FSR December 2022

L IQUID INTELL IGENCE

LOCATED UNDER STOVE & TAP, GOOD BAD & UGLY COVERS A DIFFERENT DINING (AND DRINKING) OCCASION, PROVIDING A MODERN TAKE ON THE ‘DINNER AND A MOVIE’ COMBINATION OF DECADES PAST.

INTERIOR + EXTERIOR: ERIK WEBER (2) / FOOD + DRINK: EDDY MARENCO (2)

“Food revenue drives a lot of the sales, but themargins are not as strong. Sowhen you build a bar concept on top of that, you're building somethingwithmuch larger margins."

Based in the greater Philadelphia area, Stove & Co. compr ises four brands: two-unit Stove & Tap, Al Pas tor, Revival Pizza Pub, and its latest concept, Good Bad & Ugly. When the space beneath the West Ches ter, Pennsylvania, location of Stove & Tap opened, Weathers and his part ners were eager to grab it. ey wanted to distinguish it from the New Ameri can restaurant upstairs, but they also didn’t want it to stray too far from the group’s F&B core. Opening a bar was the natural choice. “It expands your time that you can, as a business, create revenue and different experiences. And because it’s attached to the restaurant, my business partner Joe [Monnich] and I like to say it’s kind of like dinner and a movie,” Weathers says.

“People want to not just go out; they want to be entertained.” To this point, Good Bad & Ugly has adopted a bar-meets-eatertainment identity, with shuff leboard, billiards, and nostalgic video games at the ready. Weathers says these interactive com ponents also encourage conversation among strangers—something he him self seeks when going out. In Atlanta, Bar Vegan is also all about the experience, albeit without the eater tainment vibes. For founder Pinky Cole, who also owns growing fast casual Slutty Vegan, the full-service bar/restaurant was meant to foster the quintessential bar experience but with a crucial distinction. “After the success of Slutty Vegan, I’m like, ‘OK, I want to create a bar where they have vegan food at the bar because

untapped—dining occasion. “Food revenue drives a lot of the sales, but the margins are not as strong. So when you build a bar concept on top of that, you’re building something with much larger margins,” says Justin Weathers, co-owner of Stove & Co. Res taurant Group. “ e 50/50 blend of food and beverage sales, in any operation, is the sweet spot for making a success ful business. It is more to manage, but it does amount to a healthier business.”

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FSRMAGAZINE .COM

DECEMBER 2022