A bar with a novel idea is slated to debut at 2712 Cherokee early next month: Open Concept, a drinking establishment that doesn’t sell drinks but rather sells time.
"Forget what you are used to," the bar's Facebook page notes. "We are unlike any bar you have ever visited. At Open Concept, all of the drinks are on us, although you pay per hour to access the space."
Patrons will pay $10 per hour for access to an open bar serving batched cocktails on draught, beer, and wine. (It’s encouraged to book your time in advance on the bar’s website.)
Proprietor Michael Butler, the city's current recorder of deeds, got the idea from fundraising parties while running for office. “I would hold events where we charged by the hour for admission and have an open bar,” he recalls. “We got a lot of presale tickets online, and we created large-batch drinks in order to cut costs.” After a series of successful events, he imagined the same model could be applied to a business. He believes the price is "what the market can afford and will feel is a good value.”
Anyone who’s ever attended a wedding might be wondering how you keep an open-bar concept from getting out of control. Butler says he’s put a few safety measures in place. When patrons book their time at Open Concept, they create a profile and are assigned a confirmation code, which is used to place drink orders at the bar. Bartenders will only serve one drink per person at a time, and a proprietary point-of-sale system will track consumption. Butler says the system will scan driver’s licenses and use a patron’s height and weight to assign a number of drinks per hour to keep the bar in compliance with legal limits.
Based on the response that Butler's received via ticket presales and social media, he projects the audience will be predominantly female. “We’ll have five big screen TVs and two projector screens, which I envisioned using to show games,” he says. “But now I’m thinking more about the experience women are seeking out. We’re going to create a ‘Netflix and chill’ vibe by showing Netflix originals and hosting watch parties for popular TV shows. I don’t think many venues like this currently cater to women, so I hope we’ll provide something different in that way.”
The bar is slated for a soft opening on July 4th weekend. Butler plans to test the concept on Fridays and Saturdays through Labor Day, when he intends to expand hours and add weekend brunch service.
