FSR June 2023

LIQUID INTELLIGENCE

mini golf designed by local artists, and a stage that hosts live music, karaoke and comedy nights, plus drag and bur lesque shows. Concession stand-style stalls serve artisan pizza—like The Venetian Boot with marinara, Italian sausage, salami cremini mushroom, onion, mozzarella, and rosemary—as well as sandwiches, Bahn Mi nachos, sal ads, ice cream treats, and classic snacks

well, we have wristbands and check that,” McDonough says. Customers are capped at 32 ounces, but can come back to the attendant to reissue more ounces to pour if they don’t appear intoxicated. Plus, all IDs are checked at the door when people pay, and wristbands make it clear who is over 21 and who isn’t. Rob Clapp, co-founder and CFO of Can Can Wonderland, was originally

pour wall and cooler into a shipping con tainer, then commissioned two local artists to paint gra ti murals on three sides to give it a cool aesthetic that t the vibe of the eatertainment place. “ e opportunities are literally end less to showcase art in the space. e weirder, the more exotic, it doesn’t mat ter because we’re not held within a box, and that’s the coolest spot to be in,” adds McDonough. Just eight miles east of Can Can Won derland in Minneapolis is First Draft + Burnt Chicken, another self-pour, pay by-the-ounce establishment featuring 54 taps of beer, wine, cider, cocktails, and kombucha. Established in 2018, First Draft is owned by Andrew Valen, who, similar to Can Can Wonderland, also likes to source drinks locally from Minnesotan brewers and distilleries, and recently set up a full-serve bar. “I think people like self-pour and I think there’s a niche for it, but I also believe that there’s a desire for that more tradi tional bar o ering,” Valen says. “When it comes to service at a self pour taproom, of course our labor is a little less, but not to the degree peo ple thought, especially when we first opened,” he continues. “We got some serious criticism right away that we were trying to eliminate the service industry, which is far from the truth. Part of the reason we’re adding a bar is to have peo ple that are engaging people at the taps to talk about what they may like, and what might pair well with food.” Valen seeks to differentiate First Draft by emphasizing it’s not just a beer wall. One of the most popular taps is a Moscow Mule, he notes, and other top sellers include seltzers, ciders, and even non-alcoholic choices. “Let’s give people the ability to visit a hub for local craft beer, but let’s be more than that and not limit ourselves to the beer place, since not everyone likes just that,” Valen says. “Margins are very di cult and slim in the restaurant industry, so if we can just cut a little bit and save some money in a few di erent areas, it makes the via bility of the restaurant much stronger,” Valen adds.

“Have good people running it to make sure you get a quality output for your guest. Otherwise, you will get a lot of bad pours and people will think they’re getting ripped off.”

CAN CAN WONDERLAND

BASED IN THE TWIN CITIES, EATERTAINMENT SPOT CAN CAN WONDERLAND IMPLEMENTED A SELF-POUR WALL TO TAKE PRESSURE OFF ITS MAIN FULL-SERVE BAR.

and sides like pretzels and fries. With the whimsical atmosphere at Can Can Wonderland, seltzers and ciders are popular choices at the self-serve wall, says Sarah McDonough, general manager, whose personal favorite is a locally-brewed sour called Super Squishy by Oliphant Brewing, which comes in blackberry, raspberry, or coconut. “It’s just like the State Fair—people want to try the mini donut one, or we have a cot ton candy seltzer we make at Saint Paul Brewing that ies out the door,” she adds. On the flip side, being a family friendly establishment versus a typical bar setting that only allows people over 21 means special safeguards must be put in place for a self-pour wall. “The biggest thing is to make sure you have that attendant at all times and systems in place so no one is over served. Because we’re kid-friendly as

inspired to look into implementing a self-serve beer wall when lines were causing a 10- to 15-minute wait for peo ple to get a beer, which started having a negative impact on reviews. “We cur rently use the PourMyBeer system, and so far they’ve been great for us. It’s all about being able to have those 36 taps to take a lot of pressure o that main bar,” he says. Educating consumers on how to cor rectly and e ciently pour drinks is a key area attendants should be trained in. “In the beginning, we de nitely had a situa tion where a lot of people were unfamil iar, and they were pouring foam-heavy beers,” Clapp recalls. “Have good people running it to make sure you get a qual ity output for your guest. Otherwise, you will get a lot of bad pours and people will think they’re getting ripped o .” Can Can Wonderland built the self

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FSRMAGAZINE.COM

JUNE 2023