession with movement started early. At 11 years old, Ellis was already making gin and tonics for his father and trying to figure out how to set the dinner table in as few trips as possible.

For Ellis, great bar design is not about creating something that looks impressive in photos. It is about building a space that actually works for the people inside it.

Bars need hospitality

The restaurant industry is changing, and Ellis believes bars can no longer afford to rely on old habits.

People are drinking less alcohol, going out less frequently and treating restaurants more like experiences than routines. For operators, that means every guest interaction matters more than ever.

“You cannot leave a penny on the table,” Ellis said. “When you have those three or four hours, two nights a week, you have to capitalize on peak volume.”

Ellis believes digital culture has completely changed customer behavior. Instead of becoming regulars at one neighborhood spot, many guests now bounce from place to place searching for experiences worth posting online.

“The gram doesn’t want to see the same drink from the same bar even twice in a row,” Ellis said.

That shift has made hospitality more important, not less.

Even as alcohol consumption declines, Ellis says beverage programs remain central to the restaurant experience. Guests still want to feel included, whether they are ordering a cocktail, an NA beer, or a zero-proof Negroni.

“It’s an integral part of the dining experience,” Ellis said. “Nobody wants to eat without a beverage.”

Non-alcoholic drinks have become one of the fastest-growing categories in hospitality, something Ellis has embraced personally. He now stocks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options at home and says guests often grab both without hesitation.

“What I think it is, is excitement for people to experience a hospitality venue and feel like they’re part of the full experience,” Ellis said.

But creating that experience takes more than technology or trendy menus. Ellis says hospitality still comes down to people. When asked the most important quality in a bartender, his answer came immediately.

“Empathy.”

For Ellis, that mindset extends beyond bartenders to the entire operation, especially the often-overlooked bar back.

“The bar back is the eyes, the ears and the backbone,” Ellis said.

In today’s restaurant business, guests pay for more than just a drink; they pay for the feeling the experience gives them.

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