Over a year into the pandemic, we've often found ourselves collectively turning to creature comforts and nostalgia as a balm against the harsh reality of social distancing, gathering bans, and the heavy social and economic toll of it all. And within the world of F&B, perhaps no sector has been more hard-hit than the bar industry, with a sobering recent survey by the Hong Kong Bar & Club Association revealing that another 70 bars are expected to shut for good in the wake of the Lunar New Year holiday, joining the 140 that had already done so in 2020.
Needless to say that, in the face of the most devastating times Hong Kong's bar industry has ever seen, those in the drinks business are undergoing a soul-searching on how to keep calm and carry on. An early consensus is emerging on the importance of the bar first and foremost as a place for people to come together and create lasting bonds, with drinks and food coming in second—to this end, the past few months have seen a number of modern dive bar openings, such as Dead& from the minds behind The Old Man, Honky Tonks Tavern by The Shady Acres, and Korean